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Week of November 14, 2022
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Why we need Childcare for All: The (Current) Impossibility of Childcare in Los Angeles

Saturday, November 19 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

From ongoing canvassing conversations in our communities and available statistics, we know that a lack of affordable childcare is a paramount concern for working families in Los Angeles. Childcare costs in LA often surpass housing as the largest monthly expense for households with young children. Currently, families struggle to navigate unaffordable private care and a labyrinth of underfunded public subsidies and means-tested programs. While families struggle to pay these exorbitant fees, childcare workers are stuck in substandard working conditions and paid, on average, $23,760 annually. 

 

Families, workers, and kids need universal childcare!  

 

New and long-time socialists are invited to this teach-in where we’ll discuss the current realities of the childcare landscape in Los Angeles—including testimony from childcare workers and parents on the impossible choices they face. We’ll map out what forms of childcare are (and are not) available in Los Angeles County, we’ll discuss why means-tested federal childcare programs often leave out working poor Angelinos, and what winning a universal childcare program could mean for families, childcare workers, and organized socialists. 

 

Join this teach-in to learn more about why Childcare For All is a critical campaign for socialists to support as part of a larger agenda for full reproductive justice, and to commit to the organizing work this  victory will require between electoral cycles! ✊ 

Rally for 100% Electric School Buses for LAUSD

Tuesday, November 15 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Join the GND for Public Schools LA Campaign, the LA Electric Truck and Bus Coalition, and Reclaim our Schools LA for a rally at LAUSD Headquarters (333 South Beaudry Ave, 90017) on Tuesday, November 15th at 2:00 PM.

 

We are demanding that LAUSD commit to a full transition to an electric school bus fleet before 2035, and pass a policy that prioritizes job creation and job quality when electric bus manufacturers bid on district contracts for new electric buses.

 

LAUSD is currently working toward a 2040 transition but they are woefully behind, and 2040 does not meet the urgency of the climate crisis. LAUSD has a chance to lead the way in the transition to a zero-carbon school district powered by renewable energy, and we need to make it loud and clear that we demand a Green New Deal for Public Schools.

Attendees will receive a Green New Deal for Public Schools T-shirt.

Strike Support for UAW Academic Workers at UCLA

On Monday, November 14th, 48,000 academic workers at the University of California will be going on strike across the state. United Auto Workers locals 2865 and 5810, and the student researchers of newly-organized SRU-UAW are hitting the picket line to fight the scourge of privatization and austerity that has closed the doors to public higher education for many working class students; the failure of the state’s largest landlord to address the worsening crisis of housing speculation and unaffordability; and the failure of the state’s largest employer to take into account the cost of living for its workforce. 

 

DSA-LA will be joining academic workers on the picket line at UCLA on Monday, November 14th, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Sign-up here to get more information about strike support for UAW academic workers: https://bit.ly/ucla-strike 

At long last, we have officially begun the search for a DSA-LA organizing space!

A reliable in-person space will help us build a sense of community and fight for our socialist vision more effectively! Having a stable headquarters will increase our organizing capacity in multiple ways, including allowing us to host in-person/hybrid events regularly and frequently. The location decision will be voted on by members, but based on initial research into what we can afford, our primary goals include, a room for 20-30 people to meet in person for committee meetings and public events, office and storage capacities for members to print materials and work together, and a central location with nearby public transportation to support accessibility for all our members spread across the city.

 

We’ve budgeted a baseline for what we’re looking for in a DSA-LA physical meeting space, but if we raise enough money, we could do much more! We could afford amenities like a large meeting space to host 100+ people for chapter-wide events, a space for childcare to welcome more parents and caregivers into DSA, a kitchenette and other amenities for the comfort of anyone using the meeting space, or a retail and storefront set up-to build community engagement through political education, mutual aid initiatives, and more! Make a recurring monthly donation today!

Tell HACLA: Stop the eviction of reclaimers!

DSA-LA member and retired welder Benito Flores had been earning minimum wage and living modestly his entire career in the US. After 2005, rent increases forced him to begin living in his van. He joined the coalition Reclaiming our Homes and in the early days of the pandemic in March 2020 Benito joined a dozen other homeless families to “reclaim” some of the Caltrans owned houses that had been sitting empty for decades.

 

This brave act of civil disobedience forced the city housing authority HACLA and the state transportation authority Caltrans into negotiations with the reclaimers. HACLA and Caltrans agreed to let the reclaimers stay in the houses for 2 years, while the reclaimers worked with the El Sereno Community Land Trust to purchase the houses permanently.

 

Now that the two years are up, HACLA and Caltrans are stonewalling. HACLA has begun sending reclaimers eviction notices. Disgraced councilmember Kevin De León had been working on backroom deals for the houses to become carceral temporary housing. HACLA wants to cycle unhoused families in through the houses just to evict them a year later.

 

We don’t need more temporary shelters we need permanent housing!

 

CALL IN TO THE HACLA BOARD MEETING Tuesday November 15 9am 

Follow @ReclaimingHomes for info on how to call in for public comment!

 

A recap and analysis of the election

After the first week of ballot processing, the results of Los Angeles’s 2022 election cycle are starting to clarify, and it’s clear that this year’s elections have been massively successful for democratic socialist candidates. Please read the statement regarding the socialist movement’s victories and the coalition fighting for a Los Angeles for the working class, drafted by our chapter’s Electoral Committee, here.

