Bronx/Upper Manhattan Branch
Since the end of March, the Bronx/Upper Manhattan Branch has successfully converted a lot of activity to the digital space, including branch meetings, reading groups, happy hours and new member orientations.
In the wake of the COVID crisis, branch members started an autonomous mutual aid group, committed to fostering long-term and reciprocal support systems, community building, and creating collective power from below.
The Branch’s Political Education Working Group organized reading groups on Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis and Peter Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid (see the Political Education roundup if you’re interested in joining the discussion!).
After the suspension of the Bernie campaign, the Branch’s Electoral Working Group nimbly pivoted to coordinate efforts on behalf of Samelys López in CD-15, as well as chapter efforts to elect a socialist slate to city council in 2021. To date, they have been able to organize multiple phonebanks a week for Samelys.
The Branch’s Ecosocialist Working Group has focused their energy into organizing tactics under lockdown, mutual aid and supporting the Samelys López campaign.
Currently, the Branch is doing their best to mobilize members to support our comrades in the streets, and the chapter-wide #DefundNYPD actions.
Fuck the police.
Black Lives Matter.
Solidarity Forever.
Uptown all day.
Lower Manhattan Branch
The Lower Manhattan Branch has recently seen a huge surge in our membership and are excited to organize with new comrades!
The Branch has been working hard to keep up with the urgent needs of the branch territory. Membership has been delivering hundreds of meals every week to homebound seniors in NYCHA and distributing PPE to home attendants, who are organizing against terrible working conditions.
The Branch has been turning out members to Black Lives Matter marches, and spreading DSA’s demands by calling Council members.
Additionally, they have been holding weekly phonebanks for Samelys Lopez across working groups, and can’t wait to have her in Congress.
They recently met with DSA’s Debt and Finance Working Group, who walked through the shortcomings of the state budget, and how to look at an impending recession from a socialist view.
NYC-DSA Labor
The Labor Branch briefly suspended its meetings to meet the needs of the current moment, and encouraged members to hit the street with their coworkers to demand systemic justice for black people, echoing global calls for solidarity with protesters around the country.
In June, radical teacher activists, including members of the MORE caucus, co-sponsored an event to push to get cops out of schools. NYSNA nurses held an event this afternoon outside of Woodhull hospital to demand racial justice. Additionally, over 600 city employees and former staffers gathered Monday in front of City Hall to condemn De Blasio’s tone-deaf and grossly inadequate response to ongoing protests, and call on De Blasio to #DefundtheNYPD and take concrete action against police brutality. The rally continued onto the Brooklyn Bridge.
Recently, ATU workers at Access-A-Ride just settled with their employer after a short strike!
The NYC-DSA Labor Branch will be moving their weekly COVID organizing calls to once every two weeks, and will continue to do reportbacks on workplace victories while offering trainings to overcome challenges. All are welcome to participate! RSVP here.
The Labor Branch OC will be working with members of AfroSoc to propagate information around, and do turnout for, an action in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
