Resource Radicals covers the challenges and conflict over resource extraction that emerged on the left in Ecuador, following the election of President Rafael Correa in 2007. Correa and his supporters advocated resource nationalism and extraction for global markets, while a coalition of indigenous and environmental activists disagreed and called for less extractive economic policies. The demands of global trade (particularly in oil), environmental justice, and the legacies of colonial exploitation all factor into the left’s struggle in Ecuador.

https://www.facebook.com/1635090910031481

Take Back the Grid is hosting an Op-Ed/Letter to the Editor writing workshop in support of H. 4045, Utility Relief For All. Register to join a fun, collaborative writing session. Walk away with a rousing article for your local newspaper and lifelong writing skills!

Please register for this event using the links at bdsa.us/TBTG or access the zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrd-GvrjIoH9FUqr_t0DJ5pCgVtdNyCoM9.

For more information, visit bit.ly/CovidBill. For instructions on how to call your representatives (including a script), visit bit.ly/UtilityRelief4All. Go to bit.ly/UtilityDebtRally to register for our rally or sign up for other upcoming events to pass utility debt relief at bdsa.us/TBTG.

All attendees are welcome to join Boston DSA's Eco-Socialism Working Group immediately after the workshop at 7 PM. You can register for the January meeting and other Eco events at bdsa.us/eco.

-----------
More info:

As a result of the pandemic-related financial crisis, 1 out of 6 utility ratepayers in Massachusetts faces utility debt. Now that the hold on utility shutoffs has expired, customers will be forced to pay large accumulated bills or lose essential utility services. We are rallying to demand forgiveness from this unjust debt.

Massachusetts was hit hard by the economic downturn. At its peak, the pandemic unemployment rate here was the highest in the country. Mass. residents not only deserve the right to keep their lights and heat on—they deserve support to cover the cost!

This workshop is in support of Bill H.4045, "An Act Establishing an Arrearage Relief Fund," which if passed will:

-Create an Arrearage Relief Fund to cover 100% of debt from both investor-owned and municipal gas & electric utilities incurred during the pandemic, from 3/1/2020 to the time of enactment of this bill, over a period of 5 years.

-Pay 50% of all residential electric and gas ratepayers’ utility bills from the time of enactment to 12/31/2025.

-Fund renewable energy projects with remaining revenue starting 2026.
Require the Department of Public Utilities to enact a 2-year moratorium on all utility rate hikes.

-Pay for it all through a new polluter’s fee, charging companies based on the carbon and other greenhouse gases they emit. The fee will mainly target power companies that release non-transportation greenhouse gas emissions. Investor-owned utilities will be prohibited from passing the cost of these fees on to the ratepayers.

Utility companies shouldn't profit while many in our state are going into debt to meet their basic needs. It's time to demand a better world.

https://www.facebook.com/334704865321784

This is the monthly meeting of Boston DSA's Eco-Socialism working group. We will discuss updates to our campaigns and work with other groups, and we will have in a political reading discussion.

Please register or join our mailing list at bdsa.us/Eco.

You'll receive the agenda and zoom details after RSVPing. This will be a Zoom-only event. We will use the recurring number from past meetings, and will send out an agenda with details prior to the meeting if you RSVPed above or if you're on our mailing list. If you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list, please contact ecosocialism@bostondsa.org.

https://www.facebook.com/1034017023842884

New to Boston DSA? Not sure how to get started? Not a member yet, but looking to dip your toe in? Or maybe you're a not-so-new member, but haven't been active in a while? Then please join us via Zoom for a New Member Orientation!

Comrades from our Membership Committee will walk you through the chapter's structure, answer questions, facilitate discussion about socialist organizing in Boston, and discuss how the chapter is responding to the COVID-19 state of emergency and the associated crises of capitalism it has accelerated.

Due to the aforementioned pandemic, this meeting, as well as most of our other meetings and events for the foreseeable future, will be held over Zoom. RSVP at bdsa.us/BDSANewMember for the link!

https://www.facebook.com/466616898194157

We will be meeting exclusively on Zoom for the foreseeable future. Regular meetings are held on the second Monday of each month at 7pm (subject to change) To register please visit:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/vJQsd-CgqTIpy5SPGYSl_YiyRKVqcRCj_Q?fbclid=IwAR3DEnctqnGLXx0gsPx8eZSv5Mh4VX2FKApJwOpko3-RzNBSQUySnex7q3c

The Immigration Working Group works in solidarity with (im)migrant-led groups in Boston to help build a broad cultural and legislative campaign in the name of dignity, respect, and political protection for the (im)migrant working class.