Healthcare Justice Committee CalCare Kickoff Meeting

Saturday, November 12 @ 10:45am - 2:00pm

DSA-LA Healthcare Justice Committee invites you to join the 2023 Socialist Campaign for CalCare.

What is CalCare?

The Guaranteed Health Care For All Act (CalCare) is a bill that would create a statewide, single-payer system of healthcare coverage for all California residents, free from premiums, deductibles, co-pays, and co-insurance. CalCare would cover all medically necessary services, including: oral health, audiology, vision, mental healthcare, prescription drugs, reproductive care, and long-term care - regardless of income, age, immigration and employment status.

DSA-LA and the 2023 Socialist Campaign for CalCare:

Medicare for All is an extremely popular universal program (across the political spectrum) that would materially improve the lives of millions of Americans. California has the chance to lead the nation with CalCare. The new CalCare bill will be introduced in early 2023, though we do not yet know who will author the bill. We are starting now, though. Cal Nurses (the largest nurses’ union in CA and the driving force behind the bill) launched their campaign months ago, canvassing assembly members and state senators to sign the CalCare Pledge.

As a chapter, DSA-LA is uniquely positioned to pressure the state legislature by galvanizing support among the working class. The Healthcare Justice Committee’s proposal for CalCare funding has been approved and so we are calling for DSA members to join our campaign.

Our effort will include canvassing, petition drives, letter writing, texting, farmers market/event tabling, community events, op-eds, rallies, phoning and more. We can make the public support for CalCare so loud and undeniable that our representatives will have no choice but to vote YES at every legislative opportunity. Together we can awaken Angelenos to the possibility of a better health system with CalCare. 

 

We are hosting back-to-back Zooms on Wednesday November 16th at 7:00pm & 8:00pm PST:

 

7:00pm PST: Cal Nurses Introduction to CalCare

Organizers from Cal Nurses will present us with their union-targeted slideshow and answer any questions about CalCare and their campaign so far. Register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEpcumhpzMsGtwxWeCWULopu-7QBNvhVd4E

 

8:00pm PST: DSA-LA 2023 Socialist Campaign for CalCare Kickoff Meeting

HJC members will discuss our DSA-LA plan for CalCare and how we as Socialists can contribute to a coalition movement to win single-payer healthcare in California in 2023!

Register here: https://bit.ly/dsalacalcarenov

Join the 2023 Socialist Campaign for CalCare here: https://bit.ly/dsalacalcare

Because healthcare is a human right. 

Potential DSA-LA CD14 Recall campaign

At the DSA Los Angeles chapter meeting this past Saturday, members discussed and debated the merits of the chapter engaging in a recall campaign against sitting Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León, who was recorded making racist, anti-Black, anti-renter statements alongside several other councilmembers. The chapter will vote on the proposal to pursue a coalition strategy to recall CM de León in a ballot that will be released this week. You may read the recommendation statement written by the chapter’s Electoral Committee here . Additionally, DSA Los Angeles chapter members in good standing may submit statements regarding the proposal here. All statements submitted by members before 6:00pm on Tuesday, November 15th, will be included in the ballot sent out to members. 

CALENDAR

The following list is only a highlight of what's happening this week with DSA-LA. Please check out our online calendar for full list of committee meetings & chapter events! Be sure to also follow our Instagram & Twitter for real-time announcements and calls-to-action!

Mutual Aid Committee Meeting

Monday, November 14 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Join the Mutual Aid Committee for our twice-monthly committee meeting, where we’ll be discussing ongoing and upcoming committee work, as well as helping folks get plugged into other work throughout the city. New members always welcome!

 

Please RSVP for meeting connection information.

 

Mutual Aid Committee meetings are held on the second and fourth Monday of each month.

The Mutual Aid book club: DRAMA-“The Combahee River Collective Statement”

Wednesday, November 16 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

The Mutual Aid Subcommittee DRAMA will be reading and discussing “The Combahee River Collective Statement” written in 1977 by the Combahee River Collective. This article will discuss topics that surround contemporary Black feminism, the Collective’s beliefs, the struggles of organizing Black feminists, and Black feminist issues and practices. Please join us for this insightful and in-depth meeting.

 

DRAMA meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month.

Blood in My Eye – DSA LA SFV Marxism Reading Group

Thursday, November 17 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Blood in My Eye is a collection of letters and essays about revolution, life in prison, and fascism in the United States, completed shortly before George Jackson was murdered in prison. While serving a one year to life prison term for robbing a gas station in 1961, Jackson had a political awakening and became a journalist, activist, and revolutionary while incarcerated. He later joined the Black Panther Party and became popular and influential from his first book Soledad Brother.

 

Jackson wrote this book for much more revolutionary times than our own, but it’s valuable for his position about how socialism in the U.S. isn’t possible unless the movement is anti-racist and anti-imperialist, and the role of the U.S. justice system in capitalist class domination.

 

A collaborative doc with the text and Zoom connection information will be provided. Please RSVP for access.

 

The discussion group is open to all, including DSA members outside of the San Fernando Valley and non-DSA members.

 

Foodservice Labor Circle

Monday, November 21 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Across the country, foodservice workers are organizing in their workplaces and building worker power. If you work in a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, or other food establishment, join us at our biweekly meetings and help build a movement for solidarity and power within our industry, within our city.