Features

You Deserve a Union! Come Learn How to Organize for One!

Tomorrow at 3:00-4:30 pm, DSA organizers will meet at the New Orleans Nora Navra Library, 1902 St. Bernard Ave., with individuals interested in labor organizing, learning about labor organizing, and meeting with labor allies in the New Orleans area. Everyone from every experience level is welcome, whether you are newly curious about the labor movement, or you are a seasoned organizer.

Labor unions are a step toward workplace and economic democracy. The past few years have illustrated how much the US struggles with capitalist powers that control our political system. Radical change is needed at the grassroots level to save working people. In addition to challenging this power imbalance, union participation can immediately change your workplace as you know it. If you think a labor union is “not for you” or “doesn’t work” in your industry, please come anyway! The organized labor landscape is changing tremendously in the US, and we need everyone to get involved.

We are also putting on a labor organizing in-person training series starting on July 12, in which we will host an in-person showing of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee’s (EWOC) live training seminar, along with time to discuss and exchange ideas with fellow labor organizers. We will encourage people to sign up on June 7, but if you would like to secure your spot ahead of time, please go to https://workerorganizing.org/training/.

Brake Light Clinic & Health Fair is Around the Corner!

Join us next Saturday, June 14, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at 4961 N Claiborne Ave. for our Brake Light Clinic & Health Fair. We can check and change your brake light, share food and cold drinks, take your blood pressure, connect you to community health resources, and chat about achieving socialist revolution together. We also put together gift bags and other goodies to distribute as well!

Wanna volunteer? We can teach you how to change brake lights day-of and always have other little tasks available to make the event the best it can be, so don’t be afraid to come by to lend a hand. Sign up here to volunteer.

See you next Saturday!

How Did We Become The Oddities? -Andy L

As our good friend William Gibson reminds us: “the future is already here… it’s just not evenly distributed.” The end goal of the prison abolitionists (building a world where we don’t have police) shows itself in the wealthy, well resourced neighborhoods of rich folks – you almost never see the cops there. This is what calls us to socialism. We want to build that better world for everyone, not just for those who can afford it.

As it turns out, we can all afford it, and the way we’ll build that world is through the democratic method, the method of discussion, criticism, persuasion and education, and not by the method of coercion or repression. We cannot compel people to give up idealism, any more than we can force them to embrace Marxism.* We see the injustices of homelessness, of Palestine, of people treating others in a way they wouldn’t dare treat their own mothers. This is the world that we’re fighting to change.

Society is full of seemingly good people, yet this basic extension of humanity to EVERYONE escapes them. We need to talk to them, try to get to the root of what went wrong in their lives, and get them back on track. I’m not talking about deep psychotherapy, just listening to them (mostly listening), talking to them, and helping them work through some of the contradictions they’ve internalized growing up in a capitalistic society. None of us started out as socialists; we had help getting to where we are now. To pay it back, you need to help others along the path. Socialists aren’t the oddities – we’re the ones who are still in touch with enough of our humanity that we want the whole world to become more fully human.**

* Mao

** Marx

Red Rabbits Recommendation – Don’t Feed The Trolls

When we’re out at a protest/march/event, there will sometimes be counterprotesters. It’s important not to engage with them. They are there to distract us from the purpose of our event and dissipate the energy there. Remember – gathering in groups gives power to the group: if you’re alone in the tall grass and you hear a tiger, you get afraid. If you’re there with ten of your comrades, you say, “let’s get that tiger!”

We’re social beings – it’s hardwired into us over tens of thousands of years, and you can feel that energy when you’re gathered together and focused on a task. Don’t let a bunch of ding-dongs take that away from you. Let the protest marshals take care of any counterprotesters – that’s why we have them at events. Any time you spend with the trolls is time you’re not focusing on the event speakers, the calls to action, or your fellow comrades. You can go home and argue online as much as you want, but when you’re at an event, do yourself a favor and recharge yourself on the energy flowing through the space. Don’t give the trolls a second thought.

Bulletins

Recommendation to Vote for Erica Johnson on June 14

At our May GM, the chapter voted to recommend Erica Johnson for Crescent Soil and Water Conservation District. Click the link above to find your polling place – it’s probably not the one you usually go to.

Support our Endorsed Candidates for City Council

Our chapter voted to endorse three candidates in this year’s City Council races. Now, it’s up to us to help get our members into those seats! Check out our newly launched Endorsement HQ to find up-to-date info on all of our endorsed candidates! Take a minute to follow them on social media, donate to their campaigns, and volunteer using the links provided. Also, fill out our (very brief) Campaign Outreach Survey and let us know how you can best get involved.

We’re on Bluesky!

New Orleans DSA is now on Bluesky! Give the account a follow and get the latest chapter news.

