There has been a lot of exciting DSA Green New Deal Campaign action so far this Spring! Here is our March and April recap.
Chapter Organizing and Training
We held our monthly Building for Power (B4P) campaign huddles, a space for DSA members working on local B4P campaigns to strategize and collaborate.
In March, we discussed fundraising. We had a mix of comrades of all experiences— from chapter leaders to brand-new members—get creative and share best practices for fundraising for campaigns. Here are the slides.
We followed up the March huddle with a Green New Dues solidarity dues phonebank on April 9th asking members to increase their dues to 1% of their yearly income. We dialed almost 2,000 comrades, and of the people we connected with and had conversations, 53% agreed to make the switch!
Our April huddle was a group discussion about working with unions. Organizers from San Diego, Milwaukee, and New Orleans were able to compare notes on engaging with IBEW. Check out our full Strategist’s Guide here for further reading on navigating these relationships.
bUILDING FOR pOWER Campaign Highlights
Here are some highlights from B4P campaigns from the last two months:
Milwaukee DSA’s Power to the People campaign recently passed 7,000 signed petitions in support of public power and they held a rally at Milwaukee City Hall on March 1st.
Chicago DSA’s Fix the CTA public transit campaign built pressure to oust Dorval Carter, the Chicago Transit Authority board president currently overseeing a substantial decline in the transit system’s service, reliability, and working conditions.
Louisville DSA’s Get On The Bus campaign held a screening of Taken for a Ride, a 1996 documentary about how auto and fossil fuel companies sabotaged public transit in the US to devastating effect. They also circulated a petition to demand that their local government fund the Transit Authority of River City (TARC).
Metro DC DSA’s We Power DC sent in almost 150 comments to DC’s Public Service Commission, opposing a multi-year utility rate hike that would raise rates by 20% over three years, resulting in unaffordable energy rates for one fifth of district households—worsening DC’s crisis of energy injustice. While Pepco claims these costs are necessary for decarbonization goals, DC’s Office of the People’s Council found that 95% of the proposed investments cannot be tied to any reductions in greenhouse gasses. We Power DC also hosted a night school on the Environmental Justice Amendment Act, developed by We Power DC in partnership with local EJ organizations and a DSA-endorsed DC Councilmember. The legislation would transform the District’s zoning and permitting laws to protect overburdened communities.
Charlottesville DSA’s green social housing campaign hosted a panel in March about land trusts, land banks, and how to create deeply affordable housing that welcomed over 80 attendees. This was Cville DSA’s largest event to date, and it truly was a multiracial, socioeconomically diverse gathering of voices. They also authored a sign-on letter for their demands that has garnered signatures from several housing and environmental justice organizations in town to submit to Charlottesville City Council.
If your chapter is ready to Build for Power, fill out our interest form and come to our May huddle!