Comrades, 

The need for struggle is both clear and daunting – it is difficult to imagine a better future when that future seems more distant by the day. All the more important, then, is that we rise in rage and hope, making clear to those in power that the people will never idly accept the daily atrocities of capitalism. 

But, to realize a better world, we need to struggle together – and that means realizing a better DSA SF. At convention, our chapter adopted the A Better DSA SF is Possible resolution as one of its priority campaigns for the year. Building on the Black Liberation and Indigenous Sovereignty priority from last year, A Better DSA SF is Possible seeks to improve the chapter’s grievance processes while building a chapter culture that embraces political differences as a means to building consensus and a better-shared understanding of our movement. 

Socialism can only exist when we have communities built on trust and compassion. If you want to help make DSA SF that kind of community, please consider contributing to the priority. Fill out the form here, and be sure to attend the July chapter meeting on Wednesday, July 13, where we will be electing priority leads. You can read the full priority resolution here to learn more about what A Better DSA SF seeks to accomplish over the next year. And, if you want to nominate yourself or someone else as a priority lead or have further questions, you can email the Steering Committee at steering@dsasf.org. 

Solidarity,

DSA SF Comms Committee

Events

🌹 Thursday, 6/30 (10:00 a.m): Empty Homes Tax Signature Turn-in (City Hall steps in front of Civic Center Plaza)

🌹 Monday, 7/4 (12:00 p.m): CCSF funding ballot measure signature gathering and SF Mime Troupe performance (Dolores Park)

🌹 Wednesday, 7/13 (6:45 p.m-9:00 p.m.): July chapter meeting (in person at 518 Valencia and Zoom)

🌹 Saturday, 7/16 (12:00 p.m): Empty Homes Tax Field Kickoff (Alamo Square on the corner of Scott and Hayes)

🌹 Monday, 7/25 (6:00 p.m.-7:15 p.m.): Ecosocialist Book Club: Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò’s Reconsidering Reparations – Session One (Zoom)

For more events, click here.

Announcements

Join us for the Empty Homes Tax Signature Turn-in this Thursday!

We did it! Join the Empty Homes Tax Campaign this Thursday, June 30 at 10:00 a.m. on the steps of City Hall in front of the Civic Center Plaza as we officially turn in our petitions to the Department of Elections for counting and validation. There will be a press event so we need as many people as possible to come out and show that there is strong support for a Vacancy Tax in San Francisco and that homes are for living, not for speculation!

But, the fight is far from over. With the successful signature gathering drive over, now begins the campaign to spread the word to the rest of the city. Join the Empty Homes Tax Campaign on Saturday, July 16 at 12:00 p.m. in Alamo Square on the corner of Scott and Hayes to kick off our field campaign. This is going to be a huge event with speakers and press, so be sure to turn out and help us show that the people of SF want to pass a vacancy tax!

Our next chapter meeting is on Wednesday, July 13!

Look for more details about the July chapter meeting soon, but the Steering Committee would like members to be aware of three bylaws amendments coming up for consideration:

1. VOTE: Bylaws Cleanup Amendment presented by Sean T. at the June convention (more details on the DSA SF forum)
2. PRESENT: Standardize Eligibility Criteria Amendment also written by Sean T. (more details on the DSA SF forum)
3. PRESENT: YDSA Amendment written by Artem I (more details on the DSA SF forum)

Members who do not have access to the forum can email support@dsasf.org.

Support CCSF and watch SF Mime Troupe’s new show at Dolores Park on July 4!

Come join the mobilization to gather signatures for the DSA SF-endorsed CCSF funding ballot measure in Dolores Park at noon on Monday, July 4. DSA SF and AFT 2121 are hosting a joint mobilization in support of the SFWERCS ballot measure to close the funding gap at City College.

We’re in the final stretch for signature collection! Pitch in to help get over the finish line. Afterwards, SF Mime Troupe will be performing their new musical “Back To The Way Things Were”. Hope to see you there!

