2021 Steering Committee Initial Plans and Goals

Hello Comrades!

Despite the fairytale of a “return to normalcy” under a Biden presidency, this year is already revealing that the ongoing crises of capitalism cannot be swept under the rug.

We live in the age of crisis, and although we are not all impacted by these crises to the same degree, we are all committed to this struggle and to each other. None of us are free until all of us are free. It will take all of us, working strategically and compassionately together to win. Success is not guaranteed, but standing by is not an option.

Your 2021 Steering Committee is committed to meeting the moment, and has already begun strategizing about how to strengthen the chapter in the coming year.

Priorities

We are committed to implementing the 3 priority resolutions chosen by our members at the September 2020 convention. ‘A Socialist Commitment to Black Liberation’, ‘In Response to Crisis: A Neighborhood Solidarity Program’ by DSA-LA’, and ‘Build a Bench for a 2022 DSA-LA Slate’.  We are also committed to supporting the healthy growth of our branches to ensure that after the pandemic restrictions are lifted, in-person organizing will be accessible to all, no matter where they live.

As soon as committee leadership elections are completed this coming week, we will be hosting a Leadership Retreat for all chapter officers to skillshare and talk about our collective strategies for the year.

Teams

To accomplish all that needs to be done, we will be dividing ourselves into various teams based on members’ interests and availability. A full list of who is working on what can be found below. We do not intend to administrate all chapter work ourselves — that would be impossible. This year we want to delegate and empower leaders across the county. We will especially be relying on the support of our Administrative Committee. (If you are interested in supporting core chapter Admin work, please contact [email protected]).

Projects

There are a few internal projects that we are committing ourselves to at the top of the year. We plan to develop a simple Decision-Making Guide so that all members can more easily understand how decisions in the chapter are made. We are also authoring a document that will be called the “Rules and Regulations of the Local”. This is something referenced in the bylaws to provide clear policy about many areas, including a code of member conduct, policies about finances and communications, policies about coalitions and endorsements, policies about member data and privacy, and more. Additionally we will be forming a Bylaws Styles Commission to make sure the text of our bylaws is free from typos and outdated or conflicting references.

Finally, in an attempt to provide a roadmap for the year, we will be authoring a Workplan to combine all our various commitments into a single document. We will also work with all committees to do the same so that our development plans can be plainly understood by and be accessible to all members.

Thank you for reading.

In solidarity and unity,

Jordan E, Communications Director

On behalf of the DSA LA Steering Committee

We can be reached at [email protected] – though please allow us usually 24-48 hours to respond.

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LIST OF TEAMS/LIAISON ASSIGNMENTS

ONGOING COMMITMENTS

Resolution: In Response to Crisis 

– Jordan, Leslie, Jack, Michelle, Marlin

Resolution: A Socialist Commitment to Black Liberation

 – Leslie, Jack, Annaly

Resolution: Build a Bench

 – Hannah, Michelle, Ankur, Marlin

Administrative Committee Liaisons

 – Staci, Jordan Leslie, Jack

Labor Committee Liaisons

 – Staci, Michelle, Ankur

General Committee Support

 – Jack, Hannah, Annaly, Michelle

Branch Development Support

 – Jordan, Leslie, Jack, Ankur, Marlin

Conflict Resolution Team Liaisons

 – Staci, Jordan, Annaly

California DSA Liaisons

 – Jordan, Hannah

Local Meetings and other chapter leadership meetings liaisons

 – Leslie, Jack

TIME-BOUND PROJECTS

Convention

 – Staci, Jack, Michelle

Forming Bylaws Styles Commission

 – Michelle, Marlin

Writing “Workplan”

 – Leslie, Jack, Michelle

Writing “Decision Making Guide”

 – Staci, Jordan, Hannah, Annaly

Writing “Standing Rules, Policies and Procedures of the Local”

 – Jordan, Annaly, Michelle, Marlin