Within our organization, we’re deeply committed to building and maintaining structures that support our members and ensure our spaces do not reproduce the systems of oppression we collectively seek to dismantle. Over the next two months, the Steering Committee will be working to recruit, interview, and train a Conflict Resolution Team. Once in place, the Conflict Resolution Team will play a critical role in providing members ongoing access to: Continue reading

DSA Los Angeles’ Prison Abolition and Immigration Justice Committees stand in solidarity with the Florida prisoners undertaking Operation PUSH. We hope that shining a light on the conditions in Florida and the prisoners’ modest demands for humane treatment begins to expose the fundamental inhumanity of the U.S. prison system. Continue reading

Last week, the Department of Mental Health revealed that 831 unhoused Angelenos died in LA County last year — mostly due to preventable medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, diabetes, cancer, cirrhosis and bacterial infection. This is unconscionable. We are deeply pained by the unnecessary suffering these 831 Angelenos experienced, and the unnecessary pain experienced by the many more unhoused people in Los Angeles. Continue reading

We are outraged, but not surprised, that this past Thursday, January 11, 2018, members of the Housing and Community Development Committee of our State Assembly failed to move forward Assembly Bill 1506, which would repeal Costa-Hawkins and remove strict restrictions to enacting rent control across California.  We thank Assemblymembers Bonta (D-Alameda), Chiu (D-San Francisco) and Stone (D-Scotts Valley) for their support of repealing Costa-Hawkins. However, two Democrats, Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park) and Jim Wood (D-Humboldt), refused to vote for the measure, joining two Republicans in killing the bill’s chances for the year. We will not soon forget these decisions to put the profits of property owners over the livelihoods of tenants. Continue reading

The Electoral Politics committee has voted to endorse Steve Dunwoody for the California State Assembly, and advocates for the endorsement of Steve Dunwoody for the California State Assembly (AD-54) by DSA-LA as a chapter. Additionally, the Electoral Politics committee advocates for the sponsorship and development of events to support his candidacy, including but not limited to canvasses, phone banks, and awareness-raising events for both the upcoming special election (whose winner will serve out the remainder of the 2018 term) and the upcoming regular election (whose winner will serve from 2019 to 2020). Continue reading

Two analyses, one questionnaire, a candidate Q&A, and 10 days of voting later, we're excited to announce the chapter is getting behind two major statewide campaigns this year and endorsing leftist candidate for Lt. Governor, Gayle McLaughlin, and the Affordable Housing Act, a ballot measure aimed at repealing the Costa-Hawkins Rental Act. Continue reading

We, the Steering Committee of DSA Los Angeles, object to the proposed sample bylaws sent out by National on December 19 and the review process currently being carried out. Democracy, done right, takes a lot of work. DSA-LA has recently undergone the process of writing and ratifying new bylaws to expand the rights of members, so we understand what an immense undertaking this can be. In our own local bylaws reviews process, we emphasized transparency, comprehension, and ongoing discussion with our entire membership, including opportunities for additional amendments at our upcoming Spring 2018 Annual Convention.  The undemocratic content of the sample bylaws, and the rushed and exclusionary process being pushed by National, contradict a basic tenet of DSA—that truly democratic decision making processes must be embedded in every level of the organization. We call on the NPC to abandon this proposed timeline, and take the time to do this right. Continue reading

The Electoral Politics committee has unanimously voted to endorse Gayle McLaughlin for Lieutenant Governor of California, and advocates for the endorsement of Gayle McLaughlin for Lieutenant Governor by DSA-LA as a whole. Additionally, the Electoral Politics committee advocates for the sponsorship and development of events to support her candidacy, including but not limited to canvasses, phone banks, fundraisers, and awareness-raising events in advance of the statewide primary election on June 5, 2018 and (should McLaughlin advance to the second round) the general election the following November. The committee further advocates that this work be done in coalition with other organizations in Los Angeles. Lastly, as Lieutenant Governor is a statewide office, we advocate for the development of a statewide strategy to promote her candidacy, developed in conjunction with other DSA chapters throughout the state. A DSA-LA candidate questionnaire was drafted by the Electoral Politics committee and completed by Gayle McLaughlin prior to the committee endorsement and can be read here. Continue reading

DSA-LA stands and acts in solidarity with the tenants resisting the evictions and unjust rental increases being carried out by BJ Turner at 1815 E 2nd St. in Boyle Heights.  To join the fight alongside the tenants themselves, the Los Angeles Tenant Union (LATU) and Union de Vecinos, among other supporters, we will protest and camp outside of the West L.A. mansion of the property owner BJ Turner on Tuesday, December 12, 2017. This is not the first demonstration at his house, and it will not be the last. BJ Turner is a gentrifier and is fueling the racialized destruction of the working class, culturally vibrant Boyle Heights community. Last year, he bought the Boyle Heights apartment complex that is home to 25 individuals and families, and then raised the rents for several tenants by 60 to 80 percent. Luis Valdivia, a Mariachi musician, saw his rent hiked by $800.  Gloria Reyes, who has lived in the building for 27 years, saw her rent go up by $500.  These are just some of the lives being uprooted by BJ Turner’s greed. Continue reading

Statement by #HollywoodLabor, a subcommittee of the DSA-LA Labor Committee On October 18th, 2017 the LA Weekly —  a weekly free alternative paper that covered news, culture, and more in the city of Los Angeles — was sold to the newly formed company Semanal Media. By November 29th, Brian Calle, the paper’s newly installed editor-in-chief of had fired 75% of the LA Weekly’s staff. The once proud union shop had been decimated, leaving behind only one full-time staff writer, art director, and copy chief. Adding insult to injury, the paper then tweeted out a call for "passionate Angelinos to share stories about their life and culture in L.A." Not only did they misspell “Angeleno,” but it was an obvious and shameless solicitation to exploit the free labor of contributors.   Continue reading