Welcome to East Bay DSA. We’re glad you’re here.

Welcome to the fastest-growing socialist organization in the country. We need you (and two or more of your friends) to pitch in, show up, and drag a new world into being. There’s no time to lose, and everything to win.

The Democratic Socialists of America has its roots in the surges of socialist activity in the early 20th century, which at its peak had six-figure membership for the Socialist Party and hundreds of mayors and state legislators across the country. In 1982, a merger of Michael Harrington’s Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee with the New American Movement led to the creation of DSA, bringing together feminist, anti-Stalinist, and anti-imperialist currents from across the American Left. DSA is a “big tent”: We're a mass organization for everybody who wants to work together to win socialism.

In just the past year, national DSA membership has quadrupled to over 30,000 members in all 50 states. Here in the East Bay, our active membership has grown even faster, as a small donuts-and-conversation group suddenly took on hundreds of new members. An all-volunteer force built the chapter as we know it (its structure, processes, and culture, right down to this handbook) over the course of 2017. We’re figuring it out as we go, and as we all seek to understand and act in a new political context.

We're a mix of experienced union and community organizers, newly minted socialists, and everyone in between. This guide is to help you get started. We've got a beautiful movement to build!

Why are we here?

DSA’s surge in membership is part of the post-2016 election reality, a recognition of the crisis in American politics from healthcare to immigration, from the EPA to Nazis marching in Charlottesville. More and more people are fed up with a system that seems to benefit no one but the rich and powerful. Young people are looking around and seeing that the planet we’ve inherited is falling apart, and that capitalism has nothing to offer except debt, depression, and wage slavery.

A simple drink of water

When you lean over a water fountain, you have a right to expect that it delivers clean, safe water for anyone and everyone. It should not be a segregated service. It should not be a form of means-tested charity for the needy, or run through decaying lead pipes. Water is life, water is precious, and water is not something to be privatized. It is a public good.

We seek to take more parts of the economy out of the hands of profit-seekers, and instead treat them like you might treat clean water from a public fountain. (That’s what we mean when we talk about decommodifying something.)

There are many other examples of profit motives creating screwed-up situations, like privately owned prisons or price-gouging during disasters. That’s part of why we’re socialists.

The powers that be can’t and won’t deliver a world of peace, freedom, and human dignity; we’re going to have to do that ourselves.

Democratic socialism starts from the basic belief that every human life is important, and that we have a right to make decisions about the world we create together. The basic needs of life—clean air, water, food, shelter, education—should be considered fundamental human rights, not an opportunity for someone to make a buck.

It’s important to recognize that exploitation and abuse aren’t occasional side-effects of capitalism. Instead, they’re actually necessary to its function. Young people are learning through their own experiences what Marx observed 150 years ago: The world’s monetary wealth is accumulated by taking advantage of other people’s need to survive.

We organize for an economy (and a society) run democratically to meet human needs, not for private profit. In the short term, we aim to win living wages for all workers; in the long term, we aim to end the wage system altogether. In the short term, we endeavor to put an end to police and anti-immigrant violence; in the long term, we envision a world in which prisons and borders are obsolete. Now and in the future, we seek to guarantee quality healthcare, housing, environment, and education for all.

To get there, our strategy is to build working-class political power from the grassroots. We are organizing face-to-face in our neighborhoods and workplaces, in churches and in dive bars. (Many of our new members have joined up after a canvasser knocked on their door and had a deeply real conversation with them.) We’re forging a democratic, volunteer, and member-run network of accountable relationships, so we can take collective action again and again.

That’s real power. We use it to defend each other and take on bosses, landlords, and political elites; we aim to win office, change the terms of political debate, and move our society towards justice.

What does it mean to be a member?

EBDSA consists entirely of its members—we are an all-volunteer group. Aside from a skeletal staff at the national level, that’s true for every chapter. Anything that’s being done, from phone banking to strategic planning to organizing childcare for canvassers, happens because someone made the time for it, alongside demands from work, our loves, and our homes.

We’re here because it feels better to knock on doors than stare at Facebook for another hour. We’re here because the old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born. We’re here because the only other options are denial and despair.

Joining DSA will not make your life easier, though it may make it more fulfilling. You might radicalize your neighbors, get cussed out by overpaid political consultants, develop spaces for no-cost leisure, and shift what “common sense” consists of. At a DSA gathering, you might be knocking on doors, organizing meetings, hosting a neighborhood potluck, or showing someone the power they didn’t know they had. You might also find yourself stuffing envelopes, learning (or teaching) at a socialist education event, or watching kids for volunteers. Whatever it is, prepare to feel that what you’re doing matters and is worth the effort. (If you joined because you wanted to show off your superior knowledge of Marx or get into fights on the internet, you should probably revise your expectations.)

