Sumter A, Author at Red Clay Comrade

Building a Socialist Labor Movement

Atlanta DSA marched with SBWU, Teamsters, and more at the 2023 Atlanta Pride Parade.

Every day, billions of working people on Earth toil to maintain a capitalist economy they never asked for. While technological advances and general prosperity have spread beyond the borders of the most advanced countries, the “golden age” of capitalism is over. For the majority of people on the planet, including in the United States, life is getting harder. Capitalism is working overtime to preserve the power and profits of the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us.

In light of this, DSA’s goal is to fight for all working people’s ability to democratically control their own lives in all areas of society and the economy. To achieve that goal, we need two things: the involvement of millions to make a mass movement, and the leverage to win back power from the capitalist class. The only way DSA is going to get what we need to win is by organizing as workers and uniting with organized labor, so we can attack the source of capitalists’ power: their profits.

Labor unions represent the only organized force with the capacity and the leverage to win against capitalists outright. Millions of union members run a collective, dues-funded project to organize and fight for a better life for all working people. So this year, Atlanta DSA has prioritized building relationships with labor unions, educating our members and the public on the centrality of workplace organizing and the importance of determining our own path, independent of big-money donors and politicians.

Georgia Voters Face a High-Stakes Test

Elections are underway in Georgia. While Senator Warnock fights to represent Georgia in Congress and hundreds of state legislators wait for polls to close on November 8th, voters are also choosing between candidates for statewide executive offices like Governor, Attorney General, and Labor Commissioner. One race, however, demands special attention.

Alisha Thomas Searcy is the Democratic nominee for State Schools Superintendent. But you might not know it, because she’s been left off of the Democrats’ “One Georgia” slate and campaign literature. She’s even made public posts on social media complaining about the other Democratic nominees. Beyond intra-party politics, teachers’ organizations like the Georgia Association of Educators have even endorsed her Republican opponent over her. So what’s going on with Ms. Searcy?

Building a Socialist Labor Movement

The 2022 Labor Notes conference was attended by over 4,000 labor organizers & union members.

The 2022 Labor Notes Conference, a gathering of “troublemakers” and labor activists from across the United States and beyond, took place in Chicago during a mild mid-June weekend. Attendance was a jam-packed whirlwind of panels, workshops, training sessions, and socials. Over 4,000 organizers and activists commingled – including educators, baristas, newsroom workers, Amazon warehouse organizers, and Teamsters.

Labor Notes marked an unforgettable four days of learning, connecting, and building solidarity between wildly diverse groups, and the lessons I learned from comrades across the country will stick with me for years to come.

The Radical Must Be Possible

I remember my first days as a politically-conscious young person. In 2015, I was a high school student, tinkering around with Minecraft utopias and science fiction; at the same time, Bernie Sanders was ramping up his first run at the US Presidency. I recall key parts of the platform he spoke on that year, ranging from free public higher education, Medicare for All, and a comprehensive plan to address climate change in favor of working people. That last point in particular opened my mind to the possibilities of politics, as I realized the answer to Jim Inhofe’s infamous snowball-in-Congress denialism was not better science communication, but political power. Now, 6 years later, the most recent in a long history of American socialist upsurges is still fighting to save our planet and our people from our government and our ruling class.