The Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America will be holding a Brake Light Clinic and multi-purpose mutual aid event on Saturday, September 17 from 11am to 3pm in the public lot at 138 Broadway in Newburgh.
Broken brake lights + other minor car maintenance issues are a leading cause of police stoppages. We believe that the safest interaction with police is no interaction, and so we want to provide our community with a free way to fix these types of car issues and prevent stoppages. Come by with your car and we will take a look and address whatever we can.
We will also be grilling and serving food, and having organizing conversations with our neighbors about what we can do as a community to build working class power in the Hudson Valley
If you have any questions, feel free to email mutualaid@mhvdsa.org
Please join fellow Democratic Socialists for the annual general assembly of your chapter, the Mid-Hudson Valley DSA, on Sunday, 2/20 at 5pm. This meeting elects the leadership, sets the governance structure and updates the priority for your chapter, and your participation is key!
Please RSVP via ActionNetwork.
As at past General Assemblies, we will be “passing the hat”. This time we are incorporated as a chapter and can more easily accept money via ActionNetwork. We hope to set up a system that will accept ACH transfers to reduce fees in the near future. Donations to the chapter fund the chapter’s work but are not required to maintain DSA membership which you do by renewing with National DSA at dsausa.org/join
A portion of monthly donations made to National DSA are passed on to the chapter so we encourage you pay dues monthly.
We distributed approximately 350lbs of produce, 50+ burgers, 25+ hot dogs, $500 worth of socks and hygiene products, and boxes and boxes warm clothes. Throughout the day dozens of people came by and took what they needed. At the end all the leftover clothes were donated to the Newburgh Warming Station at 13 Bridge Street.Thank you Councilmember Giselle Martinez for helping translate our coat drive flyer to Spanish, going canvassing with our team to advertise the event, and then helping pass out clothes. Thank you to the Melanin_Unchained, For the Many, and Keep It Moving members who brought donations. Thank you to the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley for donating fresh food. And of course, thank you to all of our amazing DSA members who did the hard work of planning the coat drive, recruiting volunteers, and running the event. We had so many great conversations with Newburgh residents about how to build an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few. Mutual aid isn’t charity, it’s about building working class power by bringing us closer together. We’re looking forward to having more events like this in the spring and summer. Our Mutual Aid Working Group meets every other Sunday at 8 on Zoom to plan these events. Send an email to mutualaid@mhvdsa.org for this week’s Zoom link!
A brand new member joined us on Sunday and had this to say: “Today was my first time participating in mutual aid with my comrades! It was a wonderful experience and it felt great finally putting my beliefs into action. This is an incredible group of individuals and our movement can only grow in strength from here.” ✊
The labor movement is critical to the success of the left, and the decline of unions in recent decades has corresponded with increasingly dangerous working conditions, stagnating wages, rising costs of living, and accelerating wealth inequality. But now a new generation of workers is fighting back, forming unions, and striking, as interest in unions reaches its highest points since the 1970s.
To better educate the public about what unions do, and help people get involved, Mid-Hudson Valley DSA is teaming up with the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation (HVALF) for a discussion about organized labor right here in the Hudson Valley.
On Tuesday, December 7th at 8 pm, we’ll be speaking on Zoom with panelists from a range of industries and organizing experiences, followed by a brief Q & A. You’ll have a chance to hear about why unions increase democracy in the workplace, how they form and get results for their members, and what you can do to help support the growing labor movement in the Hudson Valley and beyond.
Our panelists include:
BETH WILSON is President and Academic Delegate of the United University Professions (UUP) New Paltz Chapter and lecturer of art history. She is an HVALF affiliate and Education Committee Co-Chair under the AFL-CIO.
BRYAN NELSON is a Local Representative of NewsGuild of New York, with over 10 years of experience in a variety of union settings in both the private and public sectors, including a workers’ center where he helped build power among undocumented workers and community allies to fight wage theft and recover unpaid wages. Bryan has also represented nurses and health professionals and served as a Unit Chair and Executive Council member of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild.
SARAH DOWD is an elected Delegate for the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), New York’s largest union of registered nurses, an Emergency Department RN for New York City Health + Hospitals and a member of the NYC Democratic Socialists of America Labor Branch.
ASHWINI SUKTHANKAR has more than a decade of experience fighting for international labor rights and transnational labor regulation, serving roles such as Director of Global Campaigns at UNITE HERE, Director in the International Commission for Labor Rights, and President of Global Labor Justice’s International Labor Rights Forum. She is an HVALF affiliate and Education Committee Co-Chair under the AFL-CIO.
All are welcome to attend. RSVP to access the Zoom link.
This coming Monday, 9/20 at 7pm show up to the City Council Meeting or call-in (info will be posted on Friday on the City of Beacon’s website) to make public comments supporting Good Cause Eviction! We need help getting it on the agenda as the mayor- a landlord no less- is blocking it. Five Councilmembers want it put it on the agenda and so do we! Sign the petition calling for Mayor Kyriacou to stop stalling and put it on the agenda! We want the City Council to discuss and pass Dan Aymair Blair, Air Rhodes and Terry Nelson’s Good Cause Eviction law.
Zoom info:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87167595941?pwd=QjFRb2FrT0RHQU9USmRDdjh4TlhuUT09
Webinar ID: 871 6759 5941 Passcode: 808018. To the extent internet access is not available,
the public can attend and comment via telephone by dialing
+ 1 929 205 6099 and entering the
Webinar ID: 871 6759 5941 Passcode: 808018.
Our Garden Giveaway was a great success! On Saturday October 10, we enjoyed the public park and community while learning more about our neighbors’ shared struggles and desires for a better future.
Another successful brakelight clinic helping people reduce their interactions with police.
Police responses to traffic violations like broken brake lights demonstrate one way that working class people are criminalized in our society. There are plenty of reasons why people don’t fix their brake lights: they may work a lot, be busy caring for family or simply can’t afford to. Yet this minor traffic violation can result in fines, harassment or arrest. For black and brown people and those without papers, a police stop poses a distinct threat. An undocumented person could be detained or face deportation. In some cases— as with Philando Castile and Walter Scott— traffic stops for a broken brake light can lead to murder at the hands of the police.
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