DSA MEETING CODE OF CONDUCT
[drafted by Ana Avendaño and reviewed by NHGO Paula Brantner, grievance program consultants; presented for consideration at NPC meeting, April 11-12, 2020, amended for New Orleans DSA and ratified by the General Membership on 1/9/2021.]
1. Purpose
A primary goal of DSA is to be welcoming and inclusive to our members and others who share DSA’s core values of liberty, equality, solidarity, as well as our commitment to restructuring gender and cultural relationships to be equitable and not oppressive within the context of building a diverse working class movement. As such, we are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.
This code of conduct outlines DSA’s expectations for all those who participate in DSA meetings, conferences, and other public-facing events, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior. That includes DSA members, allies, vendors, donors, supporters, and others.
We invite all DSA members and allies to help us create welcoming and positive experiences for everyone.
2. Expected Behavior
The following behaviors are expected and requested of all persons–including general members and elected leaders– who participate in DSA meetings, conferences, online spaces, and other events:
- Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior and speech;
- Participate in an authentic and active way. In doing so, you contribute to the health and longevity of DSA;
- Exercise consideration in your speech and actions;
- Share analysis and opinions rather than ad hominem attacks;
- Comply with applicable Community Agreements;
- Be mindful of your surroundings and of your fellow participants.
- Alert a DSA chapter officer if you notice a dangerous situation, someone in distress, or violations of this Code of Conduct, even if they seem inconsequential;
- Commit to proactively dealing with interpersonal tensions and supporting each other to do so. Work to address tensions directly and encourage others to do the same.
- Navigate sexual and romantic relationships within the chapter with openness, honesty, frankness, gentleness, thoughtfulness, respect, and kindness; recognize that serial dating within the organization can be deeply harmful to the organizing space; be cognizant of how power manifests in organizing spaces and how that might influence romantic and personal relationships; commit to addressing these dynamics directly, openly, and with humility.
- Engage in discussion honestly and openly without fear that genuine contribution and engagement with unfamiliar concepts or histories will invalidate your role in the chapter, but also commit to addressing areas of ideological, strategic, or political disagreement rather than more comfortably avoiding them. We commit to approaching each other with a collaborative spirit, and will not alienate comrades based on different lived experiences or education pertaining to theory or background.
- We will prioritize strategic assessments over disputes about inflexible ideologies or dogmas.
- Commit to respecting chapter-wide decisions and processes
- Commit to assuming ‘good faith’ in other chapter members
- Be receptive to feedback. Empathize with your comrades’ perceptions, while valuing your own.
- Acknowledge and be held accountable for harm.
- Prioritize marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort. This means we will not act on complaints regarding the following: a. “Reverse”-isms, b. Criticism for racist, sexist, cissexist, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions. c. Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as “leave me alone,” “go away,” or “I’m not discussing this with you. d. Communicating in a tone someone does not find agreeable.
- We will prioritize harmed parties in seeking steps toward repair and transformation from harmful behavior.
- We will agree to be called-in when we do harm. We will strive to call-in our comrades for unacceptable behavior in ways that hold them accountable.
- We will strive to resolve conflicts through deescalation and mediation, offering to help others act better in the future and facilitating their reconciliation with those aggrieved.
- Trust your gut if you notice someone who might be an infiltrator, and let a DSA chapter officer know. **For some guidance as to what infiltrators historically do, please read this and this.
3. Unacceptable Behavior
The following behaviors are unacceptable within our community and may lead to the person being subject to our harassment policy or code of conduct and expulsion process:
- Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another member;
- Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language;
- Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material in our spaces, in which “spaces” are designated channels and “rooms” on digital platforms (e.g. Slack, Zoom) or physical spaces in which we discuss and/or conduct chapter business;
- Posting or threatening to post other members’ or participants’ personally identifying information (“doxing”);
- Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability;
- Inappropriate photography or recording. You should have members’ or participants’ consent before taking their photograph and/or recording their voice;
- Inappropriate physical contact. You should have someone’s consent before touching them;
- Unwelcome sexual attention. This includes: sexualized comments or jokes; inappropriate touching, groping, objectification, and unwelcome sexual advances;
- Deliberate intimidation, stalking, invasions of privacy and space, or following (online or in person);Intentionally undermining, harming, or sabotaging organizing efforts,
- Ignoring or directly contravening chapter policies or processes, including those related to conflict resolution,
- Intentional and sustained disruptions of meetings and organizing spaces,
- Misappropriation of funds or materials or access to communications or data of the chapter,
- Disruption of community events, including meetings, talks and presentations; including by anyone who is in substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization, as provided by the DSA Constitution.Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior;
4. Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior
Unacceptable behavior from any person who attends a DSA meeting, conference, or event will not be tolerated. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.
Infiltrators will be removed from meetings, conferences, and all other events immediately. An infiltrator is defined as anyone who is in substantial, disrespectful and vocal disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization which lead to insurmountable differences in goals or tactics, as provided by the chapter bylaws.