If you have any questions or would like to be added to the working group mailing list, please email immigration@bostondsa.org

https://www.facebook.com/565232191142370

Hey Comrade,

Living under capitalism is hard. We want a better world, but for the mean time, those of us with burdens are really struggling. This is a safe space to decompress, and share struggles and successes so we keep going. Self-care is important, and sometimes it works better together.

Register in advance for this meeting:
bdsa.us/PeerSupport

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

https://www.facebook.com/389031213050134

Resource Radicals covers the challenges and conflict over resource extraction that emerged on the left in Ecuador, following the election of President Rafael Correa in 2007. Correa and his supporters advocated resource nationalism and extraction for global markets, while a coalition of indigenous and environmental activists disagreed and called for less extractive economic policies. The demands of global trade (particularly in oil), environmental justice, and the legacies of colonial exploitation all factor into the left’s struggle in Ecuador.

https://www.facebook.com/1740655832794891

The Boston DSA Coordinating Committee meets semimonthly, usually on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. We will be meeting online only for the foreseeable future.

We use these meetings to brainstorm and address administrative issues in the chapter. The Zoom link and CC meeting notes are posted in the #ask-cc channel in the chapter Slack. In addition, you can email the CC at boston-dsa-coordinating-committee at googlegroups dot com.

All CC meetings are open to the general membership, but not to the general public. On specific occasions where the CC is handling sensitive information, it may go into executive session for a portion of the meeting; this will be made known beforehand.

https://www.facebook.com/512611256422472

The Boston DSA Accessibility Committee aims to guarantee that all chapter activities are accessible and inclusive. We must ensure that all Comrades can fully engage at Boston DSA events, whether online or in person, removing barriers to participation and creating an atmosphere where all feel welcome.

We meet the 2nd Wednesday of each month, and our meetings are virtual until further notice. Zoom registration is required in advance to attend.

Please email accessibility@bostondsa.org with any questions, comments, or accessibility requests.

https://www.facebook.com/1526850471017650

Are you an artist, designer, or interested in learning? Are you interested in using visual media to represent socialist ideas and promote our movement?

Join us 30 minutes before each comms committee meeting to coordinate our efforts so we can make the most impact with each design.

Register: bdsa.us/design

https://www.facebook.com/926592578270906

Join us for the monthly meeting of Boston DSA's Electoral Working Group. We'll be organizing to elect democratic socialists during the 2022 state level elections and beyond.

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpdu-oqD8iE9x30ksdMokQKnuGIa1ak1Ds

Please email electoral@bostondsa.org if you have any questions or concerns.

https://www.facebook.com/238173171780800

UPDATE: The event is ON, BUT due to the extreme weather forecast, we are scaling back for safety.

We will gather and picket in front of the JP Whole Foods starting at 1:00 PM, take a group solidarity photo at 1:15, and plan to wrap by 1:30. Attendees should dress WARMLY for the severe cold, and plan to arrive punctually to make the photo. THANK YOU in advance to the brave souls who can show solidarity with Amazon workers tomorrow on MLK's birthday! Watch for more Boston Solidarity with Amazon Workers actions coming soon!
_

Send Jeff Bezos a message from Boston on MLK’s birthday:

Recognize the UNION!
STOP UNION BUSTING!
Worker health and safety first!

Join the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists – Boston; Team Solidarity – the Voice of United School Bus Workers; Pride at Work Eastern MA; Workers World Party – Boston; ACT UP – Boston; Boston DSA and justice-loving area people to walk Dr. Martin Luther King's walk at the

Jamaica Plain Whole Foods
413 Centre St, 02130
Saturday, January 15th, 1 PM

supportamazonworkers.org

Celebrate Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 93rd birthday in solidarity with Amazon / Whole Foods worker organizing.

The working conditions at the Amazon / Whole Foods empire worldwide are so terrible that the annual turnover rate for Amazon workers is 150%. Amazon is also arguably the biggest, the most determined, the most sophisticated, and the most vicious union-busting corporation on earth.

This is why Bezos earned the reputation as union-buster-in-chief. From Staten Island NYC, to Bessemer Ala, To Chicago, Amazon workers are organizing, fighting back, and walking off the job to demand better conditions and union recognition.

Hold AMAZON RESPONSIBLE for WORKER DEATHS from COVID-19 and during the Dec. 10 Edwardsville, IL tornado – and for contributing to CLIMATE CHANGE that causes worsening tornadoes.

During the tornado that devastated the Midwest recently, six workers at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois died, because Amazon refused to allow workers to leave the facility even when life-threatening danger was imminent. Moreover, Amazon has contributed to the climate catastrophe, which has led to a spike in hurricanes, tornadoes and other not-so-natural disasters.

