San Diego Democratic Socialists of America

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San Diego Democratic Socialists of America

1993 actions

San Diego DSA held a March forum with Greg Akili, co-chair of the African American Organizing Union, on "The New Administrationand the Struggle for Universal Health Care."

San Diego DSAers were also active waging a campaign to convince the area Congresspeople, Lynn Schenk and Bob Filner, to co-sponsor the McDermott-Conyers bill for a single-payer health care system.^[1]

San Diego DSA hosted an August 20 lecture on Clinton's economic program by Ray Boddy, Professor of Economics at San Diego State University. The local also became active in the fight to defeat the school voucher initiative.^[2]

2000 actions

In 2000, Local members worked on the anti-voucher initiative with Californians for Justice and the California Teachers’ Association, campaigned for Nader, and fundraised for Medea Benjamin.

The local held a well-attended meeting this fall around the utilities deregulation fiasco, featuring Craig Rose from the San Diego Union Tribune, who was instrumental in getting the issue out locally; DSAers are presently meeting with important people connected with this issue, and they hope to be part of a movement toward creating a municipal utility.^[3]

DSA 2005 Western Regional Conference

San Diego DSA hosted the March 5, 2005 DSA Western Regional Conference

The morning workshops emphasized internal questions, including DSA Local Development and dialog around cooperation between San Diego DSA and other members of the San Diego Socialist Unity Network.

In the afternoon the workshops moved toward more general themes relating to the economy. DSA National Director Frank Llewellyn and San Francisco National Political C o m m i t t e e member Tim Sears presented a workshop on Wal-Mart and the Low Wage Economy. San Diego DSA member Gregg Robinson led a workshop on Saving Social Security. Finally, Amelia Simpson from the Environmental Health Coalition presented a power point presentation on CAFTA and the Border Economy. This presentation "emphasized the devastating impact NAFTA has had on both sides of the border, and made the case for organizing to prevent the extension of NAFTA-like free trade to Central America via CAFTA".

The evening panel discussion centered on organizing around the maquiladora industry. Featured were well-known author, reporter and photographer David Bacon; Carmen Valadez from the Workers’ Information Center , Tijuana, and the Colectiva Feminista Binacional; Enrique Davalos from CITTAC and the San Diego Maquiladora Workers’ Solidarity Network (SDMWSN); and Teresa Loyola from the Tijuana Women’s Rights Advocates. San Diego DSA is a very active founding member of the SDMWSN. ^[4]

Alliances

In 2010 San Diego DSA brought its members out to the Fifth Anniversary Celebration of San Diego’s Living Wage Ordinance. The local Tea party had have put an initiative on the November ballot that would repeal the Living Wage for San Diego, and DSA expects to be heavily involved in efforts to defeat it. The local has also participated in demonstrations and marches relating to the massive education cuts in California, and maintained its ongoing coalition work with the San Diego Maquiladora Solidarity Network; the San Diego Affordable Housing Coalition; and the Socialist Unity Network.^[5]

Socialist Unity Network

SD DSA has been an ongoing member of the San Diego Socialist Unity Network (SUN), along with Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. Starting about 2007, SUN has held bi-monthly “Socialist Salon” gathering.^[6]

Occupy San Diego

According to report from San Diego Democratic Socialists of America, members Herb Shore and Virginia Franco on October 16, 2011, on Occupy San Diego;^[7]

We had a successful march and rally a week ago, October 7, with a DSA contingent of about seven people, taking turns carrying the DSA banner. The march was from a downtown SD park to Civic Center. It was huge for this city's standards—an impressive 1500 marchers. We passed out lots of copies of the DSA Fact Sheet on the federal budget. A couple of DSAers, Pam Barratt and Virginia Franco spent this first night 'al fresco', with no tent.

Since the first march and rally, DSA SD has participated with food donations two more times to the occupiers at Civic Center. Last night, we contributed 144 brownies at about 10:00 PM and displayed a sign. Although, late evening, we managed to show a sign expressing the SEBOR cover statement, and passing out the pamphlets. Someone mentioned we were going to be on their Facebook page. One young leadership occupier expressed interest in DSA, and said she would mail the brochure to her father in NYC, an economic conservative.

References

References