Blog
-
We Are Essential Workers
Over the past year, one of the largest organizing campaigns in the country has been the effort to organize Delta Airlines. Members of Twin Cities DSA will be familiar with this campaign, as many have joined rallies in solidarity with these workers as they seek to organize over 45,000 workers at the only U.S.-based mainline…
-
Reading an Old Anti-War Book for Our New Anti-War Moment
Much has been made of how our current political moment feels like the Iraq War era. When leftists mention this, they usually are referring to the vibe of centrist and neoliberal media discourse, which since October 2023 has veered sharply between an apoplectic, war-mongering “anti-terrorism” tone when reporting Hamas’s offenses and a confused, “still looking…
-
We Can All Be Housed
Originally published online with the Sahan Journal, December 7, 2023 By restoring rent stabilization and putting the right to housing above the right to profit, we can transform our cities. If you live in Saint Paul like me, you may be familiar with the powerful rent stabilization law we passed in November 2021. Minneapolis and…
-
Update from Brainerd Lakes Area DSA on UFCW Strike in Crow Wing County
The following short piece is taken with permission from the email newsletter of BLA/DSA: Brainerd Area Grocery Updates This past weekend, workers at the five unionized grocery stores in Crow Wing County went on a three-day ULP strike in order to push for a fair contract. It was an incredible showcase of labor militancy, with…
-
A Turning Point for Workers
In 1934, Minneapolis truckers and warehouse workers went on strike. They took the boss class to the mat and pinned them, scoring a massive victory for workers in a city that, up until then, had been known as a bastion for anti-union employers. In Toledo, Ohio workers at the Auto-Lite factory won a strike after…
-
Elite Capture and Corporate Antiracism
(Inspired by “Elite Capture in the Real World of Class Struggle” by Kip H, TCDSA Blog 10/20/23) Kip’s well-written blog post answered a question I’ve had for four years: What is wrong with corporate antiracism? As often happens with someone who has ADHD, the answer was in plain sight. Cooptation (now called elite capture.) And…
-
Camp Nenookaasi Ikwe Healing Camp: A Local Site of Resistance
Palestine has been in the news lately, and this has had me thinking a lot about the connection between Indigenous peoples around the world and the local violence that happens when encampments get swept by the city of Minneapolis and the Israeli trained MPD. For those passionate about anti-colonial struggle we have the opportunity to…
-
Revolutionary Optimism: Building Hope through Art
I know I’m not the only one who finds things hopeless sometimes. Most of the people I know are much worse off economically than we were three years ago, even if the stock market just keeps soaring. Unionization is skyrocketing but getting a job that pays decently seems harder than ever. Mass extinction and natural…
-
Elite Capture in the Real World of Class Struggle
On October 6 Stellantis began asking its white collar workers to volunteer to cross UAW picket lines to work in distribution centers shipping parts to dealerships, with the call coming from the automaker’s top executives as well as its diversity and inclusion groups. Stellantis is relying heavily on its business resource groups (BRGs) to spearhead…
-
Staying Focused
The 2023 convention was comradely and productive. I left feeling immensely moved and motivated – especially by the speeches given by the UAW and baggage handler workers. And just like a good meal, a good convention provokes thought. I’ve been mulling over the debate on some of our top ticket resolutions, True North 2.0 and…
-
Class Struggle Making A Great Leap Forward
The UAW strike entered its second week. Strikes, like wars, once they start nobody knows how they will end. So far president Biden is against the ropes, after being called to walk the picket line with UAW, which he is now doing. The strike has a national impact. The companies blame the transition to electric…
-
Is The 99% The Same As The Working Class
Within the 99% are millions that are part of the professional managerial class. Think upper, mid level and even lower level managers that identify heavily with the boss and whose income often depends on extracting more out of workers, keeping a union out or defending the boss’ interests in other ways. Also in the 99%,…
2023 Elections Aisha Chughtai Anti-imperialism Association of Flight Attendants Book review Ceasefire in Gaza Delta Delta Air Lines Democratic Party/DFL East Phillips Neighborhood Institute/EPNI East Phillips Urban Farm Electoral Committee Endorsements Environmental racism General Strike Three International Association of Machinists International Brotherhood of Teamsters Jason Chavez Labor MFT/ESP MFT59 Minneapolis Minneapolis Police Department Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association (MULDA) MN Governor Tim Walz Mutual aid Nelsie Yang Omar Fateh Political education Rent control Rent Stabilization Ordinance Robin Wonsley Roof Depot Soren Stevenson St. Paul Starbucks Starbucks Workers United TCDSA Teamsters UFCW 663 Ukraine invasion 2022 Union Organizing United Auto Workers (UAW) Unite HERE Local 17 YDSA