Reading Groups

Ecosocialist Book Club: Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò’s Reconsidering Reparations

Join the DSA SF Ecosocialist Committee’s book club for a three-part discussion this summer. We’re reading and discussing Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò’s Reconsidering Reparations, and will be meeting on July 25, August 8, and August 22 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on Zoom. Open to all! Register here.

Comrades, 

After months of hard work (and some barbecues!), we’ve finally hit our signature goal to get the Empty Homes Tax on the ballot! Big thanks to everyone who helped get us here and push this campaign forward, from our Signature Captains on down. We’re that much closer to making capital pay for keeping thousands of housing units away from our neighbors who need it most. 

As we move into the next phase of the campaign, it’s good to reflect on what a truly socialist response to the housing calamity we’re experiencing in the Bay Area and beyond looks like. Join DSA SF’s Empty Homes Tax signature captains this Sunday, June 26, at 2:00 p.m. PST for the third installment of the Socialist Answer to the Housing Crisis series. We will be focusing on a series of articles on housing justice and related issues.   

What has been the impact of privatizing affordable housing resources? What can we learn from the organizing efforts of Metro DC DSA’s Stomp Out Slumlords? Or the expropriation initiative in Berlin? And, most importantly, how can we apply those lessons to our present crisis here in the Bay Area? They will be important questions to answer as we continue to fight for not just the Empty Homes Tax, but a truly socialist future. You can access the reading list here, and register for this Sunday’s event using the link below!

 Solidarity,

DSA SF Comms Committee

Announcements

Help out a comrade in need!

As comrades, it’s important to support each other as we fight for a better world. DSA SF comrade Christopher M. needs your help to avoid eviction after receiving a 3-day eviction notice, cover food, medication co-pays, upcoming medical/dental bills, their storage space, studio space, and regular expenses. Christopher is the newly elected co-chair of the Homelessness Working Group, and has been instrumental in Hotels Not Hospitals, a DSA-endorsed project, which has housed people for nearly two years now. Please donate here if you can.

Comrades,

Last weekend we held our annual chapter convention both in person and over zoom. At the meeting we took stock of how far we’ve come over the last year. The hardships that come with organizing during a pandemic within a settler empire were reflected honestly in the reports from chapter leaders. But, we also heard amazing stories of resilience and people power, like the historic Empty Homes Tax ballot measure campaign and the fact that DSA-endorsed mutual aid has housed people for nearly two years now through Hotels Not Hospitals.

More striking than anything else, though, was the feeling that everyone participating could see a better world and was ready to dedicate themselves to building that world, together.

To that end, we voted in our priorities for the coming year:
Completing the Ballot Measure Campaign
Free Muni Full Service
A Better DSA SF is Possible

We also voted in new Grievance Officers, Steering Committee, and Education Board. And, in the July meeting we will elect our Priority Campaign leadership and leadership for the Communications, International Solidarity, and Chapter Coordination committees.

Democracy is more than just voting, and we thank everyone who participated in the convention for being true comrades.

Solidarity,DSA SF Comms Committee

Events

🌹 Sunday, 6/26 (2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.): Educational Event: A Socialist Answer to the Housing Crisis (Zoom)

For more events, click here.

Educational Events

Join DSA SF’s Empty Homes Tax signature captains on Sunday, June 26 at 2:00 p.m. PST for the third installment on the socialist answer to the housing crisis! This time we will be focusing on a series of articles on housing justice and related issues.  

What has been the impact of privatizing affordable housing resources? What can we learn from the organizing efforts of Metro DC DSA’s Stomp Out Slumlords? Or the expropriation initiative in Berlin? 

You can access the reading list here!

Comrades, 

This is a democratic organization. That means we make the rules. More than nearly every other institution in our lives, we have the power to change our chapter. This responsibility means every single DSA member should feel pride in our achievements this last year and should feel a drive to improve our chapter this next year. The time to reflect and set intentions for next year is the convention this weekend 6/11-6/12, 12PM-4PM each day. We will be choosing our three priority campaigns for the next year, out of four possible choices. Those choices are:

• Ballot Measure Continuing Priority
• Building Worker Solidarity and Developing Labor Organizers
• A Better DSA Is Possible
• Free Muni Full Service

We will also be ratifying our committees and working groups for ’22-’23 and will be electing a new slate of leaders. You can find the candidates’ statements of purpose here.

