| From | Silicon Valley DSA <[email protected]> |
| Subject | Newsletter: Looking back at 2019 |
| Date | January 11, 2020 3:07 AM |
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Silicon Valley DSA NewsletterSilicon Valley DSA NewsletterView online version [link removed] Valley DSA. Branches: Lower Peninsula, San Jose [[link removed]]Hi John!
Welcome to our first Silicon Valley DSA newsletter of 2020! If you're a regular reader, we hope you like the new look! This is a special edition of the newsletter, featuring retrospectives on what our working groups were up to in 2019. We'll be back on our regular weekly schedule next week.
Below the retrospectives, you can find our upcoming events for January, starting with Pizza With Comrades [[link removed]] tonight at 7pm, and tomorrow's National Reproductive Rights Strategy Session [[link removed]] organized by our Socialist Feminist Working Group.
In Solidarity,
Your SV DSA Newsletter Team đč
Silicon Valley DSA is your local volunteer-run chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America [[link removed]].[[link removed]]Comrades say: No war on Iran!
LOOKING BACK AT 2019
ECOSOCIALIST
Itâs been a busy year for ecosocialists since we created our working group last January!
We supported the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band in their effort to protect Juristac, the Amah Mutsunâs most sacred site, from being turned into a gravel pit. Our chapter passed a resolution of support and we organized tabling and signature gathering events for Juristac. Members of Ecosoc helped form what is now South Bay Indigenous Solidarity. We worked with SBIS to organize outreach events, including one that evolved into a cover story [[link removed]].
We started a two-plot community garden. More than 20 comrades came to our work day, and the garden is still going strong!
We began organizing around public utilities, energy justice and mutual aid. As comrades learned from panelists at our chapter meeting in December, PG&E, the energy utility for northern California, is investor-owned and driven by private profits. Decades of neglect have caused wildfires and blackouts. Join our next PG&E organizing call [[link removed]] with other California chapters on 1/15!
We hosted three Green New Deal discussion groups; held ecosocialist outreach talks at conferences, concerts, and colleges; and established relationships with coalition groups.
In 2020, we will push to make PG&E a publicly-owned utility, fight for the Green New Deal locally and nationally, share plants and seedlings with comrades and advocate for seed libraries, run a community cleanup on public land in San Jose, and much more!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
ELECTORAL
In 2019 we endorsed five socialists running for public office:
* Jake Tonkel for San Jose City Council, District 6
* Alex Lee for State Assembly, District 25
* Sally Lieber for State Senate, District 13
* Shahid Buttar for Congress, District 12
* Bernie Sanders for President
We are now in the midst of campaigning for them in the lead up to the March primaries! To elect these candidates, members are encouraged to participate in walk days going door to door speaking with voters, tabling, and calling voters from key states. We keep these campaign events organized on a campaign calendar [[link removed]] for your convenience. We hope to see you out there campaigning with us to elect socialists!
Weâre also working on a voterâs guide to educate voters on local races which are notoriously difficult to find information about. Stay tuned for this before the vote-by-mail ballots begin going out on February 3rd!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
HEALTHCARE
Our major objective in 2019 was to sway Representative Anna Eshoo to co-sponsor HR 1384, the Medicare for All Act and to hold a hearing on the bill in the Health Subcommittee that she chairs.
We engaged with hundreds of Eshoo constituents and took the pressure to her doorstep. We...
* Pulled off 16 door-to-door canvasses, crowd canvasses, and lit drops
* Protested and asked questions at 5 town hall meetings
* Participated in 5 rallies at Eshooâs office
* Made ourselves heard at a high dollar fundraiser for Eshoo in Atherton
On December 10, Eshoo finally held a hearing on HR 1384 in her subcommittee. Weâre going to keep up the pressure until we win!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
HOUSING
In 2019, we pressured local city councils on housing, displacement, and tenant rights; researched local housing and homelessness policy and politics; and mobilized to stop the RV Ban passed by Mountain View City Council. The ban stands to displace the 200 households currently living in RVs in Mountain View. This attack on the working class is a shameless attempt to criminalize homelessness for political gain.
Thereâs good news! As part of a coalition effort, we gathered enough signatures to put the ban to a popular referendum [[link removed]]. Weâre proud that more than one third of the required signatures came from fifty volunteers from SV DSA and Stanford YDSA. On Tuesday, the ban goes back to City Council to either proceed with the referendum, or rescind the ban entirely. Join us there!
