The Speaker of the State Assembly has called for a select committee to determine the future of SB 562, The Healthy California Act, which was developed and introduced to institute a single payer system for California in order to insure all California residents receive equitable health coverage and care. The Speaker has said, “It’s not a question of debating whether we move towards health care for all--it’s a matter of choosing how best and how soon.” Like the California Nurse’s Association, we are concerned that the Speaker is using this as an opportunity to avoid the advancement of SB562 while appearing to advocate universal healthcare. Unless this committee will allow for an open discussion and development of a single payer option without co-pays, this is a step backwards. Continue reading

As capitalism continues to force working class people to live in the streets, Street Watch will stand with our working class and unhoused community members in the fight to end criminalization, increase public control of resources, and accelerate a socialist movement for housing as a human right. Continue reading

The interim Steering Committee’s six-month term will be coming to an end at the end of November.   This post serves to call for applications for the Nominations Committee (the body responsible for overseeing and facilitating the chapter’s upcoming Local Officer election (Art. VII, Sec. 1)), outlines the Local Officer roles that need to be filled, and details the timeline for the Local Officer election overall.   Continue reading

Over the last few weeks the Committee and Working Groups have been working tirelessly to draft platforms that not only have overwhelming support amongst their Committee and Working Group members, but the chapter as well! It is with immense joy that we announce that all the Committee and Working Group platforms have been ratified by the chapter with at least 91.9% approval from voters.  Continue reading

Join the Healthcare Committee! Mission Statement: The DSA-LA Healthcare Justice Committee demands a socialist health care system, free from profit motives, as a human right for all. Our committee fights for a single-payer distribution system covering all residents of California and peoples of this nation for all medically necessary services, including: doctor, hospital, emergency room, vision, dental, mental health, long and short-term care, reproductive care and any other indispensable health requirement. Through single-payer Medicare for All, patients would gain choice of provider and facility while medical practitioners would establish autonomy over care for patients. We seek to pursue this systemic change at both the state and federal levels.   Continue reading

Join the Immigration Justice Committee!   The Immigration Justice Committee Platform   Analysis  As socialists, we stand in solidarity with all immigrants and refugees in the struggle against capitalist exploitation. Borders are inherently violent: they define strict and artificial rules for the occupation and mobility of people, who are often displaced by various economic, social, and environmental pressures, including war and other forms of violence. The reality is that many come to the United States as refugees or economic migrants because capitalism and U.S. imperialism create and sustain cycles of poverty, ecological collapse, and violence. Continue reading

Join the Anti-Oppression Committee! Committee Platform The DSA-LA Anti-Oppression Committee is primarily an internal resource committee working to make our chapter and all work carried forth by DSA-LA  just, representative, and liberatory.   Continue reading

Join the Religious Socialism Committee! Religious Socialism Committee (RELISOC) Mission Statement / Principles: If socialism seeks to be a national movement, it will have to rely on communities of faith who already inform the perspective of so many of us. The aim of the Religious Socialism Committee (RELISOC) is to foster democratic socialism along existing faith networks by connecting religious leaders and communities with organizers and activists by doing good works in the company of those of differing faith with unifying purpose. Continue reading

Join the Labor Committee!   Introduction   The Democratic Socialists of America-Los Angeles (DSA-LA) Labor Committee (henceforth “the Committee”) was founded in January 2017 by rank and file union members, union staff, and unrepresented workers. The Committee is dedicated to developing worker consciousness and solidarity, both within our chapter and among the greater Los Angeles community. At the national level, the Committee also works in conjunction with the Democratic Socialist Labor Commission (DSLC), a network of DSA committees, working groups, and other bodies that formally interacts with other organizations that belong to or support the labor movement.    As socialists, the Committee's core philosophy is rooted in the conviction that the workplace is one of the most vital spaces in the struggle for democracy and human dignity. Our work should empower DSA members to fight that struggle and win.    Continue reading

Join the Climate Justice Committee! Mission Statement In our analysis, capitalism caused the climate crisis. Capitalism requires continuous expansion and returns on investment. But you can’t have infinite growth on a finite planet. Capitalism tells us that our personal shopping choices are the only way to express our values. The climate crisis demands systemic, institutional change. Capitalism tells us that market forces make for the best outcomes. But decades of denial, deception and exploitation show how capitalism consolidates power at our collective peril. Capitalism pits workers against each other fighting for resources. But protecting ourselves and the planet requires solidarity, sharing resources and taking care of them.  Capitalism causes the worst outcomes for people who had no say or power to create them.  The climate crisis intersects with all of DSA’s work because the underlying problem is capitalism. In fact has a comprehensive plan to solve all of these under the Green New Deal.  Will we let market forces forge and accelerate our descent into cruelty and injustice, or will we seize this opportunity to reshape our economy and the way our lives are designed? This question is even more urgent in the wake of the pandemic. The pandemic is a microcosm of the larger crisis, a climate change will ensure and triple in our future if we don’t take action. Continue reading