Statements from chapter members in favor and against PCR4: Select Labor as a Priority Campaign for 2022 will be posted in this thread.
Statements will be accepted as they are received, until the deadline of 8:00 pm ET on Sunday, December 12, 2021.
Statement from Stu K - IN FAVOR - regarding Resolution PCR4: Select Labor as a Priority Campaign as a Priority Campaign
I am voting in favor of the Labor priority proposal to become a priority campaign for our chapter. The Labor Working Group has presented a major, signature campaign for the chapter to support—Initiative 82 in D.C., which would raise the tipped minimum wage—which is essential for building member engagement. This campaign strikes at the heart of capitalist exploitation of tipped workers, and we should make it a priority for our chapter. I urge fellow chapter members to vote in favor of Labor as a priority for our chapter in the coming year.
Statement from Aparna R - IN FAVOR - regarding Resolution PCR4: Select Labor as a Priority Campaign as a Priority Campaign
I think the Labor working group, and their organizing plans for next year, are the crux of what DSA is about– supporting the working-class, and winning material gains for workers. And I’m specifically excited about Initiative 82, which is one of Labor working group’s primary campaigns for next year.
Initiative 82 is a DC ballot initiative that would raise the city’s tipped minimum wage of $5.05/hr + tips to their regular minimum wage of $15.20/hr + tips. If Initiative 82 passes, it would radically alter the take home pay and financial stability of working-class tipped workers, including restaurant workers, nail technicians, and car valets. And we know this is a winning campaign, because it already passed in 2018 before the Council overturned it. After a year of COVID, these are the workers who either lost their jobs, were underemployed, or had to work on the frontlines in the middle of a pandemic. Initiative 82 is a campaign that can reach these workers where they are, as well workers that have left these industries since the pandemic. It would help build our relationships with workers, build our commitment to working-class causes, and help recruit people into DSA. It’s also a clear campaign that DSA members can easily get involved with, and would provide an opportunity to develop organizers within the chapter.
We also have the opportunity to collaborate across working groups by coordinating our efforts with the electoral working group, given that this is a ballot initiative, with the opportunity to run joint canvasses with the Zachary Parker campaign, should the chapter endorse him. Priority campaign funds would allow us print DSA-branded materials for canvasses, would allow us to have branded DSA & Initiative 82 items like buttons to increase DSA’s profile as a champion for the working-class in DC, and would help cover the costs of general canvassing materials like clipboards and water. It is a tangible campaign for the working-class in DC, it would help recruit to the chapter, and it would build collaboration across working groups.
There’s a clear need for priority campaign status. I encourage everyone to vote for Labor to continue to be a priority campaign.