Because Amazon is so big, and has more control and influence over the global economy than virtually any other corporation, it is crucial that we support the growing efforts by Amazon workers to unionize.

If the more than 1 million Amazon and Whole Foods workers (Whole Foods is owned by Amazon) across the country unionize, chances are the entire working class, most of which is unorganized and at the mercy of profit-driven, anti-worker corporations will be able to unite, build strong unions, and usher in a new era of dignity, rights, and power for all workers.

https://www.facebook.com/3200215793531655

The Membership Committee meets via Zoom on the third Tuesday of every month. MemCom handles member data and membership issues, hosts New Member Orientations, and runs trainings for chapter members on organizing skills. It is also charged with implementing our Member Engagement and Inclusion priority for 2021. Meetings are open to all Boston DSA members in good standing. For the agenda and call-in link, please email the Membership Committee at membership at bostondsa dot org.

https://www.facebook.com/424738115294268

Monthly meeting of the Take Back the Grid campaign, in which we’ll discuss campaign strategy and updates with people new to energy democracy and experienced campaigners alike. For zoom information, if you are not on our mailing list, please email takebackthegrid.boston@gmail.com. For all accessibility needs and accommodations, please contact us at takebackthegrid.boston@gmail.com about your request, and/or contact BDSA’s Accessibility Coordinators at accessibility@bostondsa.org

https://www.facebook.com/540963140387548

Join us for the monthly Tech & Infrastructure Committee meeting where we discuss ongoing projects and opportunities for direct action.

Join the #cmt-tech-infra channel on Slack or send an email to boston-dsa-tech-infra@googlegroups.com for more information on how to get involved.

https://www.facebook.com/489203692358298

Sign up at bdsa.us/eco to receive the zoom link, or click the link listed on this event. Please email the co-chairs at ecosocialism@bostondsa.org for assistance!

Boston DSA's Eco-Socialism working group and the Take Back The Grid campaign are hosting a reading and discussion series on How to Bl*w Up a P*peline: Learning to Fight in a World on Fire by Andreas Malm. This series will begin in January 2022 with exact dates and times to be announced. Sign up here to receive all meeting details and to express your availability for discussions.

Each session will include a discussion on the given reading section and other relevant resources shared that week such as podcasts or interviews about the author, militant climate action, and more. The book is 208 pages, and we'll have about 2 sessions a month. You can expect to read around 40-60 pages a session, and all newcomers are encouraged to join regardless of their reading pace.

At the end of the series, members will decide future texts to read together. This is a great, low-pressure opportunity to learn about the history of mass popular change, meet a network of eco-conscious activists in and around DSA, and be introduced to some of the environmental organizing happening locally and internationally. Our hope is simply that you'll bring your input and excitement to our discussions and join us for as many sessions as you can!

Please reach out to ecosocialism@bostondsa.org if you have any questions about this reading series, our working group within Boston DSA, or the Take Back the Grid campaign! You can find upcoming events and register for our mailing list at bdsa.us/eco.

You can find the book at local stores here: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781839760259.

--------

About the book:

"Why resisting climate change means combatting the fossil fuel industry

The science on climate change has been clear for a very long time now. Yet despite decades of appeals, mass street protests, petition campaigns, and peaceful demonstrations, we are still facing a booming fossil fuel industry, rising seas, rising emission levels, and a rising temperature. With the stakes so high, why haven’t we moved beyond peaceful protest?

In this lyrical manifesto, noted climate scholar (and saboteur of SUV tires and coal mines) Andreas Malm makes an impassioned call for the climate movement to escalate its tactics in the face of ecological collapse. We need, he argues, to force fossil fuel extraction to stop—with our actions, with our bodies, and by defusing and destroying its tools. We need, in short, to start blowing up some oil pipelines.

Offering a counter-history of how mass popular change has occurred, from the democratic revolutions overthrowing dictators to the movement against apartheid and for women’s suffrage, Malm argues that the strategic acceptance of property destruction and violence has been the only route for revolutionary change. In a braided narrative that moves from the forests of Germany and the streets of London to the deserts of Iraq, Malm offers us an incisive discussion of the politics and ethics of pacifism and violence, democracy and social change, strategy and tactics, and a movement compelled by both the heart and the mind. Here is how we fight in a world on fire."

About the author:

Andreas Malm is a scholar of human ecology, and the author of The Progress of this Storm and of Fossil Capital, which won the Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize. Born in Sweden, Malm is an associate professor of human ecology at Lund University. He sits on the editorial board of the academic journal Historical Materialism.

https://www.facebook.com/1129678404455172

Come

https://www.facebook.com/1249753468866736

Meet at Parkman Bandstand in Boston Common

We march to the State House to demand relief from the huge utility debts that exploded during COVID!

