Socialist Party USA

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Socialist Party USA

SPUSA Statement of Principles

From the SPUSA website;[1]

The Socialist Party strives to establish a radical democracy that places people's lives under their own control - a non-racist, classless, feminist socialist society... where working people own and control the means of production and distribution through democratically-controlled public agencies; where full employment is realized for everyone who wants to work; where workers have the right to form unions freely, and to strike and engage in other forms of job actions; and where the production of society is used for the benefit of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few. We believe socialism and democracy are one and indivisible. The working class is in a key and central position to fight back against the ruling capitalist class and its power. The working class is the major force worldwide that can lead the way to a socialist future - to a real radical democracy
from below. The Socialist Party fights for progressive changes compatible with a socialist future. We support militant working class struggles and electoral action, independent of the capitalist controlled two-party system, to present socialist alternatives. We strive for democratic revolutions - radical and fundamental changes in the structure and quality of economic, political, and personal relations - to abolish the power now exercised by the few who control great wealth and the government. The Socialist Party is a democratic, multi-tendency organization, with structure and practices visible and accessible to all members

Leadership

Socialist Party USA National Committee. Elected on October 10, 2009

National Committee Members

National Committee Alternates

Socialist Party USA National Action Committee

The National Action Committee (NAC) is a body elected to decisions between National Committee Meetings. The NAC is composed of the National Secretary, National Treasurer, Editor and the following members elected by the NC: Andrea Pason, Jim Sanders and Diana Demers.

Locals

As of 2009;[2] Arizona

Connecticut

Florida

Indiana

Illinois

Kansas

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

New Jersey

New York

Ohio

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Texas

Vermont

Virginia

Wisconsin

50s merger

In the autumn of 1958, two previously feuding groups on the Left— the Independent Socialist League led by Max Shachtman, along with its youth affiliate the Young Socialist League , and the Socialist Party led by Norman Thomas, along with its youth affiliate the Young People's Socialist League joined forces in a unity convention.

In the months following the merger in 1958, the Young People's Socialist League numbers were still pitifully small: the group counted two hundred and thirty members in thirteen chapters nationwide: fifty-five in New York, twenty-five in Chicago, twenty each in Los Angeles and Berkeley. But promising reports of YPSL's potential for growth had begun to filter back to SP headquarters from across the country. From Los Angeles, Charles Curtiss wrote to Socialist Party national secretary Irwin Suall in October: "The good news is that at the local meeting yesterday nine—count them nine—people applied for membership.... You can imagine our jubilation. In the scale of history nine is not very much But in relation to our recent past and our needs, nine new members is a giant step forward."[3]

Solidarity with Sept. 24 FBI Raid Activists

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression lists Socialist Party USA as one of the organizations that has issued a statement of solidarity in support of the activists raided in the September 24, 2010 FBI Raids.[4]

Socialist Party USA support for OWS

Members of the Socialist Party of New York City were arrested October 2, 2011, during a march over the Brooklyn Bridge as part of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street demonstration. Arrestees included Billy Wharton, co-chair of the Socialist Party USA, Lawrence Rockwood, chair of the Socialist Party of New York State, Kristin Schall, chair of the Socialist Party of New York City and SP-NYC members Nick Pelman and Nick Daka. The group faces misdemeanor charges for disorderly conduct and one felony charge for criminal riot. Court dates are set for mid-November.

The march and action on the Brooklyn Bridge were a part of the ongoing occupation of Downtown Manhattan by the activist group Occupy Wall Street. Socialist Party USA members have actively supported this occupation since its inception and will continue to collaborate with all those interested in challenging the power of the richest 1% and Wall Street.

“The media has claimed that the protesters have no demands”, said Billy Wharton, co-chair Socialist Party USA. “Socialists have demands. We want a democratic society – we demand healthcare for all, the right to a good job and to live in a peaceful, non-militaristic world. That’s what we were marching over the Brooklyn Bridge for.”

The five arrested socialists join dozens of other Socialist Party USA members who have participated in direct actions since the economic crisis began in 2008. These actions have challenged anti-union legislation, have opposed budget cuts and have called for an end to war and occupation.[5]

References

  1. ↑ [1] SPUSA website, accessed August 16, 2010
  2. ↑ [2] Socialist Party USA website, contacts, accessed August 16, 2019
  3. ↑ [Millennium Part One * Dem. Left • page 21]
  4. ↑ Committee to Stop FBI Repression: Solidarity Statements (accessed on Oct. 6, 2010)
  5. ↑ LINKS. Eyewitness reports: The 99% occupy Wall Street; The Battle of Brooklyn Bridge; Unionists join in, Oct. 3. 2011
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