Twin Cities
Democratic Socialists of America
Little Red Letter #117
Ceasefire Now, UAW Tentative Agreements, HERC’s Future, and The Choice This Election Day
Readers, it has been a wearying month. The latest tragedies as a result of the Palestinian occupation have seen the conflict escalate drastically. By the time you read this there will likely be more casualties, more dead. All we can do at this moment is take care of each other, and continue to organize. Demonstrations calling for a ceasefire and end to the occupation have been ongoing in recent weeks, with one scheduled this evening at 5pm at the Federal Building in Downtown Minneapolis to protest Biden’s continued support for Israel’s war. DSA nationally has also been mobilizing resources and working with chapters to call for a ceasefire, sponsoring phone banks into states with Congress-people who are most likely to stand up in this moment, as well as those with Congressional leaders who may be able to pressure the administration. You can find upcoming phone banks and other resources at the No Money For Massacres campaign page.
Hard as it can be to think domestically at the moment, there are other organizing developments ongoing, and some with massive implications. The UAW has reached tentative agreements with each of the big three automakers. Those deals now go to the national councils for each automaker, who will review them before sending them on to a ratification vote for members to decide if it is enough. This third tentative agreement comes 44 days after the strike began on September 15, 2023, with a total of around 40,000 members shutting down their workplaces over the course of “Stand Up Strike”
Locally, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners has set a goal of closing the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) incinerator, but on a timeline that would keep the facility open far past the 2025 closure timeline demanded by the community, potentially until 2040. The resolution that passed calls for county staff to submit a report in February 2024 with options on how to close the HERC on various timelines between 2028 and 2040. Organizing around this will continue, as will work to break away from the false choice between trash burner and landfill, and towards a zero waste future.
Lastly, a reminder that elections are just under a week away on November 7 in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The choice facing the Twin Cities is clear.
- Rent control was gutted in Saint Paul, while Frey allies in Minneapolis forced a vote on Eid (one of the main holy days for Islam) to keep rent control off the ballot.
- When the Minneapolis City Council refused to halt the demolition of the East Phillips Roof Depot, the Legislature was forced to step in so East Phillips could finally win community control.
- Minneapolis Mayor Frey followed Governor Walz in selling out Uber and Lyft drivers to corporate lobbyists and vetoed a living wage for rideshare drivers.
Across the metro, our communities want a local government that is unafraid of naming problems and bringing solutions to the table. Our vision is a Twin Cities where we all can afford to stay in our homes, where everyone has clear air to breathe, where our sidewalks are safe for use by everyone during the winter and where our public safety system actually keeps all of us safe.
Revolutionary Optimism: Building Hope through Art
Despair can be tempting, given the state of the world. But only someone who believes a better future might be possible can challenge the way things are. David A shares a small collection of book reviews and invites you to read some of the books that have given them hope for the future recently.
Camp Nenookaasi Ikwe Healing Camp: A Local Site of Resistance
From Rob L and the Environmental Working group, on the South side of Minneapolis, the victorious Roof Depot struggle has continued in the form of defying the neoliberal status quo that leaves our most vulnerable to suffer and struggle on their own with the creation of Camp Nenookaasi—led by Angry Grandma, a Little Earth resident. Here, people are fiercely standing up for their right to live, have shelter, stability, and another chance.
Elite Capture in the Real World of Class Struggle
At Stellantis, Business Resource Groups are used in an attempt to coordinate scabs to cross the UAW picket line. Delta claims commitments to equity while engaging in intense union busting activity. Kip H shares a perspective on the weaponization of identity politics against the class struggle.
TCDSA committees and working groups need members to get involved in order to create the multi-racial, worker-powered socialist future we’re all aiming for. Below are some opportunities to be part of the exciting work going on in our chapter right now!
- Get Out the Vote Rally!
- Saturday, November 4: 1:00pm – 3:30pm – Painter Park – RSVP Here
Join TCDSA for a Get Out the Vote rally! We’ll be meeting at the Painter Park Rec Center for pizza, to hear from some of our candidates and then hit the doors to make sure our supporters are voting this election.