Political Education Committee Reading Group

The Political Education Committee’s book for the month is The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins. Whether you finish the book, only part of it, or just want to hang out for discussion, come by Oak St. Brewery, 8201 Oak St., on June 19 at 7:00 pm.

Nominations for 2025-2026 Local Council

Local Council is our democratically elected chapter leadership with responsibility for managing the overall direction of the chapter. Local Council consists of two co-chairs, one membership chair, one secretary, one treasurer, two at-large members, a steward for each of the official committees, and a representative of each administrative or currently-chartered campaign group. For a complete description, see our chapter bylaws. To nominate yourself or someone else, fill out this form.

Submissions Open for 2025 Local Convention

New Orleans DSA’s annual Local Convention will be June 28. Submissions can include proposals to amend bylaws, resolutions for new campaigns, or they can be for other chapter business. Reach out to Jack RS for information on how to write a resolution, and stay tuned for a resolution writing workshop ahead of convention. Be sure to RSVP for the Local Convention here.

Municipal Action Committee Wants You!

MAC currently has 2 vacant co-chair positions. While they aren’t strictly defined roles, we think it would be extremely useful to have one that is focused on electoral work, such as coordinating with our endorsed candidates, and one that is focused on civic engagement, such as keeping tabs on our various city governmental institutions. If either of these areas interest you, please shoot an email to hello@dsaneworleans.org or find Charlie B on Slack!

Chapter Merchandise Available Now!

Support and rep your favorite socialist organization with merch! Help us fundraise to send our delegates to DSA’s biennial National Convention, move into a new space by ordering a shirt, or just give us feedback on what items you might want to see in the future. Check it out at bit.ly/dsanola-merch.

Announcing our National Convention delegates!

Congratulations to John L, Emmanuel S, Benjamin H, Wash F, Jack RS, Amelie D, and Aspen W on their election as delegates to National Convention. They will represent our chapter at the highest decision making body of DSA in Chicago this summer. Thank you to all our candidates for running.

Community Calendar

Friday, June 6

12:00-12:45p Free Palestine! Abolish ICE! Weekly Lunch Hour Rally – NOLA ICE Field Office, 1250 Poydras St.

Saturday, June 7

10:00a-12:00p Canvassing (Danyelle Christmas, District E) – Get involved

1:00-4:00p Canvassing (Bob Murrell, District A) – Signup

3:00-4:30p You Deserve a Union! – Nora Navra Library Conference Room, 1902 St. Bernard Ave.

Sunday, June 8

10:00a-12:00p Canvassing (Danyelle Christmas, District E) – Get involved

1:00-4:00p Canvassing (Bob Murrell, District A) – Signup

Tuesday, June 10

6:00-7:00p DSA Chapter Orientation – Zoom

Thursday, June 12

5:30-6:30p Red Rabbits Working Group: Convention Prep

6:00-7:30p Local Council Meeting – Meet

Friday, June 13

12:00-12:45p Free Palestine! Abolish ICE! Weekly Lunch Hour Rally – NOLA ICE Field Office, 1250 Poydras St.

6:00-8:00p Toxic Legacies: Environmental Racism & Resistance in Louisiana – Café Istanbul, 2372 St Claude Ave., Room 252

Saturday, June 14

8:00a-6:00p Election for Crescent Soil and Water Conservation District – Find your polling place

10:00a-12:00p No Kings Counter-Parade & Protest – Lafayette Square, 550 St. Charles Ave.

11:00a-2:00p Brake Light Clinic & Health Fair – 4961 N. Claiborne Ave.

Sunday, June 15

9:00a-12:00p Canvassing (Jackson Kimbrell, District C) – Get involved

Down the Road

June 17 Sports Drink Community Night: Politics Edition – Sports Drink, 1042 Toledano Ave.

June 19 Political Education Committee Reading Group – Oak St. Brewery, 8201 Oak St.

June 28 New Orleans DSA Local Convention – New Orleans, RSVP here

August 8-10 DSA National Convention – Chicago

October 11 Municipal Election Day – Open Primary

November 15 Municipal Election Day – Runoff

Complete Calendar

Solidarity Means Action is the weekly newsletter of the New Orleans Democratic Socialists of America. Subscribe for updates every Friday at 8:00 am Central.

Features

Comrades and Canvassing – Lauren J

New Orleans DSA is endorsing three chapter members in city council races. Let’s talk about the power of canvassing and the power that our membership has to help candidates win.

Over the years, New Orleans DSA members have canvassed to build power across our city and state. Canvassing is simply going door-to-door and talking to people about the issues. For elections, that can mean informing them about ballot measures and candidates. Canvassing tends to be the most effective voter outreach – even more than phone banking, sign waving, or social media – because voters tend to remember when you show up on their porch, after walking two miles in New Orleans humidity, to ask for their vote! That effect is even greater when you apply a strategic and consistent approach, like targeting registered and chronic voters in high turn-out precincts.