Our ask is that you attend at least part of the convention this weekend. Now that our convention is hybrid online and in-person, it is more accessible than ever to participating in shaping your chapter to win democratic socialism. 

Solidarity, DSA SF Comms Committee

Events

🌹 Wednesday, 6/8 (7:00 p.m.): Venezuelan Feminists Tour (in person at 518 Valencia)

🌹 Thursday, 6/9 (7:30 p.m.): Learn more about the Starbucks union drive (Zoom)

🌹 Saturday, 6/11 (12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.): DSA SF Chapter Convention – Day 1 (Zoom and in person at 518 Valencia)

🌹 Sunday, 6/12 (12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.): DSA SF Chapter Convention – Day 2 (Zoom and in person at 518 Valencia)

🌹 Sunday, 6/26 (2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.): Educational Event: A Socialist Answer to the Housing Crisis (Zoom)

For more events, click here.

Announcements

Venezuelan feminists living under U.S. sanctions speak out tomorrow at 518 Valencia!

Sanctions as a weapon of war are always most keenly felt by those who are most vulnerable – not billionaires with yachts. This Wednesday, June 8 at 7:00 p.m. at 518 Valencia, we’ll have a very special opportunity to hear from three Venezuelan feminists about their experiences living under US sanctions – how those sanctions impact women and children, and how we as socialists can build our solidarity with Venezuelans. This event will be moderated by Carolina Morales. 

Interpretation services will be provided during the event. This is a unique opportunity for people in the U.S. to hear directly and in person from Venezuelans who are impacted by the sanctions – it’s a meaningful experience you won’t want to miss! Be sure to register here ahead of time. Please note: masks will be required for this event.

About our guests:Mónica is a professor and arts administrator who writes a weekly column. Anggie is a Wayuu activist and educator on Indigenous, sexual, and reproductive rights. Yolimar is an industrial engineer and is part of the internationalist brigade of Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Venezuela.

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Come hear DSA and YDSA members from SF and Santa Cruz talk about their union drives, and find out how you can get involved in Starbucks organizing and labor solidarity efforts! This is a critical time for us to continue to build lasting, durable labor power here in the Bay Area and throughout the nation – don’t miss it! This is a Zoom meeting, and will take place on Thursday, June 9 at 7:30 p.m. PST.

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DSA San Francisco Ecosocialists Affirm and Support Indigenous Sovereignty, Decolonization, and Palestinian Liberation

In light of recent turmoil within national bodies of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) concerning Palestinian Liberation and the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement; in light of the release of the recent Climate Change 2022 IPCC report; and in light of the recent IDF murder of Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, the DSA San Francisco Ecosocialists feel compelled to make our position clear on BDS and the liberation of Palestine: The fight for climate justice and the fight against imperialism are not at odds, but are inextricably linked.

As Ecosocialists, we understand Indigenous sovereignty and Palestinian liberation are two sides of the same anti-colonial coin. They are the twin fights: Indigenous sovereignty demands landback and Palestinian liberation demands the right of return. This is why “Decolonization, demilitarization, and international solidarity” is one of the DSA’s Green New Deal principles, held in equal standing with decarbonization; public power; and fighting environmental racism, racial capitalism, fossil capitalism and every other profit-driven illness on Earth. Earth suffers from overheating and ongoing erasure like those of us who are colonized do. We will not be erased. We are still here.

Read the full statement here

Educational Events

Join DSA SF’s Empty Homes Tax signature captains on Sunday, June 26 at 2:00 p.m. PST for the third installment on the socialist answer to the housing crisis! This time we will be focusing on a series of articles on housing justice and related issues.  

What has been the impact of privatizing affordable housing resources? What can we learn from the organizing efforts of Metro DC DSA’s Stomp Out Slumlords? Or the expropriation initiative in Berlin? 

You can access the reading list here!