In 2020, we will fight to build tenant power, push for tenant rights on state and local ballots, and more!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
JUSTICE
In 2019, we in the Justice Working Group undertook multiple initiatives to confront the US policing, border, and incarceration apparatus. We held four brake light clinics, repairing folks' signal lights for free to build solidarity in the community and help people avoid contact with police. Police officers use broken brake lights as a pretext to pull people over. Police enforce the law along racist lines, disproportionately targeting people of color and Black people in particular.
We also participated in actions to confront Palantir and other tech companies for their complicity in the inhumane CBP/ICE border regime as part of the Close the Concentration Camps Coalition [[link removed]].
We look forward to your participation as we enter another year of struggle in 2020!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
LABOR
In 2019, the Labor Working Group hosted two workshops to help folks with organizing their workplaces. Our Spring workshop featured a presentation by two of our former Labor co-chairs, a discussion of what workplace issues are best to build a campaign around, and breakout sessions by industry.
Our November workshop was a joint effort with members of DSA SF. We did a deep dive into how to have successful one-on-one organizing conversations with our co-workers, followed by a Q&A panel of union reps and organizers, including an SEIU 521 staffer, a member of the Anchor Union organizing committee (congrats to them for successfully bargaining their first contract!), and a Transport Workers Union organizer.
We provided strike support throughout the year, in particular for healthcare workers at JANUS of Santa Cruz and for Kaiser Permanente workers represented by SEIU and, separately, by NUHW.
Some of what weâre working on in 2020:
* More labor organizing workshops!
* A South Bay labor history presentation or book talk!
* Planning an event leading up to May Day - also known as International Workersâ Day!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
POLITICAL EDUCATION
Political education should give you a holistic understanding of power and struggle, and prepare you to advocate for your ideals. Our goal as the Pol-Ed Working Group is to help members sharpen our knowledge, analysis, and practical organizing skills.
Our PolEd Working Group sprang from a facilitation workshop and an anarchist reading group, and was chartered in March. Since then, our reading group has covered The Conquest of Bread, Reform or Revolution, The New Jim Crow, and the Green New Deal, the latter in conjunction with Ecosocialist WG. At the Fall Chapter Meeting, we hosted a Robertâs Rules training and another renewed facilitation workshop. In December, we invited a member of Anakbayan Silicon Valley to give a talk on Filipino history.
Weâre excited about the future! We are undertaking an effort to analyze our completed campaigns, beginning with the Housing Working Groupâs campaign against the Mountain View RV Ban. We will keep up our reading groups and organizer trainings.
PolEdâs core project going forward is the Socialist Night School, covering a living, growing curriculum. We will discuss the history and strategy of the movements that brought us the victories we enjoy today, and learn to chart the steps for the struggle ahead. Join us!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
SOCIALIST FEMINIST
In early 2019, the SocFem Pre-Working Group got together to assemble about 100 period packs, which consisted of menstrual and other hygiene products, for the unhoused. We were officially chartered in May.
In the summer of 2019, we started collaborating with Peninsula DSAâs Socialist Feminist WG to expose fake clinics. âCrisis Pregnancy Centersâ (CPCs) exist to mislead people seeking reproductive care. These fake clinics do NOT provide comprehensive reproductive health care â or much of any health care at all. They are anti-abortion counseling centers with an agenda. We created a brochure to explain what CPCs are, how to identify them, and where to go for reproductive health care; held a âReview-a-thonâ to write cautionary online reviews for CPCs; and we flyered near two CPCs in Mountain View and San Jose to increase public awareness of these anti-choice clinics.
Potential projects for 2020 include letter writing to incarcerated women and queer folx, starting a Socialist Feminist reading group, and more period pack fundraisers and distribution.
Join us tomorrow, 1/11, for a reproductive rights strategy session [[link removed]].
The Socialist Feminist Working Group is looking for co-chairs to organize monthly working group meetings for 2020. The position is reserved for women and non-binary people. If youâre interested in volunteering, reach out to [email protected] [[email protected]]!
UPCOMING EVENTS
* Hatching chick đŁ means newbie-friendly!
* General meetings are marked with a đč rose.
* WG stands for Working Group.
* For more events, check out our calendar [[link removed]].
Time & PlaceEventFr, 1/10. 7-9pm.
Sunnyvale.đŁPizza with Comrades [[link removed]]Sat, 1/11. 11am-2pm.
Cupertino.Nationwide Reproductive Rights Panel and Strategy Session [[link removed]]Sat, 1/11. 3:30-5:30pm.
San Jose.Political Education WG [[link removed]]Sun, 1/12. 1:30-3:30pm.
