The Silicon Valley chapter’s view of the Convention
The 2023 National DSA Convention met in Chicago from August 4 to August 6. Silicon Valley DSA sent six delegates to the Convention.
Most of our delegation had not attended previous national Conventions and as such observed DSA’s thousand delegates with fresh eyes. We leave the Convention with great confidence in the state of DSA. Although our organization undoubtedly faces critical challenges with declining membership, financial difficulties, and disagreements on the means by which DSA can win socialism in our time, we have built a cadre of dedicated organizers almost unmatched in the history of our country.
Membership Numbers
Total DSA membership has declined since late 2021 from approximately 93,000 total members (including both dues-paying and ‘constitutional’ members who had not paid dues in the last year) to approximately 72,000 at the time of the convention.
This trend is most readily explained by two main factors: 1) the election of President Biden has diminished the salience of political issues globally and deprived DSA, like left-wing organizations generally, of a Trump-driven popular interest in organizing, and 2) uneven growth in the type of dues-paying member coming into DSA: many new members recruited during the DSA 100K drive elected to pay annual dues and therefore lapse into ‘constitutional’ status and then into expired member status a year / two years after signing up, respectively.
The decline was temporarily reversed in mid-2022 by an organization-wide retention drive. Without this drive, DSA membership numbers would be worse today. Members who pay dues monthly have stayed relatively constant.
Other explanations for the decline include former member dissatisfaction with actions by the NPC (e.g. dechartering BDS working group, not expelling DSA member and Congressman Jamal Bowman over Iron Dome funding votes) or general DSA policies (support for BDS, opposition to military aid to Ukraine). Data do not support that any of these controversies led to sharp declines in membership, but undoubtedly they led to some members quitting.
Finances
DSA’s finances have predictably come under strain due to the decline in dues-paying membership – our organization nearly ran a deficit last year and is projected to run a deficit this year absent a change in course.
DSA retains reserves that grew significantly during the pandemic years, in part due to COVID-era staffing vacancies. Since personnel is our organization’s biggest expense, these vacancies cushioned DSA’s finances.
However, many vacancies have been filled and deficit spending is more likely this year. Absent an increase in income from dues (whether by signing up new members or encouraging existing members to contribute more), DSA reserves will be exhausted in a few years, which would require cuts to expenses such as staff, software, mailings, etc.
At Convention, it was projected that if ten thousand DSA members switched to monthly, income-based dues (i.e. paid 1% of their yearly income), the organization’s budgetary shortfall would be resolved. The Delegation encourages all chapter members to switch their dues to monthly payments that correspond to 1% of monthly income.
Convention Voting Results: Summary Analysis
At the organizational level, delegates opted against major structural reforms such as increasing the size of the NPC to fifty one candidates or establishing a national delegates council that would make organizational decisions outside of the convention. Instead, delegates broadly chose to support mechanisms that will deepen the commitment of existing DSA leadership by creating two paid NPC positions, two paid National Labor Commission positions, and one paid Electoral Campaign position.
In addition to paid positions for DSA Labor’s political leadership, delegates voted to affirm and expand on-the-ground support for labor and tenant organizing.
DSA’s successful Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) partnership with United Electrical Workers will be expanded to create regional EWOC bodies, similar to what East Bay DSA has done. Similarly, a counterpart “ETOC” for tenant organizing efforts was expanded and approved by delegates.
The National Activist Conference was revived as an off-year meeting to congregate DSA organizers.
YDSA was empowered with additional organizational support, including funding and encouragement to chapters to fundraise with YDSA and strengthen relations with local YDSA chapters.
The editorial boards of two DSA publications, Democratic Left and Socialist Forum, were merged and the NPC was directed to issue more frequent updates on the state of DSA.
Lastly, delegates opened the door to more sweeping reforms at future conventions by creating a Democracy Commission that will study the organization of left-wing parties around the world and make recommendations for structural reform of DSA.
At the programmatic level, delegates largely retained core organizational commitments such as our opposition to U.S. militarism in all its forms; commitment to the Rank-and-File labor strategy; continued advocacy for a state-based Green New Deal; and support for the International Committee’s outreach to socialist and communist parties, and to unions, around the world.
The most notable changes to our program were the placement of the BDS working group under the auspices of the International Committee and a movement towards greater independence from the Democratic Party, while stopping short of creating new bases for expelling members and elected officials.
Delegates narrowly voted to place the BDS working group under the auspices of the International Committee. However, due to an amendment made at the Convention, the WG was not dissolved and will retain set priorities and consistent membership within that body. Convention delegates also rebuked the House of Representatives for recent votes in support of Israel’s ongoing repression of Palestinians.
Further, the composition of the incoming NPC suggests that support for the BDS WG is higher among DSA’s incoming leadership than the outgoing NPC. Support for the reorganization of the WG among elected NPC was 9-7; One member of the Anti-Zionist Slate was also elected.
Delegates also voted to amend the agenda so as to adopt a national campaign for reproductive rights and trans liberation, created a national Immigrants’ Rights working group, and recommitted to multiracial organizing. Our platform was also amended to call for nationalization of the railroad industry.
Graphic and analysis provided by Silicon Valley DSA
Amendments, Resolutions, and National Political Committee Results
All Voting Results : Aaron's 2023 DSA Convention HQ
NPC Analysis
Overall the results of the 2023 National Convention’s NPC elections represent a significant change from the 2021-2023 NPC. Notable trends include the creation of a ‘DSA left’ majority (i.e. a majority of candidates favored shifting DSA’s electoral focus to training and support openly socialist electoral candidates + a dirty break from the Democratic Party, rank-and-file & red unionism, & deepening support for BDS, among other differences) and a decline in “independent” NPC members not connected to a slate or caucus (although many prior independent NPC members closely aligned with caucuses in practice).
This new formation is also more critical of past NPC leadership on issues of transparency and the strategic direction of the organization. As with prior conventions, the NPC will choose which Convention proposals to prioritize as DSA may not have the funds to support all the projects authorized by Delegates. Delegates will vote online for two full-time co-chairs among these NPC candidates at a soon-to-be-determined date.