- Saturday, November 4: 1:00pm – 3:30pm – Painter Park – RSVP Here
- Door Knock for Reimagining I-94 with Our Streets!
- Saturday, November 11: 11:00am – 1:00pm – MLK Rec Center – RSVP Here
Join TCDSA’s EJ Working Group and Our Streets MPLS to door knock St Paul for the Twin Cities Boulevard! The Twin Cities Boulevard is a proposal to transform the 94 corridor in Minneapolis and St Paul as part of Rethinking I-94. We are organizing support for the boulevard to ensure that the freeway, with all of its environmental, health, and social injustices, is not just rebuilt and that increased access, public ownership, and repair is at the core of the final proposal. At this event, we will be knocking doors with a buddy (bring your own or we’ll find you one!) in the Summit-University neighborhood. We’ll be asking neighbors to fill out postcards directed at elected officials. Meet at MLK Rec Center for coffee and snacks. Before heading out, you will receive a thorough training both on the project and canvassing! We hope to see you on the 11th! Please reach out to Connor S at eastphillips@twincitiesdsa.org if you have further questions.
- Saturday, November 11: 11:00am – 1:00pm – MLK Rec Center – RSVP Here
- TechOps Committee
- Get Involved
Slack Channel: #techops
Want to help make hybrid meetings run well?
Over in tech ops, we’re putting together an A/V Team (Audio/Visual) that will help make hybrid meetings possible. Especially for chapter meetings, there’s a lot to take care of! We need people who can keep track of the zoom chat, setup the microphone & camera, monitor volume levels, advance slides, and more.
If you have any interest in this work: please head over to #techops on slack or email operations@twincitiesdsa.org with subject line “Hybrid Meeting Help”
- Get Involved
- NPC Meet-and-Greet Social and Office Fundraiser
- Saturday, November 4: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Arbeiter Brewing Mezzanine – RSVP Here
The National Political Committee is in town for their quarterly meeting! They’ll be hanging out with us after a hard day of democracy. Stop in to say hi and hang out. It’s going to be a good time!
- Saturday, November 4: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
- Internal Organizing Phonebank– Wednesday, 11/1, 6:00pm–7:00pm – Zoom Registration
- Join the Internal Organizing Committee for a phonebank to call new members of TCDSA. We meet on Zoom to go over the script, mute ourselves and make phone calls to other DSA members, and then return to debrief how our calls went. A brief training is provided and no prior experience is required. These phonebanks are a chance to meet other members to TCDSA, hear what they need from our chapter and what brings them to socialism.
IO phonebanks are held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month. For more information about joining this meeting, see the #internal-organizing Slack channel.
- Join the Internal Organizing Committee for a phonebank to call new members of TCDSA. We meet on Zoom to go over the script, mute ourselves and make phone calls to other DSA members, and then return to debrief how our calls went. A brief training is provided and no prior experience is required. These phonebanks are a chance to meet other members to TCDSA, hear what they need from our chapter and what brings them to socialism.
- Socialist Feminist Branch Meeting – Thursday, 11/2, 6:30pm-8:00pm – Zoom Registration
- Our monthly branch meetings are a space to talk about current organizing and how people can get involved! We also have discussion centered around political education on specific topics each month. All are welcome.
- Steering Committee Meeting – Sunday, 11/5, 2:30pm-4:00pm
- Check #steeringcommittee for the zoom link and agenda. If you are a member and need access to slack, sign up at tcdsa.org/slack
- Environmental Justice Working Group (f/k/a East Phillips Urban Farm Working Group) – Monday, 11/6, 7:00pm-8:30pm – Boneshaker Books – Zoom Registration
- The Environmental Justice group meets every other week on Monday at 7p. Right now we are focusing most on shutting down the HERC and supporting Camp Nenookaasi Ikwe in East Phillips, and are also helping with the Reimagining of I-94 and shutting down major polluters in East Phillips. Join us to discuss how best to support the residents and realize this environmental and economic justice vision.
This group’s meetings are hybrid, in-person at Boneshaker and on Zoom.