Palo Alto.RV Ban Campaign Analysis [[link removed]]Sun, 1/12. 7-9pm.
San Jose.AfroSOC Caucus Meeting [[link removed]]T, 1/14. 7-9pm.
Call.Voter's Guide Final Review [[link removed]]W, 1/15. 7-8pm.
Call.Ecosocialist WG: PG&E Call [[link removed]]Th, 1/16. 7-9pm.
Palo Alto.Healthcare WG [[link removed]]Sun, 1/19. 4:30-6:30pm.
San Jose.Electoral WG [[link removed]]T, 1/21. 6:30-8pm.
Cupertino.Justice WG [[link removed]]W, 1/22. 7-9pm.
Cupertino.Labor WG [[link removed]]Th, 1/23. 7-9pm.
San Jose.Housing WG [[link removed]]Sat, 1/25. 3:15-4:45pm.
San Jose.đŁNew Member Orientation and Q&A [[link removed]]Sat, 1/25. 6-7:30pm.
San Jose.Public Speaking Workshop [[link removed]]T, 1/28. 7-9pm (doors 6:30).
Palo Alto.đčLower Peninsula Branch Meeting [[link removed]]Th, 1/30. 5:30-9pm.
Mountain View.đŁAfroSOC: Solidarity Open Mic Night [[link removed]]Th, 1/30. 7-9pm (doors 6:30).
San Jose.đčSan Jose Branch Meeting [[link removed]][[link removed]]
DSA is a membership organization. As a member, you can vote at our local meetings and run for leadership roles. We are funded by voluntary dues, but no donation is required to join.
Let's build socialism together!
Join DSA!
(or renew your membership)
Twitter [[link removed]] [[link removed]]Facebook [[link removed]] [[link removed]]Instagram [[link removed]] [[link removed]]Meetup [[link removed]] [[link removed]]sv-dsa.org [[link removed]]You are receiving this email because you signed up to hear from Silicon Valley DSA. You may have joined national DSA or signed up at a local meeting or outreach table. To make sure you can receive future newsletters, please add us ([email protected] [[email protected]]) to your address book.
This e-mail was sent to [email protected]. Click here to unsubscribe. [link removed]
Copyright © 2019 Silicon Valley DSA.
1346 The Alameda Ste 7-84. San Jose 95126-2699.
Welcome to our first Silicon Valley DSA newsletter of 2020! If you're a regular reader, we hope you like the new look! This is a special edition of the newsletter, featuring retrospectives on what our working groups were up to in 2019. We'll be back on our regular weekly schedule next week.
Below the retrospectives, you can find our upcoming events for January, starting with Pizza With Comrades [[link removed]] tonight at 7pm, and tomorrow's National Reproductive Rights Strategy Session [[link removed]] organized by our Socialist Feminist Working Group.
In Solidarity,
Your SV DSA Newsletter Team đč
Silicon Valley DSA is your local volunteer-run chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America [[link removed]].[[link removed]]Comrades say: No war on Iran!
LOOKING BACK AT 2019
ECOSOCIALIST
Itâs been a busy year for ecosocialists since we created our working group last January!
We supported the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band in their effort to protect Juristac, the Amah Mutsunâs most sacred site, from being turned into a gravel pit. Our chapter passed a resolution of support and we organized tabling and signature gathering events for Juristac. Members of Ecosoc helped form what is now South Bay Indigenous Solidarity. We worked with SBIS to organize outreach events, including one that evolved into a cover story [[link removed]].
We started a two-plot community garden. More than 20 comrades came to our work day, and the garden is still going strong!
We began organizing around public utilities, energy justice and mutual aid. As comrades learned from panelists at our chapter meeting in December, PG&E, the energy utility for northern California, is investor-owned and driven by private profits. Decades of neglect have caused wildfires and blackouts. Join our next PG&E organizing call [[link removed]] with other California chapters on 1/15!
We hosted three Green New Deal discussion groups; held ecosocialist outreach talks at conferences, concerts, and colleges; and established relationships with coalition groups.
In 2020, we will push to make PG&E a publicly-owned utility, fight for the Green New Deal locally and nationally, share plants and seedlings with comrades and advocate for seed libraries, run a community cleanup on public land in San Jose, and much more!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
ELECTORAL
In 2019 we endorsed five socialists running for public office:
* Jake Tonkel for San Jose City Council, District 6
* Alex Lee for State Assembly, District 25
* Sally Lieber for State Senate, District 13
* Shahid Buttar for Congress, District 12
* Bernie Sanders for President
We are now in the midst of campaigning for them in the lead up to the March primaries! To elect these candidates, members are encouraged to participate in walk days going door to door speaking with voters, tabling, and calling voters from key states. We keep these campaign events organized on a campaign calendar [[link removed]] for your convenience. We hope to see you out there campaigning with us to elect socialists!
