December 2023 State Council Meeting Report
December 2023 State Council Meeting Report
Below is a brief summary of our December 2023 delegation meeting.
DSA to Cuba Delegation Report
Our keynote speaker was Lizzie of San Francisco DSA, who talked to us about our International Committee’s first delegation to Cuba between October 22 - 26, 2023. Members traveled in coordination with an organization called “Not Just Tourists,” which provides travelers with supplies to be distributed across the island. The delegation body was made up of a wide range of DSA members cohered around opposition to the United States embargo against Cuba.
Members learned about the widespread effects of the embargo on Cuba and how it impacts every level of society. Due to limitations on what is able to be sold and provided there, this creates an overall sense of burden and loss. We were given specific examples of how forced lack of supply causes Cubans to reuse medical equipment like pacemakers - and people there have no access to things like the Apple App Store. The USA doesn’t allow you to sell to Cuba if you want to sell your product in the USA.
Co-chair Report
One of our co-chairs, Hazel W, provided us with very useful context around work that had been done in the previous few months and the state of our organization. She reflected on our successful California Red newsletter, our endorsement and support of No on APEC work in the Bay Area, and our support of the “No Money for Massacres” campaign—making thousands of calls supporting the cause of Palestinian liberation.
As we have been struggling to find folks with ample capacity, we’ve recently made some changes to our internal structures to account for this reality. Hopefully, making changes to the amount of standing meetings we carry, and putting intentional effort into our newly adopted Growth and Development Committee will help us grow into the org we know we can be (and the one that can be a large part of ushering socialism into California).
We need members to join us in this effort! We understand the struggle of finding capacity with all that’s happening around us; but even a little of your time goes a long way. You can sign up for the Growth and Development committee here.
Treasurer’s Report
Our previous treasurer provided us with a breakdown of expenses necessary to operate California DSA with tools like email clients and our voting tool. Currently, California DSA’s fiscal sponsor is DSA Los Angeles, which is going through a transitional process into incorporation now, so fundraising will be on hold for the time being.
We received reports about our various committees, including:
Labor Committee
Communications Committee
Ecosocialists
Electoral Committee
Chapter reports
North Central Valley, San Francisco, and Ventura county gave our council updates about work in their local chapters.
North Central Valley is engaged with their local labor federation, sending members through organizer trainings, and Palestinian solidarity work. Their chapter is also now separately incorporated.
San Francisco DSA has been running a campaign for Dean Preston, who is facing intense opposition from the capitalist class in the city and trying to remove him from his Board of Supervisors seat. Their chapter has also been continuing work in Palestinian solidarity and mutual aid, organizing things like donation drops. They’ve also been hosting their own DSA 101 courses, organizer trainings, and book clubs.
Ventura County is working on filling seats within the chapter, and expanding to public tabling events to engage community members in the organization. They currently host mostly membership meetings and have endorsed a city council candidate. Members have also been involved with strike support, and attended No Money for Massacres phone banks. They also now have their very first delegate for California DSA.
Legislative Platform Presentation
Members of CA DSA spent much time and energy to put together a legislative program that was originally intended to be used for an Assembly slate we had planned to run for 2024. Based on a poll of our delegates, the main planks of that platform include:
Decarbonizing and building green infrastructure
Protecting and encouraging union organizing
Fund public education and oppose privatization
Expand statewide rent control
Build public, social housing
Pass statewide public, single-payer healthcare
In the absence of running an Assembly campaign, this program will be used as a basis for our voter guide (coming soon) and future candidates for the state Legislature.
Votes
The delegation adopted two amendments to our Legislative Endorsement Framework from previous council meetings and we ratified the State Committee’s suggested changes to our Housing and Electoral committees, as well as the creation of our Growth and Development committee.
Submitted by Paul Zappia, CA-DSA Secretary