Powerful, member-driven organizations canvass. Our Make Entergy Pay campaign canvasses about the importance of safe and reliable utilities, asking people to join our Entergy debt strike. Even before I joined DSA, I canvassed with my comrades in the UTNO teachers’ union for New Orleans DSA member Marguerite Green’s run for Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture.

The act of direct voter-to-voter contact has remained an important tactic for our chapter as we have ventured into more electoral work. New Orleans DSA members have canvassed for endorsed candidates Mandie Landry, Davante Lewis, Bob Murrell, Devin Davis, Gabriela Biro, and me, with many of these efforts resulting in victories. Even when they have not, our canvassing work still builds power down the line and furthers our chapter’s work. Canvassing was also successfully employed by several of our members who ran for positions on the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC) and local Democratic Parish Executive Committees (DPECs) in spring 2024. Every time we put in the work to build a strong electoral campaign, we set the foundation for work later on.

Now it’s time for us to provide the material support we committed to for the City Council campaigns of endorsed members Danyelle Christmas (District E), Jackson Kimbrell (District C), and Bob Murrell (District A). Let’s hit the streets and empower our neighbors to build a city that works for all of us. Together, our voices are powerful.

Not All Milestones Are Good – Andy L

We passed a dubious milestone recently: the 800th flight of US weapons sent to Israel since October 2023 landed on Tuesday. Sure, there was medical equipment and personal protective gear as well, but most of the supplies were bombs and armored vehicles. 90,000 tons of them.

Stick with me here for a little math. The area of the Gaza Strip is 141 square miles. New Orleans (the land part) is 169 square miles, so we’re about 20% bigger than Gaza. 20% more weapons would be 108,000 tons. 108,000 tons divided by 169 square miles is 639 tons per square mile. As it turns out, there are 640 acres in a square mile, so let’s restate that result as one ton (2,000 lb) per acre. (Stick with me, we’re almost there). A typical plot in the city is 30’ wide by 150’ deep, which is 1/10 of an acre. So what we’ve done is given Israel the equivalent of a 200 lb bomb for every house in New Orleans.

That level of destruction still has not broken the Palestinian people. Israel has lost the war. They cannot defeat the Palestinians – they can only kill them. If you haven’t been doing it already, it’s time to talk to your friends about Palestine. Public opinion is turning against Israel, and one way we can accelerate that is by having sincere, patient, informed conversations with our peers. The Al-Aqsa Flood was 600 days ago, so there has been ample time for folks to realize what we’re doing to the Palestinians.

And I say “we” because this genocide is funded by, supplied by, and diplomatically protected by the U.S. Just as Germany will forever be tied to the Holocaust, the US will be permanently tied to the Gazan genocide.

Liberate Palestine.

Red Rabbits Recommendation – Mask Up!

Masking is one of those special activities that is good for you and good for others, which means that we should be doing more of it. We all know the public health benefits: keeping whatever’s inside you closer to you, so that you don’t spread it to others – while also slowing down anything let loose by someone else. What you might not have thought about is masking up for security reasons. Cops waste our tax dollars on security cameras, drones, facial recognition software, and all kinds of other expensive toys rather than investing in our communities with more teachers, smooth roads, and neighborhood clinics. However, something as simple as a face mask can frustrate that technology. Keep your masks simple but effective – that fully-blinged out Saints mask may be the bee’s knees, but it is also identifiable, and therefore traceable. We owe it to each other to not make anything easy for the pigs. Stay smart. Stay safe.

Bulletins

May General Membership Meeting Saturday

Our monthly GM will be this Saturday at 12:00 pm in room 204 of the Healing Center (2372 St. Claude). We will be hearing from the candidates running for delegate to August’s National Convention. We’ll also hear from members returning from a delegation to Cuba. We’ll discuss our upcoming Local Convention, the DSA Fund’s How We Win Conference, and get committee updates and more. RSVP here and request a proxy if you’re unable to attend.

Support our Endorsed Candidates for City Council

Our chapter voted to endorse three candidates in this year’s City Council races. Now, it’s up to us to help get our members into those seats! Check out our newly launched Endorsement HQ to find up-to-date info on all of our endorsed candidates! Take a minute to follow them on social media, donate to their campaigns, and volunteer using the links provided. Also, fill out our (very brief) Campaign Outreach Survey and let us know how you can best get involved.