More info and registration at bit.ly/UtilityDebtRally

This event is cosponsored by Mutual Aid Eastie, Sunrise Boston, Sunrise Cambridge, Act on Mass, Cape Cod DSA, and Boston DSA.

As a result of the pandemic-related financial crisis, 1 out of 6 utility ratepayers in Massachusetts faces utility debt. Now that the hold on utility shutoffs has expired, customers will be forced to pay large accumulated bills or lose essential utility services. We are rallying to demand forgiveness from this unjust debt.

Massachusetts was hit hard by the economic downturn. At its peak, the pandemic unemployment rate here was the highest in the country. Mass. residents not only deserve the right to keep their lights and heat on—they deserve support to cover the cost!

This rally is in support of Bill H.4045, "An Act Establishing an Arrearage Relief Fund," which if passed will:

1. Create an Arrearage Relief Fund to cover 100% of debt from both investor-owned and municipal gas & electric utilities incurred during the pandemic, from 3/1/2020 to the time of enactment of this bill, over a period of 5 years.

2. Pay 50% of all residential electric and gas ratepayers’ utility bills from the time of enactment to 12/31/2025.

3. Fund renewable energy projects with remaining revenue starting 2026.

4. Require the Department of Public Utilities to enact a 2-year moratorium on all utility rate hikes.

5. Pay for it all through a new polluter’s fee, charging companies based on the carbon and other greenhouse gases they emit. The fee will mainly target power companies that release non-transportation greenhouse gas emissions. Investor-owned utilities will be prohibited from passing the cost of these fees on to the ratepayers.

Utility companies shouldn't profit while many in our state are going into debt to meet their basic needs. It's time to demand a better world.

For more information, visit bit.ly/CovidBill. For instructions on how to call your representatives (including a script), visit bit.ly/UtilityRelief4All.

https://www.facebook.com/1800056396850672

Everyone new to socialist activism is invited to a four session intro reading group on the basics of socialism which will be based on Jacobin's lively pamphlet, “The ABC’s of Socialism”.

The group starts on January 24 and runs for four weeks (Mondays, Jan 24, Jan 31, Feb 7 & Feb 14). All sessions are 7:00-8:30 PM.

To Register:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUscOqtqT0rGtN57RmHEO0Kp9EZVEkL1JtQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Each session will discuss a few questions raised in “ABCs” that are the kind you are likely to get into with workmates, family members or fellow activists.

Topics will include, among many others: “Why do socialists talk so much about workers?”, “Doesn’t socialism always end in dictatorship?”, and “Don’t the rich deserve to keep most of their money?”

We want this reading group to provide a basic knowledge of socialist goals and analysis in a low-key atmosphere which, we hope, will make learning fun and motivate new DSA’ers to get more deeply involved in the work of our chapter.

"The ABCs of Socialism" can be downloaded here:
https://s3.jacobinmag.com/issues/jacobin-abcs.pdf.

Reading schedule for each session:

January 24

“Isn’t America already kind of socialist?”
“But at least capitalism is free and democratic, right?”

January 31

“Why do socialists talk so much about workers?”
“Don’t the rich deserve to keep all of their money?”

February 7

“What about racism? Don’t socialists only care about class?
“Doesn’t socialism always end up in dictatorship?
“Wouldn’t a more democratic world just mean a bigger environmental crisis?
“Is socialism a western concept?”

February 14

“Aren’t socialism and feminism sometimes in conflict?”
“Will socialists take my Kenny Loggins records?”
“Will socialism be boring?”

For more info: abcsofsocialism@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/398426472059784

Boston DSA's Socialist Feminist Working Group integrates socialist feminist theory and praxis into the chapter's work and advances socialist feminist causes in the greater Boston area. In addition to one-time events and socialist feminist political education, we are developing a project to expose fake abortion clinics in the Boston area. To learn more or in join the working group, please email socialistfeminism@bostondsa.org to be added to our listserv. Each month's Zoom link will be emailed out to the listserv the day of the meeting. (Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, all meetings are Zoom only until further notice.)

https://www.facebook.com/2637399113221072

The Boston DSA Coordinating Committee meets semimonthly, usually on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. We will be meeting online only for the foreseeable future.

We use these meetings to brainstorm and address administrative issues in the chapter. The Zoom link and CC meeting notes are posted in the #ask-cc channel in the chapter Slack. In addition, you can email the CC at boston-dsa-coordinating-committee at googlegroups dot com.

All CC meetings are open to the general membership, but not to the general public. On specific occasions where the CC is handling sensitive information, it may go into executive session for a portion of the meeting; this will be made known beforehand.

https://www.facebook.com/512611273089137