Embedded Files
Intro to Operations
Intro to Operations
Welcome to Long Island DSA!
In this email we'll elaborate on our Working Groups (WG) and what happens during the day-to-day or more accurately 'meeting-to-meeting' organizing.
We'll also briefly cover how our WG's get support and our Committees (Cm), led by Nassau DSA's steering members. Cm's perform administrative tasks for the community as well as directly assisting Working Group Chairs with organizing and planning.
At the end of this email, we hope you have a better understanding of Nassau DSA and how we organize.
For more informations on Campaigns and projects, check out our WG pages on our website using this button:
For more informations on Campaigns and projects, check out our WG pages on our website using this button:
What are Working Groups?
What are Working Groups?
Who?
Who?
Currently Active WG's
Currently Active WG's
Mutual Aid
Healthcare
Housing Justice
Ant-War
Socialism is not new to the United States. The U.S. has had a brand of socialism that has history and legacies over a hundred years old. As long as there is the imbalance of capitalism, socialists have lived and breathed and fought for the people and our communities.
The labor movement has always been grounded in Socialist and socialist principles. Over a hundred years ago an explosion of labor and socialists was precipitated by capitalism’s inevitable conclusions of suffering. Their successes included the 5-day workweek, 8 hour workdays, as well as a slew of other benefits and integral aspects of our country's infrastructure including Social Security and literally bridges and hydroelectric dams.
We are again in dire times and again seeing the rise of fascism, hunger, illness, and, of course, deliberately manufactured conditions of severe socio-economic despair. We, the masses of society, are desperate. Desperate for change, and action, and an inkling of the rights of happiness and unsuppressed livelihoods; those freedoms they promised us. Solidarity and Labor unions are the way forward.
“If we are going to save the middle class in this country, we are going to have to grow the union movement… we’re trying to combine trade unionists with the progressive movement to create an economic and political force of real power.” - Bernie Sanders
To be clear: when we talk about the working class, we are compelled to do so as a matter of framing; Labor creates all the value that is produced while owners steal the vast majority of excess profit. But our communities include those who can not work. Loved ones and Friends, the young-ins and aging, and those who are facing health obstacles. We fight for them too.
Why Working Groups?
Why Working Groups?
Why not? We are at the intersection of several tangled and increasingly devastating crises. Some may appear to be natural, biological, or cultural disasters and failings. But in every single case, Capitalism is wildly exacerbating, if not the underlying cause, of the conditions we find ourselves.
Working Groups allow us to organize our time, resources, and prioritize our community's interests and support needs.
Where are Working Groups?
Where are Working Groups?
Our Working Group's have been meeting almost exclusively over Zoom since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
This has allowed quite a few new comrades have been able to join without the obstacle of transport for in-person events not to mention it allows our vulnerable comrades and those with loved-ones who are immunocompromised the opportunity to organize with peace of mind.
In-person meetings are sorely missed. Additionally, in-person events typically see more committed groups of comrades develop trust and get farther with their organizing. Therefore, we are determined to hold more in-person community events, chapter wide General Meetings, and actions over the next couple months and especially when environmental factors make doing so less risky, such as but not including the the favorable weather, accommodating venues, and of course, the cyclical waves of Flu, COVID, and such.
For the foreseeable future you can expect most meetings to be at least hybrid unless otherwise noted by the chair or meeting facilitator.
In between regular WG meetings, our comrades use two messaging platforms to continue discussions on strategy as well as to communicate day-to-day updates and time-sensitive organizing:
Slack: A tool used to broadly connect all of our various teams and projects! Slack is divided in Public Channels with each based on a specific Working Group, Committee, or topic.
Signal: Signal is an encrypted messaging platform. Each Signal group consists of a single thread of conversation and is reserved for more collaborative planning, urgent considerations, day-of logistics for events, and sensitive discussions.
In order to be added to Slack and Signal, please submit our Community Agreements form.
When?
When?
WG's generally meet twice a month with Labor currently meeting monthly.
A schedule of the month's meetings and events is included in the monthly newsletter, Red Petals*. An updated schedule is also included in a Weekly Update email typically sent out on Monday afternoons. Regular meetings generally take place Monday thru Thursdays with in-person Community events, Actions & Canvassing, and General Meetings on Saturdays.
See below for a general idea of our regular schedule of events:
See below for a general idea of our regular schedule of events:
Inactive WG's
Inactive WG's
Our chapter is still in its nascent stages of building and growth. As a result, we've only a few active Working Groups. The following WG's have previously been active but due to leadership turnover and folks moving, they are defunct and no longer regularly meeting. :(
Community Safety
Electoralism is not the core of what we do. We are not a political party; DSA is an org of community organizers and political educators. However the vast majority of comrades find themselves in DSA because they are interested in seeing and making impactful, short-term changes in their communities. And so it is our responsibility to assist local organizers in executing their priorities. It is not easy enacting progressive policies let alone thoroughly socialist ones. We are inherently the under-dog but when we organize we have numbers. We cannot compete with capital's reach in mainstream media, or SuperPACs, or bribes from foreign capitalists & imperialists. Even still, you’d be amazed at how much hope is derived from canvassing, activating neighbors, signs of solidarity, etc.