As Democratic Socialists, we aim to build a mass movement. And when we say 'mass movement,' we mean truly massive. That means knocking on doors and talking to people who come from very different social contexts. Anyone who wants to build a socialist future is welcome in DSA. If we’re going to get this right, it’s going to take kindness, unselfish curiosity, and a LOT of meetings. (Don’t worry if you can’t attend all the meetings—part of what we’re building is also a capacity for people to show up, contribute, and have a democratic say by whatever means are available for them.)

As part of that, we strive for two things: solidarity in action, and an eye for the long haul.

Solidarity is a word that gets thrown around a lot. At its core, it’s a recognition that we are all in this together. When strikers a hundred years ago marched against the police, the Pinkertons, and anyone else trying to break them, this wasn’t an abstract concept: It was a survival principle. There was power in a united crowd. When British textile workers refused to work on slave cotton during the Civil War, or when varied liberation movements in the 1960s acted as one, they achieved things once considered unthinkable. Similarly, there’s a lot of value in setting aside one’s ego and showing up for the work to be done. Sometimes that means reaching out to (and learning from) other local organizations that have been fighting the good fight for a long time. Sometimes that means working within the chapter, or just being willing to have a deep conversation about the things we all fear, and why no one has to bear it alone.

We can express solidarity in a lot of ways. The big, public ones are easy to see. The quiet ones are harder. It’s remembering someone’s name and pronouns. It’s putting in a little extra effort to fold chairs and stack clipboards after the big event. It’s slowing yourself down during a heated argument and taking time to listen to what someone is really saying, and where they’re coming from.

By doing the quiet things, we build an organization that is robust, resilient, and more prepared for the long haul. If we think about building socialism as a generation-long project, and maybe one that will outlive us, it changes how we consider things. When you recognize that you could be working with someone for years to come, it changes the way you communicate. We may disagree about the ways to get there, but the ways we disagree can allow for us to work together in the future.

We also consider the long haul by taking care of each other and ourselves. Caring about anything in this historical moment means facing up to crisis after crisis, from natural disasters to ICE raids to organized harassment. We can’t react well if we’re all anxious, lonely wrecks. Reach out to people and aim for genuine human connection. When it comes to building trust and sustained dialogue, in-person meetings are better than phone calls, and phone calls are better than texting. Most forms are better than social media.

Keeping it comradely

A comrade is your partner in solidarity. It’s sort of like a teammate: They don’t have to be your friend, but there’s a shared recognition of being on the same side. As a multi-tendency organization with a broad spectrum of opinions and a culture of open expression, it can be easy to quickly find oneself in a heated debate. When disagreements arise, it’s important to remember that we’re all pulling for a better future. While far from an exhaustive list, here are some things we’ve found that help:

Act in good faith. We are all here with a hope for a better world. Stay in integrity with what you think, say, and do.
Assume good faith in your fellow comrades. Suspicion of bad faith often breeds defensive bad faith. If you think someone said something upsetting, start by asking clarifying questions before leaping to conclusions. If you’re being challenged on something, try to be open to it as a valid critique first. If you disagree with a tactic or project someone proposes, remember that they are motivated by wanting to build a socialist world just like you.
Notice when you're thinking in either/or terms. It’s tempting to split the world into “only two choices” or “two kinds of people” or other sets of opposites that fundamentally boil down to “good/bad.” (This is referred to as binary thinking.) Unfortunately, this also makes it easy to separate into artificial forms of “us” and “them,” and harder to stay in solidarity.
Know whether you need to “step up” or “listen up.” If you’re someone who naturally tends towards taking up space (by speaking or arguing a lot), be mindful of it and keep an eye out for how you can redistribute power in the conversation. If you typically shy away, we encourage you to speak up.
Bring people into the conversation. Building power means everyone feels welcome to speak. As you take part in conversations, try to notice if people are disengaging or shutting down and give them on-ramps back in. If they said something important that didn’t get addressed, echo it.
Listen fully with a willingness to have your mind changed.“Winning” as an individual is counterproductive if the discussion goes nowhere. When others are speaking, attend to what they have to say, instead of planning your response. Give them the respect of your undivided attention, minimizing phone and computer use unless it’s necessary to the task at hand.
Recognize and respect others’ feelings, backgrounds, and cultural differences. Everyone has a piece of the truth, and you can learn something from everyone. Respect where people are coming from. This is particularly important given the demographics of the East Bay and the historical marginalization of many working-class communities here.
Keep the conversation accessible. Try to clarify terms when jargon or acronyms get thrown around, and remember that everything we do can be an opportunity for socialist education.

Long-haul solidarity can be gentle, but it should not be mistaken for weakness.

