Metro DC DSA General Body meeting — this Sunday, Nov 20 at 7pm
This Sunday, November 20, tune into the final Metro DC DSA General Body Meeting for 2022 at 7pm. December’s Convention will stand in as the GBM for that month.
Our General Body Meetings convene all chapter members virtually to provide updates on workgroups, caucuses, committees, campaigns and other activities. Our General Body Meetings are great events for members new and old – as well as those just curious about socialist organizing in the DMV.
Local Convention Info and Bylaw Amendment/Resolution Submission Period Opens; ends Nov. 28
The next month will be pivotal for the future of Metro DC DSA and the democratic socialist movement in our region. On Saturday, December 10 through Sunday, December 11, our chapter will host our local convention, where we’ll hear from any candidates who have submitted endorsement questionnaires for the 2023 election cycle, debate and possibly adopt changes to our chapter’s bylaws, consider working group applications for priority campaign status, and vote on chapter-wide resolutions.
In short, the decisions we make collectively through these processes will shape our chapter for years to come. Please see below for more information on the period to submit bylaw amendments and chapter-wide resolutions and other important information for Convention.
Bylaw Amendments and Resolution Submission period
As our DSA chapter is a democratic, member-led, and member-funded organization, we are only as strong as the level of member input and involvement in our collective work. The chapter’s annual local convention is the best way to ensure we hear every voice when deciding changes to our priorities or democratic structures.
Is there something about our chapter that you would like to change? Consider submitting an amendment to the chapter’s bylaws or a proposal for a chapter-wide resolution. Resolutions, like what? See last year’s Convention Bulletin for examples.
Metro DC DSA supports striking Starbucks workers on #RedCupRebellionDay
More than 100 unionized Starbucks stores went on strike yesterday, Nov. 17th. Starbucks’ “Red Cup Day” is one of the company’s busiest days of the year, and consequently one of the worst to work as a barista. Metro DC DSA was on hand to support striking Starbucks Workers United members in Falls Church, VA, Arlington, VA and Olney, MD in their demand to Starbucks CEO and union-buster-in-chief Howard Schultz: Stop union busting and bargain with Starbucks workers.
Join Montgomery County DSA at the Silver Spring Thanksgiving Parade in support of Rent Control — Saturday, November 19
This Saturday morning, Nov. 19, is the Silver Spring Thanksgiving Parade, and you can march with the Montgomery County branch!
This is the only Thanksgiving parade in the Metro DC area. It is widely attended by politicians and community groups — and it’s televised. Montgomery County DSA has secured a spot and needs as many volunteers as possible to march with us to make a big impact and show the County Council that Montgomery County needs rent stabilization!
RSVP here and an organizer will send you all the details.
The parade float’s theme will be rent stabilization, and Montgomery County DSA will have a float and landlord puppets. We need volunteers to march with us, hold our banner, pass out fliers, and give out candy. All that is needed is for volunteers to arrive at the Silver Spring Town Center Garage at 8:15am, and we will have plenty of time together to talk through our simple and fun puppetry performance.
DSA at the Punk Rock Flea Market — Saturday, November 19th
This Saturday, November 19th, marks the return of DC’s annual Punk Rock Flea Market. This flea features creatives from across the DMV — MDC DSA will be tabling! — and also doubles as a donation drive for We Are Family (please bring cans and/or non-perishables to donate). The flea takes place at St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church at 1525 Newton St NW from 12 – 5pm. DSA will have specialty posters for sale, free pamphlets (and commemorative prints) explaining DC's recently passed Ballot Initiative 82, and members who stop by will be able to grab a limited series of DIY pins.
Prince William County Collective Bargaining Ordinance Vote
This coming Tuesday, November 22nd is a very important day for Prince William County employees fighting to form a union with SEIU VA 512. At their 2pm meeting, the Board of County Supervisors will be voting on an ordinance granting county employees collective bargaining rights for the first time since 1977.
Unfortunately, the currently proposed ordinance does not provide county workers the ability to collectively bargain in a meaningful way. As it stands, workers would be virtually unable to bargain over their working conditions, have no legal protection from retaliation, and would see 1,000+ part time non-benefited employees excluded from their union entirely. Join county workers and DSA comrades one last time on Tuesday the 22nd and speak out to demand the Board change the ordinance before they hold a vote! We will be meeting at the McCoart Building in Woodbridge at 1:30pm. RSVP here.
Interested in leading a reading group?
The Political Ed team is gearing up for Spring Reading Groups! If you are interested in coordinating a specific book/reading or leading one of several groups focusing on Marx’s Capital, fill out this interest form or reach out directly to Jackson or Liz.
The Socialists are Back — DSA affiliated candidates do well at the ballot box
In DSA member races, the win rate stands at 88.7%—94 wins, 12 losses, with 17 still undetermined.
Non-member races stand at a win rate of 72.2%—13 wins, 5 losses, and still 15 undetermined.
The overall win rate is 86.2% right now—107 wins, 17 losses, 32 undetermined.
