On Tuesday, October 22, members of DSASF’s EcoSocialist committee gathered at the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) offices in San Francisco. Members, who were there with the Utility Justice Campaign, rallied not only to criticize PG&E’s shutoffs, but also to demand accountability from PG&E for its actions in causing last year’s deadly wildfires. At the rally, members voiced opposition for the proposed California law, AB 1054, which would authorize a $21 billion fund to shield PG&E and other major California utilities from wildfire costs. The wildfire fund would be bankrolled by a mandatory surcharge on PG&E customers’ bills. TheEcoSocialist committee and other Utility Justice Campaign members oppose the charge as a bailout plan for PG&E.

During the rally, the group also called for a democratization of energy in California, via a community takeover and control of energy resources. According to the Utility Justice Campaign, the electricity shutoffs are not an inevitable consequence of climate change. Rather, they are a consequence of a utility like PG&E being a private company that places returns on shareholder value above the needs of its public ratepayers. The utility giant has been accused of continually deprioritizing maintenance of the vegetation around its power lines, as well as failing to invest in infrastructure, in order to maximize profits.

Members of the EcoSocialist committee also attended an October 24 CPUC meeting in Redding, California. After nearly two hours of public comments, the CPUC voted to approve the rate increase and AB 1054. Unfortunately, this means there is much work to be done to stop the bailout of PG&E. For those interested in joining the EcoSocialist committee in demanding community control over our natural resources and accountability from PG&E, you can reach the EcoSocialist committee at ecosocialist@dsasf.org. You can also learn more about DSASF and our many other active committees here.

Members of the San Francisco chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA-SF) will be doing a survival kit distribution to unhoused neighbors this Sunday, October 6 from 3pm to 6pm, beginning at our headquarters at 350 Alabama St #9, and continuing to our houseless neighbors across the city. The action was organized as a joint effort by the Homelessness Working Group as well as the Socialist Feminist Working Group within the organization, and each kit contains socks, food bars, water, and various hygienic items, including Maxi-pads for those who may need them.

According to Tiffany Chan, vice-chair of the DSA-SF Homelessness Working Group, “The solution to San Francisco’s homelessness crisis is housing, not criminalization. We demand an end to City Hall’s violence perpetrated towards our unhoused neighbors in the form of police brutality, sweeps, lack of adequate shelter, and hostile architecture. Our purpose with distributing survival supplies is to show solidarity with marginalized members of our community while fighting alongside them for housing as a human right.”

“In London Breed’s San Francisco, menstruation supplies are stolen from houseless people in sweeps; any feminist should be disgusted by this behavior. Socialist feminism stands for dignity for all, whether housed or unhoused.” according to Cara Hurtle, co-chair of DSA-SF’s Socialist Feminist Working Group.

As socialists, we stand in solidarity with and work with formerly and currently homeless folks to effect structural changes, incremental and deep, to address the homelessness crisis in a way that provides housing without strings attached and ends the criminalization of our unhoused neighbors, while providing mutual aid for immediate needs. The city chooses to respond to our housing crisis by forcing unhoused people to the margins and destroying their belongings, including IDs, medicine, as well as cherished photos and heirlooms. Our actions show that while the city takes, the community gives.