- The Environmental Justice group meets every other week on Monday at 7p. Right now we are focusing most on shutting down the HERC and supporting Camp Nenookaasi Ikwe in East Phillips, and are also helping with the Reimagining of I-94 and shutting down major polluters in East Phillips. Join us to discuss how best to support the residents and realize this environmental and economic justice vision.
- Internal Organizing Committee – Wednesday, 11/8, 6:30pm-8:00pm – Zoom Registration
- All are welcome to join our monthly meetings of the TCDSA Internal Organizing Committee (IOC).
This committee works to create the spaces, structures, and resources to initiate and sustain members’ active and healthy participation in chapter work. Through internal organizing, we strive to grow our capacity by developing confident and skilled organizers and leaders who are empowered to turn their resources into collective power to make socialist change. Join the #internal-organizing channel on Slack for more info.
- All are welcome to join our monthly meetings of the TCDSA Internal Organizing Committee (IOC).
- Health Justice Working Group – Thursday, 11/9, 7:00pm-8:00pm – Zoom Registration
- The Health Justice working group is rebuilding!
Join us for our monthly meeting and get to know other comrades to discuss the healthcare industry, learn about current healthcare-related legislation, and plan how our chapter can work for health justice.
- The Health Justice working group is rebuilding!
Go to tcdsa.org/events to see everything!
While, as a chapter, we are steadfast in our support for Palestinian liberation, our experiences with statement writing last week revealed a smaller rift within that general perspective. It is a gap between the meaning of public grief and grieving Israelis who died in Hamas’s attacks. I found these three articles in Dissent–if read as a conversation–to be helpful for understanding different perspectives on what happened in our chapter last week, as well as this current moment in the world–this era of social media statements. The articles ask Why can’t we criticize Israel AND grieve civilian death on both sides? How does the state of Israel hijack our grief and mobilize it toward violent and unjust political ends? What kind of community-building and community-damaging can take place in our decisions of who to publicly grieve?
Dissent Article One – A Conversation
Dissent Article Two – A Conversation
Dissent Article Three – A Conversation
From: Britt VP
Ceasefire in Gaza has Wide Support Among US Voters
Despite the vast majority of the US political and media class attempting to drum up support for Israel’s horrific bombing campaign in Gaza, the prospect of a ceasefire has broad support in the United States — even among Republicans.
From: Doug
Sky News Live Coverage of Israel’s Storming of Gaza
With a feud with the UN, diplomatic breaks with numerous countries and thousands of diaspora Jews saying “Not In My Name,” the tide of opinion is turning against Israel. Nevertheless, they are carrying out an “invasion” that has not incorrectly been called “ethnic cleansing” and a war crime. Only the extreme Zionists believe this can ever be a path to peace.
From: Deb K R
What DSA can learn from the demise of student organizations
A decades’ long right-wing assault on membership organizations led to the collapse of the US Student Association in 2017. What can organizers take away from the last decade of organizational death in the student movement? From Beth Huang writing in The Forge.
From: Deb K R
This priceless video is put out by SAG-AFTRA as entertainment and raising awareness during their strike. It’s a spot-on capture of working-class pride that somehow works as a gentle parody of fandoms at the same time.
From: Deb K R
Mark Bittman’s Beef with Capitalism
Bittman is interviewed on a political podcast and really spills the tea about Big Ag. You think you know how bad it is?
From: Deb K R
Scientist say earth hit tipping point this year
While MSN is not our usual source for ecosocialist news, the fact that they published this is in itself evidence of the paradigm shift the news story alludes to. It’s weird to read a mainstream news article calmly state that capitalism is killing us.
From: Deb K R
Who is funding Ward 12 candidates
Charley Underwood did a detailed analysis for Longfellow Nokomis Messenger of the funding sources for Nancy Ford, Luther Ranheim, and DSA-endorsed Aurin Chowdhury, who is also DFL-endorsed. It’s a stark comparison.
From: Deb K R
#StopCopCity Plans Peaceful Onsite Protest November 13
The movement trying to #StopCopCity is hosting a multi-city “week of action” November 3 through 10, leading up to a new tactic in the struggle as they attempt to enter the construction site en masse for a peaceful protest demonstration.
From: Deb K R
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