Nominations for Delegates to National Convention

We have 10 members who are running for delegates to National Convention. DSA National Convention will be August 8-10 in Chicago. Chapter delegates and at-large delegates from across the country meet to set our course for the following two years and elect our new National Political Committee (NPC), which functions as DSA’s highest decision-making body between conventions. The nominees will be introduced at the General Membership meeting. After the General Membership meeting, everyone will receive an OpaVote link to vote over a 5-day period. You can view the candidate statements here

Nominations for 2025-2026 Local Council

Local Council is our democratically elected chapter leadership with responsibility for managing the overall direction of the chapter. Local Council consists of two co-chairs, one membership chair, one secretary, one treasurer, two at-large members, a steward for each of the official committees, and a representative of each administrative or currently-chartered campaign group. For a complete description, see our chapter bylaws. To nominate yourself or someone else, email a candidate statement to hello@dsaneworleans.org.

Submissions Open for 2025 Local Convention

New Orleans DSA’s annual Local Convention will be June 28. Submissions can include proposals to amend bylaws, resolutions for new campaigns, or they can be for other chapter business. Reach out to Jack RS for information on how to write a resolution, and stay tuned for a resolution writing workshop ahead of convention.

Municipal Action Committee Wants You! 🫵

MAC currently has 2 vacant co-chair positions. While they aren’t strictly defined roles, we think it would be extremely useful to have one that is focused on electoral work, such as coordinating with our endorsed candidates, and one that is focused on civic engagement, such as keeping tabs on our various city governmental institutions. If either of these areas interest you, please shoot an email to hello@dsaneworleans.org or find Charlie B on Slack!

Chapter Merchandise Available Now!

Support and rep your favorite socialist organization with merch! Help us fundraise to send our delegates to DSA’s biennial National Convention, move into a new space by ordering a shirt, or just give us feedback on what items you might want to see in the future. Check it out at bit.ly/dsanola-merch.

Brake Light Clinic & Health Fair

We’re co-hosting our next Brake Light Clinic & Health Fair with member and endorsed City Council District E candidate Danyelle Christmas. Join us on Saturday, June 14, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at 4961 N Claiborne Ave. Sign up here to volunteer.

Political Education Committee Reading Group

The Political Education Committee’s book for the month is The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins. Whether you finish the book, only part of it, or just want to hang out for discussion, come by Oak St. Brewery, 8201 Oak St., on June 19 at 7:00 pm.

Community Calendar

Friday, May 30

12:00-12:45p Free Palestine! Abolish ICE! Weekly Lunch Hour Rally – NOLA ICE Field Office, 1250 Poydras St.

Saturday, May 31

11:00a-3:00p Peace by Piece Youth and Family Wellness Day – Conrad Park, 3400 Hamilton St.

12:00-2:00p New Orleans DSA General Meeting – New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St. Claude Ave. Room 204 – RSVP

2:30-4:30p Canvassing (Bob Murrell, District A) – Signup

Sunday, June 1

9:00a-12:00p Canvassing (Jackson Kimbrell, District C)

11:00a-1:00p Listwork Session – Coffee Science, 410 S. Broad St.

1:00-4:00p Canvassing (Bob Murrell, District A) – Signup

Monday, June 2

6:00-7:30p Make Entergy Pay Campaign Meeting – Care Forgot Beercraft, 1728 St. Charles Ave.

Wednesday, June 4

5:00-6:00p Health Justice and Direct Service Meeting – Zoom

6:00-8:00p VOTE New Orleans Monthly Meeting – VOTE New Orleans, 4930 Washington Ave. Suite A

Thursday, June 5

7:00-8:30p Political Education Committee Planning Meeting – Meet

Friday, June 6

12:00-12:45p Free Palestine! Abolish ICE! Weekly Lunch Hour Rally – NOLA ICE Field Office, 1250 Poydras St.

Saturday, June 7

1:00-4:00p Canvassing (Bob Murrell, District A) – Signup

Sunday, June 8

1:00-4:00p Canvassing (Bob Murrell, District A) – Signup

Down the Road

June 12 Drinking Liberally Socially – Location TBD

June 14 Brake Light Clinic & Health Fair – 4961 N. Claiborne Ave.

June 14 No Kings Counter-Parade & Protest – Lafayette Square, 550 St. Charles Ave.

June 17 Sports Drink Community Night: Politics Edition – Sports Drink, 1042 Toledano Ave.

June 19 Political Education Committee Reading Group – Oak St. Brewery, 8201 Oak St.

June 28 New Orleans DSA Local Convention – New Orleans

August 8-10 DSA National Convention – Chicago

October 11 Municipal Election Day – Open Primary

November 15 Municipal Election Day – Runoff

Complete Calendar

Solidarity Means Action is the weekly newsletter of the New Orleans Democratic Socialists of America. Subscribe for updates every Friday at 8:00 am Central.