Weâre also working on a voterâs guide to educate voters on local races which are notoriously difficult to find information about. Stay tuned for this before the vote-by-mail ballots begin going out on February 3rd!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
HEALTHCARE
Our major objective in 2019 was to sway Representative Anna Eshoo to co-sponsor HR 1384, the Medicare for All Act and to hold a hearing on the bill in the Health Subcommittee that she chairs.
We engaged with hundreds of Eshoo constituents and took the pressure to her doorstep. We...
* Pulled off 16 door-to-door canvasses, crowd canvasses, and lit drops
* Protested and asked questions at 5 town hall meetings
* Participated in 5 rallies at Eshooâs office
* Made ourselves heard at a high dollar fundraiser for Eshoo in Atherton
On December 10, Eshoo finally held a hearing on HR 1384 in her subcommittee. Weâre going to keep up the pressure until we win!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
HOUSING
In 2019, we pressured local city councils on housing, displacement, and tenant rights; researched local housing and homelessness policy and politics; and mobilized to stop the RV Ban passed by Mountain View City Council. The ban stands to displace the 200 households currently living in RVs in Mountain View. This attack on the working class is a shameless attempt to criminalize homelessness for political gain.
Thereâs good news! As part of a coalition effort, we gathered enough signatures to put the ban to a popular referendum [[link removed]]. Weâre proud that more than one third of the required signatures came from fifty volunteers from SV DSA and Stanford YDSA. On Tuesday, the ban goes back to City Council to either proceed with the referendum, or rescind the ban entirely. Join us there!
In 2020, we will fight to build tenant power, push for tenant rights on state and local ballots, and more!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
JUSTICE
In 2019, we in the Justice Working Group undertook multiple initiatives to confront the US policing, border, and incarceration apparatus. We held four brake light clinics, repairing folks' signal lights for free to build solidarity in the community and help people avoid contact with police. Police officers use broken brake lights as a pretext to pull people over. Police enforce the law along racist lines, disproportionately targeting people of color and Black people in particular.
We also participated in actions to confront Palantir and other tech companies for their complicity in the inhumane CBP/ICE border regime as part of the Close the Concentration Camps Coalition [[link removed]].
We look forward to your participation as we enter another year of struggle in 2020!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
LABOR
In 2019, the Labor Working Group hosted two workshops to help folks with organizing their workplaces. Our Spring workshop featured a presentation by two of our former Labor co-chairs, a discussion of what workplace issues are best to build a campaign around, and breakout sessions by industry.
Our November workshop was a joint effort with members of DSA SF. We did a deep dive into how to have successful one-on-one organizing conversations with our co-workers, followed by a Q&A panel of union reps and organizers, including an SEIU 521 staffer, a member of the Anchor Union organizing committee (congrats to them for successfully bargaining their first contract!), and a Transport Workers Union organizer.
We provided strike support throughout the year, in particular for healthcare workers at JANUS of Santa Cruz and for Kaiser Permanente workers represented by SEIU and, separately, by NUHW.
Some of what weâre working on in 2020:
* More labor organizing workshops!
* A South Bay labor history presentation or book talk!
* Planning an event leading up to May Day - also known as International Workersâ Day!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
POLITICAL EDUCATION
Political education should give you a holistic understanding of power and struggle, and prepare you to advocate for your ideals. Our goal as the Pol-Ed Working Group is to help members sharpen our knowledge, analysis, and practical organizing skills.
Our PolEd Working Group sprang from a facilitation workshop and an anarchist reading group, and was chartered in March. Since then, our reading group has covered The Conquest of Bread, Reform or Revolution, The New Jim Crow, and the Green New Deal, the latter in conjunction with Ecosocialist WG. At the Fall Chapter Meeting, we hosted a Robertâs Rules training and another renewed facilitation workshop. In December, we invited a member of Anakbayan Silicon Valley to give a talk on Filipino history.
Weâre excited about the future! We are undertaking an effort to analyze our completed campaigns, beginning with the Housing Working Groupâs campaign against the Mountain View RV Ban. We will keep up our reading groups and organizer trainings.