If a person engages in unacceptable behavior, DSA leaders/organizers may take any immediate action they deem appropriate to immediately address the behavior, including expulsion from the meeting, conference, digital or in-person forums, or event, and without refund in the case of a paid event. Until the chapter can investigate whether the unacceptable behavior violated DSA’s harassment policy and/or any applicable code of conduct, the person may be prohibited from further participation in the organization.
The Local Council and the HGOs can take further action to address unacceptable behavior per the chapter bylaws. The LC and HGOs are committed to addressing members’ or leaders’ unacceptable behavior while creating a process for everyone to account for their actions, transform their behavior, and respond to accusations, as long as that process does not allow further harm to thrive. The LC and HGOs will work with community members who experience harm to contribute to shaping this restorative process, if they desire to do so.
Furthermore, the LC and HGOs are committed to ongoing development of all members, leaders, and allies to transform the political conditions that reinforce oppression, violence, and abuse.
5. Reporting Guidelines
If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behavior, or have any other concerns, please notify a meeting marshal, HGO, or DSA officer (including the elected chapter leadership and/or meeting or committee chair).
Solely as an option of critical need, depending on the nature of the conduct, DSA officers may help community members engage with local law enforcement or to otherwise help those experiencing unacceptable behavior feel safe. At in-person events, organizers will also provide escorts as desired by the person experiencing distress.
Chapter HGOs (harassment grievance officers) can assist with filing a grievance for a potential violation of DSA’s harassment policy, Resolution 33, and/or chapter codes of conduct. If an HGO is not present at the meeting, please contact a chapter officer or look on the chapter website to obtain the confidential email address to submit a grievance.
6. Scope
We expect all community participants (DSA staff, members, allies, vendors, donors, supporters and others) to abide by this Code of Conduct in all community venues–online and in-person–as well as in all one-on-one communications or meetings pertaining to DSA business. This Code of Conduct applies to all of our ‘spaces’ but not beyond, in which “spaces” include both digital platforms (e.g. Slack, Zoom) or physical spaces in which we discuss and/or conduct chapter business
This code of conduct and its related procedures also applies to unacceptable behavior occurring outside the scope of community activities when such behavior has the potential to adversely affect the safety and well-being of community members.
JEMEZ PRINCIPLES FOR DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZING
The Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing were originally drafted at the 1996 Working Group Meeting on Globalization and Trade. Also known as the Jemez meeting, it was hosted by the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice with the intention of hammering out common understandings between participants from different cultures, politics and organizations, initially with environmental justice organizing in mind specifically. The participants adopted the following “Jemez Principles” for democratic organizing, which have since guided a wide variety of organizations struggling for social, racial, and economic justice:
- Be Inclusive
If we hope to achieve just societies that include all people in decision-making and assure that all people have an equitable share of the wealth and the work of this world, then we must work to build that kind of inclusiveness into our own movement in order to develop alternative policies and institutions to the treaties policies under neoliberalism. This requires more than tokenism, it cannot be achieved without diversity at the planning table, in staffing, and in coordination. It may delay achievement of other important goals, it will require discussion, hard work, patience, and advance planning. It may involve conflict, but through this conflict, we can learn better ways of working together. It’s about building alternative institutions, movement building, and not compromising out in order to be accepted into the anti-globalization club. - Emphasis on Bottom-Up Organizing
To succeed, it is important to reach out into new constituencies, and to reach within all levels of leadership and membership base of the organizations that are already involved in our networks. We must be continually building and strengthening a base which provides our credibility, our strategies, mobilizations, leadership development, and the energy for the work we must do daily. - Let People Speak for Themselves
We must be sure that relevant voices of people directly affected are heard. Ways must be provided for spokespersons to represent and be responsible to the affected constituencies. It is important for organizations to clarify their roles, and who they represent, and to assure accountability within our structures. - Work Together In Solidarity and Mutuality
Groups working on similar issues with compatible visions should consciously act in solidarity, mutuality and support each other’s work. In the long run, a more significant step is to incorporate the goals and values of other groups with your own work, in order to build strong relationships. For instance, in the long run, it is more important that labor unions and community economic development projects include the issue of environmental sustainability in their own strategies, rather than just lending support to the environmental organizations. So communications, strategies and resource sharing is critical, to help us see our connections and build on these. - Build Just Relationships Among Ourselves
We need to treat each other with justice and respect, both on an individual and an organizational level, in this country and across borders. Defining and developing “just relationships” will be a process that won’t happen overnight. It must include clarity about decision-making, sharing strategies, and resource distribution. There are clearly many skills necessary to succeed, and we need to determine the ways for those with different skills to coordinate and be accountable to one another.
Commitment to Self-Transformation
As we change societies, we must change from operating on the mode of individualism to community-centeredness. We must “walk our talk.” We must be the values that we say we’re struggling for and we must be justice, be peace, be community