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Thank you all for coming! Linked here is the text of the State of the Chapter.

It’s almost time for the biggest meeting of the year! Our chapter meets annually at our Annual Convention to discuss, debate, and democratically choose our priorities for the next year. The political landscape is shifting all the time, and we need to be able to strategically meet the moment as a mass organization. This year we’ll be joined by speaker Eunisses Hernandez, councilperson-elect for Los Angeles Council District 1. Eunisses’ upset victory has made waves around the country, and she’ll be talking about how she did it and what we as the left can learn.

For the first time in three years, we are going to be holding convention IN-PERSON and we hope every DSA-LA member can join us! There is a proxy voting option for those unable to attend. (See below)

COVID Protocol: To protect the health and safety of all members, we will be requiring all attendees to be vaccinated and to wear masks while in close proximity. There will be plenty of hand sanitizer, and the facility features state-of-the-art ventilation.

Accessibility and other details:


  • Lunch will be provided to attendees, as well as coffee and light refreshments in the morning.
  • The building is fully ADA accessible.
  • Attendees can participate in English or in Spanish.
  • Childcare will be provided.

Finally, don’t forget to RSVP for the Post-Convention Social, hosted at a venue in Central LA from 7-10pm!

Frequently Asked Questions

As part of our commitment to democratic socialism, our chapter meets annually, as mandated by our bylaws, to discuss our priorities for the next year. The political landscape is shifting all the time; we need to be able to meet the moment by deliberating on where to focus our organizing. 

There are some similarities, but in general, a lot more happens at convention than a regular meeting. In the first place, we set our priorities for the year. This involves more than just organizing individual projects, it will impact the work of all committees and branches. In addition to democratically deciding our political priorities, this is also a time for members to reflect on the work we’ve done over the last year. Although we can theoretically amend our bylaws at any time, Convention is considering a special time to do this in a way that considers many different perspectives and changes at once. There will be retrospective reports, a keynote speaker, and debate on setting our strategic orientation for the next year. 

Given our limited resources as a member-funded organization, we limit the scope of our priorities to a maximum of 3. This limit is established by our bylaws. This focus allows us to have a greater impact in our work, as well as develop clear opportunities and campaigns to help people get involved.

The Steering Committee accepts resolution proposals from members in advance of the Convention. Resolutions need to contain a motivation, a proposal for how we will engage in the work, and other details relevant to implementation. Members are also able to amend our chapter’s bylaws through a written proposal. Authors needed to collect signatures from 25 members in good standing in order for their proposal to be considered. In order for a resolution or a bylaw amendment to be adopted, the proposal must receive a ⅔ supermajority vote.

You can read more here.

The short answer is: possibly. The priorities set at the Convention supersede in importance all other work. In practice this could mean that more chapter resources, communication channels, and member time will be dedicated to ensuring we carry out the priorities that were set. A resolution could also further affirm or widen the scope of work we’re already doing.  

Of course! But they have to be a member-in-good-standing in order to participate. Anyone who is not currently a member but wishes to participate in the convention must register to become a member. In order to ensure a democratic process we will be checking the membership status of everyone who registers for the event. Please ensure your Membership is current in advance of the meeting if you wish to participate. You can check your current status here. If you do not check in advance, we will be unable to resolve any membership issues on the day of the meeting.

Absolutely! There is a lot of work to be done. Fill out this volunteer interest form and we’ll get in touch to find out if there’s a good way for you to get involved, either in planning the event, or on the day of.

We will be using a system that will be familiar to anyone who attended our convention in 2019 – the last year before we were forced virtual. We’ll have paper ballot cards that attendees can hold up to have their vote counted. There will be a “proxy” option for people who are unable to attend. We also plan to live-stream the event to members.

We want to emphasize a desire for people to participate in person in order to get the most out of the event, but we’ll make sure that people can still be represented even if they are unable to be physically present.

Our chapter and DSA broadly favors the use of Robert’s Rules of Order for parliamentary procedure. Robert’s Rules is an accessible and fair set of rules that allows groups to make decisions together in an organized way. If you’re not familiar with Robert’s Rules, don’t worry! We’ll have cheat sheets available with key terms, our “chair” will clearly explain what’s going on at all times, and we’ll offer a full training in advance of the event.

The venue: A brand new meeting space at LATTC. Plenty of parking available, and in very close proximity to multiple public transit options.

Please note, “Subscribing” to this Calendar or event will not add registration or Zoom links to your calendar. You will need to return to this Calendar to access any links.

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