Long-haul solidarity can be gentle, but it should not be mistaken for weakness. Because we believe in the value and worth of human life, we see it as our responsibility to confront domination wherever it lives. We seek to overturn a system that tells us we’re worth less if we’re not white, or not a “real man,” didn’t go to college, or any of the countless ways we are told we are smaller or less because of who we are.

We also know that having been raised in these systems, every last one of us will have blind spots. Everyone is a work in progress, and mass organizations are necessarily full of contradictions. Moral clarity is important, but there’s no such thing as perfect purity. None of us are perfect, and all of us make mistakes. We’re all working on becoming better than we are now.

Abuse and Predatory Behavior

Socialism is based on mutual respect for all and the enhancement of human dignity. That said, even with the best of intentions, conflicts arise. If you have a conflict with an East Bay DSA comrade that you can’t resolve on your own, please let someone in leadership know. There are policies in place for grievances and harassment, and we’re building out structures for accountability with an eventual eye towards fully formed restorative justice practices.

We are categorically against abuse and, predatory behavior, and otherwise shitty actions. According to our bylaws, the Steering Committee may vote to discipline (suspend or expel) members whose actions are found to be out of integrity with our code of conduct. The chapter takes Serious complaints seriously, and will always handle them be handled with complete confidentiality for all involved members.

The long haul: People erect wind turbine

What’s the organizational structure of DSA?

DSA is a national confederation of local chapters. Every two years, chapters send delegates to a national convention. The delegates debate proposals, set priorities, and elect a 16-person body known as the National Political Council (NPC), which works to carry out the democratically determined priorities of the national organization over the following two years.

It’s worth noting that national priorities don’t mean we can’t have local efforts of our own, based on our particular geographic and political circumstances. National’s role is to support and encourage local chapters (where the life of the organization is), not to tell us what to do. At the same time, being a part of a national organization allows chapters to work together for the kind of big, ambitious wins against entrenched capitalist interests that could never be achieved without national coordination. A finger is weak, but a fist is strong.

Local structure

The following is a breezy paraphrase of the official bylaws for East Bay DSA, which can be found in full at eastbaydsa.org/resources-bylaws.

The primary bodies to keep track of are the General Membership, and the Steering Committee (SC)

THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP: That’s all of us and where power rests. We meet as a body to set priorities at a yearly convention, and gather regularly for general meetings to vote on important questions.

THE STEERING COMMITTEE (SC): This is the elected leadership and the second-highest body after the general membership. It manages the chapter’s day-to-day affairs, provides oversight, and resolves conflicts. It consists of thirteen elected members who serve roughly one-year terms.

Who is the steering committee?

The Council consists of 13 elected (voting) members, for good luck. These are:

Two Co-Chairs: Co-chairs organize and preside over meetings of the Council. They also act as “executive officers” when the situation requires it, acting as official spokespeople, putting their names on financial documents, and managing communications with National or other chapters.

One Vice-Chair: The vice-chair assists the co-chairs with their duties and fills in if either of the co-chairs aren’t able to fulfill their duties.

One Recording Secretary: The secretary is responsible for taking the minutes of all general membership and Steering Committee meetings and reporting the minutes, resolutions, reports, and other official records of the chapter. The recording secretary may appoint, but must oversee, a temporary proxy minutes-taker for any meeting.

One Communications Secretary: The communications secretary is responsible for the member newsletter and website, though each of these functions may be substantially delegated to or shared with designated committees.

One Treasurer: The treasurer is responsible for dealing with fundraising, budgeting, expenditures, and keeping the financial ship in order. They keep transparent and open finances, periodically reported out.

Seven At-Large Council Members: At-large Steering Committee members participate in Steering Committee decision-making and are responsible for attending all relevant meetings and reading all relevant documents. At-large Steering Committee members are also tasked with representing the views of the membership that elected them as well as helping to advance the goals of the chapter generally.

What do I do as a member?

The way our active members become active members is usually, “show up to meetings, then take on work.” We have a variety of meetings every month: Each of them should include opportunities for members to dig into ongoing projects. (And if they don’t, feel free to email newmember@eastbaydsa.org with feedback or questions.) If you’re not sure how or where to get involved, we have a couple examples in this section, but the website and our Facebook page are our most frequently updated sources of things-to-do. For specific questions, the directories at the end of this document should help you figure out who to contact.

We think of all DSA members as socialist organizers (that’s what it says on your membership card!), but at the same time we know that almost no one comes to DSA a fully formed socialist organizer. Organizing requires us all to develop a variety of skills: being able to map out a social group, identifying natural leaders, figuring out what people need to hear in order to bring their best, and making courageous asks. These are skills you can apply inside the organization as you get your feet under you, but also outside of it: figuring out what friends to invite to which events, testing which appeals work on your uncle at Thanksgiving, and otherwise advancing socialism through honest conversations. Organizing also requires practical skills like being reliable, organized, and communicative about your limits and your availability.

