Tech Action
In reaction to the news that Amazon will build a new headquarters in Long Island City (aided by giveaways from the State and City estimated to be up to $3 billion), the Tech Action Working Group will be holding a meeting Tuesday, December 4th. The meeting will feature guest speakers addressing Amazon’s ongoing collaboration with ICE and the military, their union-busting and other terrible labor practices, the expected impact their presence will have on New York’s already dangerous housing crisis, and their hostility to any kind of public authority. More importantly, it will detail what DSA and the broader community are doing to mobilize against the deal—including specific canvassing, petitioning, flyering, phone-banking, rallying, and opposition research efforts—and plug DSA members into those actions. RSVP here.
The working group has also created an online pledge for tech workers who will refuse to work for Amazon if they build in Long Island City. If you work in tech, please consider signing on as a powerful act of solidarity with the working communities of New York: https://www.coworker.org/petitions/no-work-for-amazon-new-york-1
Immigrant Justice
The Immigrant Justice Working Group is continuing to work on its ICE-Out-of-the-Courts campaign. The group also co-sponsored the “No Hate: Refugee Caravan Solidarity” rally at Union Square on November 3. Approximately 100 people attended, including speakers from a number of immigrant rights organizations.
At the last meeting, the working group held an education session which detailed the history of migrant caravans, the current political situation in Honduras, and the impact of US intervention over the past several decades in Central America. This was supplemented by an extensive discussion on various Refugee Caravan Solidarity efforts, and how DSA members can best support these actions.
Sing in Solidarity DSA will perform at a Voices for Immigrant Justice Fundraiser on December 7, at 8pm, at Starr Bar. The money raised will go to caravan member support. RSVP here.
The next working group meeting will Monday, December 10, 6:30-8:30pm at the CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave, Room 5409. The working group will also be participating in a joint reading group with the Anti-War & Ecosocialist Working Groups on Dec 11, discussing the book Storming the Wall.
Electoral
On Tuesday November 27th, the Brooklyn Electoral Working Group hosted a Public Advocate Candidate forum, which gave DSA members the opportunity to ask questions to candidates in the Public Advocate race. The results of that forum were:
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Endorsement Vote
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Do Endorse: 23
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Don’t Endorse: 45
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Candidate Votes
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Ify Ike 24
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Nomiki Konst 14
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Jumaane Williams 11
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Theo Chino 2
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Rafael Espinal 1
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David Eisenbach 1
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Ben Yee (write-in) 1
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Abstain 15
The group will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, December 6 (RSVP), and will celebrate its wonderful accomplishments at a holiday party the following day, December 7 (RSVP).
Ecosocialist
On November 28th at Noon, the Ecosocialist Working Group joined the New Economy Project in front of City Hall to demand that the city divest from banks that fuel climate change and invest in a public bank.
The group continues to support a variety of legislation. As part of the NY Renews coalition, it is working to reintroduce the CCPA/CCIA bill, which calls for a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a polluter fee that would generate revenue to invest in sustainable energy projects and the local economy. It is also supporting the Fairness for Farm Workers Act, which would guarantees a basic minimum wage and overtime protections for farm workers.
Other local projects include funding a Food Co-Op in Crown Heights and pursuing city mapping and skill inventory for disaster relief/mutual aid programs.
Discussions on 2019 priorities have begun. They may include campaigns related to national grid municipalization, regulation, energy infrastructure, food justice, plastic waste, and transit.
Religious Socialists
In light of the recent attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue, the Religious Socialists have been discussing grief, especially the role of grief in the Jewish religious tradition. This exploration has bled into our reactions to the most current IPCC report and the prospect of ecological devastation. Group members have found these conversations to be healing and informative. The Religious Socialists support the migrant exodus in Central America, the New Sanctuary Coalition’s Sanctuary Caravan, and the immigrant-led efforts to see these migrants safely across the border.