Ecosoc works on local, state, and federal campaigns including but not limited to: Public Power, Reimagine LIPA, Build Public Renewables Act, and Green New Deal. As well as advocating for labor and vulnerable community protections. We believe that capitalism perpetuates the climate and ecological crises, and only through an eco socialist vision can we achieve a sustainable community and planet.
C&C is committed to strengthening community and building interpersonal bonds between organizers and our broader local communities. Capitalism enforces and benefits from individualism and isolation so that neighbors choose to rely on ‘free’ markets instead of each other and systems of mutual aid for support.
To strengthen our relationships and comradery we contribute by providing events support, planning socials, aggregating and sharing general and local community events in the newsletter as well as writing the monthly B&R (Culture) section.
We are led by our committees of volunteers donating their time and talent to help make our communities a little less capitalist one campaign/project at a time. Please consider nominating yourself for LI DSA Leadership (Working Group Chairs & Steerings Co-chairs). Elections for open roles are held at our chapter convention every six months. Project and Sub-Committee Leads are appoint by Chairs and them confirmed by the relevant WG/Cm.
Change happens. We are eager to restart all of the above groups.
As long as there is Capitalism, there will be socialists and those fighting for progress if not a fundamental reimagining of an unsustainable socio-economic system. Let us know if you are interested in any other type of Working Group Committee, or Collective (Slack Group; does not meet) using this form. You must be a Member in Good Standing to motion to open &/or chair a working group.
The Working Group's formation & Chair must be confirmed by the general body at the next General Meeting which must be confirmed before the group or projects can be promoted externally using LI DSA resources and before the group can submit resolutions to the Steering Committee.
DSA is a member-funded, member-run, and democratic organization that fights for a political agenda that puts working people at the center. We believe that if we are to take on the enormous power of our political elite and their billionaire donors we need an organization that truly represents the needs, aspirations and desires of the poor and working-class majority.
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States. DSA’s members are building progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly democratic socialist presence in American communities and politics.
Committees
Committees
NOTE: Still updating the rest of this communication! Pleasee let us know if you are interested in helping out with Communications or Membership Committee support!
In general we recommend new comrades get situated and engaged in our Working Groups before volunteering to assist support others as part of our Committees or leadership group. --Leadership being WG's Chairs & Steering Cm. The 3 steering members are themselves the Chairs of the coordinating Cm, membership Cm, and the Treasurer's Cm .
Joining a committee typically requires additional onboarding. This will eventually consist of an email ladder similar to this one but for now is performed by 1-on-1 conversions with new folks about our more granular org structure. For example our Communications group is run as a joint subcommittee of Membership Cm and Coordinating Cm while Fundraising is joint between the Membership and the Treasurer's Cm. The former is currently meeting monthly to discuss org comms as well as plan the newsletter while the latter is waiting to be finalized and implemented (our chapter's store & fundraisers). We will also reach out to your regarding scheduling a 1-on-1 if you've indicated on the skills & experience or C&C interest forms that have interest and capacity to help us hold down the metaphorical fort.
Perform administrative tasks for the community as well as directly assisting Working Group Chairs with organizing and planning.
Other DSA Support Groups
Other DSA Support Groups
DSA has national Working Groups, Committees, and commissions that support and steer broad campaign and movement efforts. These national WG’s put together toolkits as well as training and other actions. Their events will typically be included in our schedule of events as well. Attending national WG meetings is a great way to get a jumpstart and inspire local projects.
Acting as a liaison to LI DSA and providing reports back at our General Meetings is a great way to get organizing and leadership experience as you’ll have to convey the strategy, tactics, and actions to our comrades. In addition to the National DSA WG’s, I’ll include meetings from other large DSA chapters including NYC DSA but also Metro DC DSA. We have DSA members all over the country and comrades all over the world! If you're curious about socialism abroad you may want to check out the DSA International Committee! Other national groups include: the DSA National Labor Commission, the DSA National Electoral Committee, and the DSA Ecosocialist WG –to name a small handful of many.
Local Coalition Partner
Local Coalition Partner
We work with many local progressive groups from labor unions and tenant unions to local religious leaders and charitable orgs. We have comrades on the leadership committees of several of these groups which helps us ensure that socialist and community values are being centered in our collective movement on Long Island.
Some coalition partners have regular meetings that we include on our weekly calendar. Other groups we will see more at actions and events. Please check out this directory of our progressive partners on LI!
The next onboarding email will arrive in 4 days --to give you a chance to digest some of these last two emails-- and will provide links to resources and trainings recording from our chapter, national. as well as other progressive groups.
If you have any questions about our Nassau DSA Working Groups or Committees at this time. Please don’t hesitate to reply to this email and ask and we can get you in touch with the relevant WG Chairs and organizers.
In Solidarity!
- Mike Guaq (he/him)
Nassau County DSA Membership Chair
About:
About:
Full Intro to WG's & Cm's correspondence sent to those added to our Mailing List. This is the first email sent to new comrades as part of our Onboarding Ladder (series of emails).
Please let us know if you have any feedback, thoughts, or questions? This onboarding series was written and produced by volunteers like you!
Document Last Updated: 11/10/22
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