PolEdâs core project going forward is the Socialist Night School, covering a living, growing curriculum. We will discuss the history and strategy of the movements that brought us the victories we enjoy today, and learn to chart the steps for the struggle ahead. Join us!
Contact: [email protected] [[email protected]]
SOCIALIST FEMINIST
In early 2019, the SocFem Pre-Working Group got together to assemble about 100 period packs, which consisted of menstrual and other hygiene products, for the unhoused. We were officially chartered in May.
In the summer of 2019, we started collaborating with Peninsula DSAâs Socialist Feminist WG to expose fake clinics. âCrisis Pregnancy Centersâ (CPCs) exist to mislead people seeking reproductive care. These fake clinics do NOT provide comprehensive reproductive health care â or much of any health care at all. They are anti-abortion counseling centers with an agenda. We created a brochure to explain what CPCs are, how to identify them, and where to go for reproductive health care; held a âReview-a-thonâ to write cautionary online reviews for CPCs; and we flyered near two CPCs in Mountain View and San Jose to increase public awareness of these anti-choice clinics.
Potential projects for 2020 include letter writing to incarcerated women and queer folx, starting a Socialist Feminist reading group, and more period pack fundraisers and distribution.
Join us tomorrow, 1/11, for a reproductive rights strategy session [[link removed]].
The Socialist Feminist Working Group is looking for co-chairs to organize monthly working group meetings for 2020. The position is reserved for women and non-binary people. If youâre interested in volunteering, reach out to [email protected] [[email protected]]!
UPCOMING EVENTS
* Hatching chick đŁ means newbie-friendly!
* General meetings are marked with a đč rose.
* WG stands for Working Group.
* For more events, check out our calendar [[link removed]].
Time & PlaceEventFr, 1/10. 7-9pm.
Sunnyvale.đŁPizza with Comrades [[link removed]]Sat, 1/11. 11am-2pm.
Cupertino.Nationwide Reproductive Rights Panel and Strategy Session [[link removed]]Sat, 1/11. 3:30-5:30pm.
San Jose.Political Education WG [[link removed]]Sun, 1/12. 1:30-3:30pm.
Palo Alto.RV Ban Campaign Analysis [[link removed]]Sun, 1/12. 7-9pm.
San Jose.AfroSOC Caucus Meeting [[link removed]]T, 1/14. 7-9pm.
Call.Voter's Guide Final Review [[link removed]]W, 1/15. 7-8pm.
Call.Ecosocialist WG: PG&E Call [[link removed]]Th, 1/16. 7-9pm.
Palo Alto.Healthcare WG [[link removed]]Sun, 1/19. 4:30-6:30pm.
San Jose.Electoral WG [[link removed]]T, 1/21. 6:30-8pm.
Cupertino.Justice WG [[link removed]]W, 1/22. 7-9pm.
Cupertino.Labor WG [[link removed]]Th, 1/23. 7-9pm.
San Jose.Housing WG [[link removed]]Sat, 1/25. 3:15-4:45pm.
San Jose.đŁNew Member Orientation and Q&A [[link removed]]Sat, 1/25. 6-7:30pm.
San Jose.Public Speaking Workshop [[link removed]]T, 1/28. 7-9pm (doors 6:30).
Palo Alto.đčLower Peninsula Branch Meeting [[link removed]]Th, 1/30. 5:30-9pm.
Mountain View.đŁAfroSOC: Solidarity Open Mic Night [[link removed]]Th, 1/30. 7-9pm (doors 6:30).
San Jose.đčSan Jose Branch Meeting [[link removed]][[link removed]]
DSA is a membership organization. As a member, you can vote at our local meetings and run for leadership roles. We are funded by voluntary dues, but no donation is required to join.
Let's build socialism together!
Join DSA!
(or renew your membership)
Twitter [[link removed]] [[link removed]]Facebook [[link removed]] [[link removed]]Instagram [[link removed]] [[link removed]]Meetup [[link removed]] [[link removed]]sv-dsa.org [[link removed]]You are receiving this email because you signed up to hear from Silicon Valley DSA. You may have joined national DSA or signed up at a local meeting or outreach table. To make sure you can receive future newsletters, please add us ([email protected] [[email protected]]) to your address book.
This e-mail was sent to [email protected]. Click here to unsubscribe. [link removed]
Copyright © 2019 Silicon Valley DSA.
1346 The Alameda Ste 7-84. San Jose 95126-2699.
Message Analysis
- Sender: Silicon Valley DSA
- Political Party: Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)
- Country: United States
- State/Locality: California Silicon Valley, California
- Office: n/a