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Seattle Democratic Socialists of America Endorses Raise the Wage Renton!
At the Seattle DSA January Chapter Meeting, SDSA members voted 104 to 4 to endorse the Raise the Wage Renton (RTWR) initiative. RTWR is a 2023 ballot initiative that will raise the minimum wage for Renton workers above the state minimum (currently $15.74/hr) to about $19.00/hr starting July 1, 2024.
SDSA members responded strongly to the measure because they understand that in Renton, as elsewhere in the Seattle/King County area, transportation, food, and rent have grown more expensive, and low-wage workers are being left behind. Meanwhile many corporations are making record profits. They can easily afford to increase wages for their lowest-paid employees.
Members also supported this initiative because it will build DSA’s presence in South King County. After the successful passage of a similar measure in Tukwila, members are excited to support an initiative that not only will benefit workers and families but can also carry the socialist message to Renton workers and residents in the context of real-world concerns. SDSA’s support will create a lot of goodwill among working class residents of one of King County’s larger cities. It will also be a great recruiting tool for DSA within Renton.
The initiative is led by a PAC composed of Renton residents and workers, all of whom are DSA members. The initiative, which launched its signature drive just last weekend, is already endorsed by the Transit Riders Union, State Senator Bob Hasegawa, and Renton City Councilmember Carmen Rivera. SDSA’s new Campaign Organizer, Guillermo Zazueta, is helping to coordinate the campaign.
We need signatures of 15% of registered voters in the most recent election, or about 8,800 valid signatures. To allow for invalid signatures, we’re aiming for 15,000 total. Now that we’ve given the measure our strong approval, we need to plunge into the signature-gathering phase, because signatures need to be submitted by mid-June. RTWR is putting teams together right now, and we ask members and supporters to sign up here to volunteer.
Big business will likely spend whatever it takes to defeat us, to ensure their ceaseless flow of profits off the backs of low wage workers. Grassroots movements take grassroots funding. Seattle DSA is putting its money where its mouth is by matching donations up to $4000. |
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Seattle DSA Endorses Matthew Mitnick for Seattle City Council District 4!
SDSA members voted overwhelmingly to endorse the Matthew Mitnick for Seattle City Council District 4 campaign at the General Membership Meeting on January 24, 2023. Team Mitnick is building a movement of youth, renters, and workers – and is the only openly socialist campaign running for a council seat in the city.
“I am not participating in the self-serving backroom dealing, gala fundraising, and hand shaking that has defined politics in this city for far too long. The constituents of this district deserve a representative who is responsive to their needs and accountable to them – not a class of consultants and insiders,” said SDSA member Matthew Mitnick.
Working for the People
Mitnick is a union steward in UAW Local 4121, a Master of Public Administration student at the University of Washington, and he serves as a Seattle Human Rights Commissioner. He previously worked as the House Our Neighbors field organizer for I-135 and his campaign will continue the push for rapidly expanding publicly owned, permanently affordable social housing in Seattle to address the deep housing crisis facing our city.
Mitnick pledges to only accept an average worker’s salary if elected, believing that public dollars are better spent on the working people of District 4. SDSA calls on all other announced candidates to make this pledge as well.
SDSA members are excited by Mitnick’s uncompromising positions for Rent Control, a Green New Deal, Stopping Encampment Sweeps, Community-Led Crisis Response Team, and Fighting Union Busting. His campaign supports raising taxes on Seattle’s wealthiest corporations and individuals, not working people, to expand funding for education, housing, childcare, healthcare, and other vital programs that benefit the vast majority of Seattlites.
Uphill Battle
Seattle DSA members are clear that socialist candidates face an uphill battle to win elections in a capitalist society. Seattle’s business elite and political establishment have demonstrated again and again their determination to keep socialists out of office. Mitnick’s campaign is running to win, but it is also determined to use the campaign itself to lift up community demands, strengthen grassroots struggles, and popularize socialist ideas.
“I am a very long time District 4 homeowner and raised a daughter here,” said one SDSA member. “The business-as-usual regime in City Hall and its ‘One Seattle’ nonsense are completely disconnected from our current reality – that of climate change, extreme inequality and homelessness – all of which will worsen if we do not act differently. Matthew, like many of his generation, is very clear-eyed about this and will take District 4 to a higher level of inclusion and safety, in contrast to other politicians who pursue delusions of a by-gone era, and worse.”
Team Mitnick is not all talk – they live the policies they are fighting for. The campaign commits to providing mutual aid and actual support to the district. The field program will organize renters in apartment buildings not just for the campaign, but to set up the infrastructure so they can collectively fight for their rights and against corporate landlords beyond this election cycle.
“When elected, two members of my staff will work specifically as case workers,” said Mitnick. “Their jobs will be dedicated to responding to the everyday issues in this district. Whether it is fixing the pothole on your street or addressing the very real safety issues that result from an unresponsive, corrupt, and violent police department, we will return your calls and actually take action on them. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, we will be there for you as neighbors.”
You Can Help!
We ask supporters to help Team Mitnick qualify for the City of Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program for public financing by giving a qualifying contribution and by signing in support. |
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