Showing up builds trust

There is a spectre haunting NorCal: the spectre of flakiness. People say “We should meet up!” and never follow through. Good-sounding ideas are tossed around without serious consideration of what it would take to make them happen. (And let’s not even TALK about online dating.) This is undoubtedly a consequence of living in a society where we’re taught to be consumers instead of a community and where the prevailing ethos is “You don’t owe anyone anything.” We’ve all been guilty of this, at one point or another, but if we are going to seriously build a structure strong enough to remake the world, we need to show up on time for meetings.

In this organization, what you do matters. We might be socially conditioned to window-shop every single possible choice until the last minute, but that doesn’t foster a strong organization. Commit to something, and hold to it.

We’re not asking you to martyr yourself because that’s how burnout happens. Don’t take on more than you can sustain. We also recognize that not everyone has a few extra hours per week because capitalism is awful. Just do what you can. You’re not going to get fired or yelled at if you get overwhelmed or drop the ball every once in awhile. But when you honor people’s time and energy, you build trust. When we have strong bonds of trust, we build power.

That said, here are some easy ways in!

Phonebanking the membership for a big meeting
Running an information/merch table at First Fridays
Having in-depth conversations with strangers as part of a neighborhood canvass
Surreptitiously printing out DSA pamphlets on your work printer
Helping internal organizers count votes at a meeting of the general membership
Folding and stapling new copies of the member handbook
Assembling signs for an East Bay DSA contingent at a big march
Researching the background and properties of a predatory landlord
Joining a book club or study group

If you’re ever not sure or have questions, email newmember@eastbaydsa.org. You can also check eastbaydsa.org/events for a continually refreshed set of things to show up to.

There’s also a lot of room for bottom-up creation.

If you want to do informal sociable things with your comrades like rock climbing, book clubs, or park clean-ups, just start doing it. Our movement gets stronger when we have a strong body of activities that stitch us together alongside the work.

If you have an idea for something more official, like putting together an earthquake preparedness plan, coordinating an event with another local organization, or tabling at the Coliseum BART stop on game days, it helps to be plugged in. Find the committee (or caucus) doing the organizing closest to your idea, get involved with their ongoing work, and once you have the lay of the land, ask some of the organizers to talk it over with you. A good place to start is the list of committees on our website. The more you can take on the logistical work surrounding your idea (and round up previously inactive members or interested non-members to help), the more likely you are to make it happen quickly.

If you want to gather folks together in self-organizing but ongoing ways, you might want to join or start a caucus.

Forming a caucus

Caucuses are independent formations of members within the Local. They’re a big part of internal democracy. If you think we need to do more on a particular front, if you want to gather people who are interested in the same issues or shared experiences, or if you want to push the leadership to consider alternatives to the current path, a caucus might be what you’re looking for. Local caucuses have formed around socialist feminism, environmental justice, social housing, and the abolition of prisons and policing. (The website always has an up-to-date list of formally recognized caucuses.)

Any member can form a caucus, for any reason. If you want your caucus to be officially recognized (which means you get listed on the website) you’ll need to get together five members and a statement that includes the name and purpose of the caucus, and send it to the Local secretary.

Things that need an official, democratic sign-off

ELECTORAL ENDORSEMENTS: You can feel free to get involved in a campaign as an individual, but the big-tent nature of our org makes it important that the collective membership gets to vote on it before someone starts claiming a DSA endorsement. Official endorsements require a full meeting and vote of the general membership (or in fast-moving and/or emergency circumstances, a three-quarters vote from the Steering Committee.)

SPEAKING FOR THE GROUP: Be mindful of when you’re representing the chapter and when you’re speaking as an individual. If you’re in communication with another organization, a business, or the press, feel free to mention you’re a member and speak your mind. There’s no muzzle here. However, just make it clear you’re not speaking on behalf of the organization until you’re sure it’s a position approved by a democratic process. The Steering Committee approves official chapter representatives for the purposes of interacting with other organizations or within a coalition space. Steering Committee and general membership meetings vote to approve positions, events, and strategies for the chapter; any work done by caucuses or ad hoc members should be presented as such.

STARTING A MAJOR NEW PROJECT OR FORMING AN OFFICIAL WORKING GROUP: We want to build institutional memory and coordinated effort, so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time we want to print up flyers or get T-shirts made.

What this means in practice is that we focus our all-important resources of member time and energy on democratically determined priorities, building expertise in the standing committees and project teams, while committee member conversations and caucus meetings act as laboratories for new projects and initiatives.

If you’ve gotten involved and find that there is a specific need that is not being met by existing teams, you can talk to an organizer about your ideas and work together to develop a proposal for the membership or Steering Committee to vote on.

East Bay DSA New Member Handbook

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