Endorsed, incumbent DSA members posted not a single loss, going 26 for 26.
Non-endorsed, incumbent DSA members look certain to go at least 24 for 25…
As Johnny Winter sang, “Evva now and then I know it’s kinda hard to tell, but I’m still alive and well…”
Additionally, this past Sunday, the DSA National Electoral Committee hosted a nationwide call to recap and analyze several DSA election wins from last week. Among those campaigns highlighted were Sarahana Shrestha, who just won a New York state assembly race in the Hudson Valley; three victorious DSA-endorsed campaigns to protect abortion rights in Kansas, Montana, and Kentucky; and our chapter’s successful endorsed campaign to pass Initiative 82 and raise the tipped minimum wage in DC. Aparna R and Bakari W represented Metro DC DSA on the call.
Also: Monthly contributions fuel our chapter’s efforts and help us win campaigns. If you donate $10/month here, we’ll send you an MDC DSA tote bag for free.
INFO ACCESS
Publications Schedule: The Washington Socialist monthly newsletter is published in harness with the weekly update every month and is out now. Updates are generally scheduled for Fridays, but the next one is on holiday sked, Wednesday the 23rd, and the December monthly newsletter will be dated Friday, December 2.
The Washington Socialist welcomes solo or collaborative responses from our many Fall reading groups; pass along what you are learning and thinking to your comrades who aren’t present and to our wider readership on the DMV left. Join our #publications channel to chat this up on Slack and send individual or group responses to [email protected].
Our annual MDC DSA convention (on December 10 to 11) is when we tinker with and update our chapter bylaws and propose chapter-wide resolutions. Wait — we have bylaws? Yep, and you can find them here. Info on submitting resolutions is above, in UP FRONT. Here is a look at last year’s 2021 Convention Bulletin, with full texts of all submitted resolutions.
Available as a member resource on the local chapter website is the road map of MDC DSA’s activities — campaigns, working groups etc., including our three branches. Want to see our chapter activities laid out in monthly calendar form? Here it is.
Red Desk is where all members can go to request support, calendar links for events, etc. for their campaigns and working group needs. How to access and use Red Desk? Here are some visual how-tos.
COMMUNITY BULLETIN
Abolition Deep Canvass | SURJ DC Are you interested in how we can engage the hearts and minds of our neighbors and community members, and build support and enthusiasm for much-needed change? The SURJ Deep Canvass Team and Trans & Queer Working Group invite you to participate in their last deep canvass of 2022 – Saturday, November 19 from 10am to 2:30pm in the Petworth neighborhood. The event will start with a morning training and lunch, then head out to hit the doors! Canvassing will be done in pairs and there will be opportunities to learn from and share collective knowledge about what works in conversations with white people about white supremacy. Sign up here. If you can’t make it in November but are interested in canvassing with us in 2023, please let us know.
Oyster Mushroom Cultivation Workshop and Tasting | Slow Food DC Head to Patagonia Old Town (815 1/2 King St, Alexandria, VA) on Saturday, November 19 for a free fungi workshop with Slow Food DC! Attendees will learn the basics of at-home oyster mushroom cultivation while enjoying a variety of functional mushroom snacks and beverages in the store. This event is free and takes place from 12 to 2pm.
No More Police: Community Conversation and Organizing Fair | Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, et al In this powerful call to action, New York Times bestselling author Mariame Kaba and attorney and organizer Andrea J. Ritchie detail why policing doesn’t stop violence, but instead perpetuates widespread harm. Together, they outline the many failures of contemporary police reforms and explore demands to defund police, divest from policing, and invest in community resources to create greater safety through a Black feminist lens. Monday, November 28, 6:30-8:30pm at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K St NW). RSVP here; this event is free, but space is limited.
Forest and City Health Webinar | World Resources Institute The World Resources Institute is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, November 29 at 10am, titled How Better Forests Lead To Better Cities – “on the city-forest connection at multiple forest scales and across multiple topics that matter to cities.”
The Nobel laureate Maria Ressa reminds us how fast things can go south in a nominally democratic polity. From The Atlantic via Portside.
An important concept from the climate-reparations left perspective is getting traction in mainstream-media opinion. “In a nation unwilling to discuss meaningful reparations for its own citizens — Native Americans who suffered genocide, African Americans whose ancestors were bound in slavery — reparations for distant countries impacted by climate change sounds like a fantasy, not a realistic political agenda or campaign message,” Eugene Robinson writes in the WaPo. “At least the loss-and-damage issue is on the official agenda [at COP27] for the first time, though.”
Most MDC DSA meetings remain remote-only. To join remote meetings, members will need to register at the event link provided and receive the remote-access link by email.
The flame of thought, the magnificence of art, the wonder of discovery, and the audacity of invention all belong to revolutionary periods when humanity, tired of its chains, shatters them and stops inebriated to breathe the breeze of a vaster and freer horizon..
- Virgilia D'Andrea
Sent via ActionNetwork.org.
To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Metro DC DSA, please click here.
