FEBRUARY 9, 2023
CONTENTS
UP FRONT
Landlords begin attack on DC tenants’ rights; tenants begin organizing to fight back
Secure DC legislation passes first vote in DC Council; amendments approved to the legislation pull out some of the worst proposals
Educators call for teacher unions to revoke Biden endorsement in support of Palestine; February 10 protest organized
Landlords begin attack on DC tenants’ rights; tenants begin organizing to fight back
Renters in DC are under attack by a real-estate cult. The Building Industry Association is aggressively lobbying the DC council to roll back the Tenant Opportunity Purchase Act (TOPA), which allows renters in the District to buy or select a buyer when their homes are sold. The building industry wants to strip the right to buy from any tenants who live in “affordable” housing or properties built in the last 25 years, and they are likely to have Mayor Bowser’s support. The proposal would deny tens of thousands of people protection against displacement and a seat at the table to determine their own futures.
TOPA gives tenants a chance to take over their buildings and run them cooperatively or to collectively bargain binding agreements with a new landlord. Over the past 20 years, DC tenants have used their rights to preserve more than 16,000 apartments by keeping their buildings out of the hands of speculators who want to push out low-income residents and raise rents. But capital interests have been undermining and attacking this basic protection for years. Tenants in single family homes and in properties where the landlord declares bankruptcy have already had their rights taken away, and the Bowser administration has drastically cut funding to programs that help tenants use their TOPA rights to keep their homes affordable. And yet, this attack is different: The landlord lobby has never dared to make such a brazen attack in the past, and if they succeed they will be emboldened to go further.
Six years ago when the realtors’ association demanded that single family tenants lose their rights, the DC Council gave in easily. In 2018 resistance to the landlord lobby was disorganized and weak: the DSA was undeveloped as a force in DC politics and vague progressivism failed to stand up confidently to corporate interests. Tenants in the region, however, have been building power and winning fighting to stop evictions and limit rent hikes. Can tenants from all walks of life unite to defend this existential threat to tenant power?
Metro DC DSA’s tenant organizing project, Stomp Out Slumlords, will be organizing to fight back. The battle plan so far:
- On Wednesday, February 28 at 6:30pm, a regional tenant organizing meeting will be held alongside DC Jobs with Justice to discuss the attacks on TOPA and the plan to fight back. This event will take place at The Festival Center in Adams Morgan, 1640 Columbia Rd NW
- On Sunday, March 10, Metro DC DSA is planning a History of DC Tenants Rights walking tour. On this tour, members will review the history of TOPA and understand how tenants have used legal protections to defend themselves from displacement and gentrification.
- On Tuesday, March 12, wider actions will be taken to demand the DC Council save TOPA.
Keep an eye on future weekly updates to stay apprised of this fight. To learn more about the fight or get directly plugged into the tenants’ resistance, email tenants@mdcdsa.org
Secure DC legislation passes first vote in DC Council; amendments approved to the legislation pull out some of the worst proposals
Over the past three weeks, a grassroots alliance had been rallying to fight Secure DC, a legislative package that would dramatically escalate carceral policies in DC, reduce civil liberties, and roll back police reforms and oversight won by District residents over the past decade. Titled the “Crimnibus” by District residents, the legislative package was pushed by Councilmember Brooke Pinto of Ward 2 and Mayor Muriel Bowser in a naked attempt to placate capital interests, real-estate developers, and out of state Republicans who have been frothing over the resilient defiance to the systems of state violence and overpolicing exhibited by District residents over the past decade.
As Secure DC was heard this past Tuesday, a grassroots insurgency overflowed the Council’s hearing chambers and aggressively lobbied the DC Council to oppose this dangerous set of policies. Although the insurgency failed to stop the full bill, the grassroots alliance was successful in motivating members of the DC Council to roll back some of the worst components of the bill. The visibly frustrated Councilmember Pinto attempted to squash these proposals, but was outvoted as each of the amendments moved through the Council.
- Councilmembers McDuffie (at-large) and Lewis George (Ward 4) passed an amendment that halted compulsory DNA harvesting of suspected criminals (Henderson, Pinto, Frumin and Nadeau voted against it)
- CM Lewis George’s amendment that moves up record sealing for ex-convicts, as outlined in the Second Chance Amendment Act, to next year over FY2028.
- A final amendment from CM McDuffie makes pre-trial detention for “violent” crimes – current law – sunset 255 days following implementation of this bill. It also mandates a study of the program’s effectiveness.
The bill passed with a full vote of the Council – only Trayon White (Ward 8) voted “present”. A final version of the legislation is set to be voted on in early March. Further amendments are being circulated in the run-up. DSA members interested in staying apprised of and involved with advocacy efforts can join the #abolition channel on the chapter slack. The DC abolition working group will also be holding a February 20th virtual meeting, which can be signed up for here. DC will also be holding a goal setting workshop on abolition this weekend, Sunday February 11, from 2 to 3:30 pm.
Read more about the legislative events of the day in The Washington Informer.
Educators call for teacher unions to revoke Biden endorsement in support of Palestine; February 10 protest organized
This weekend, members of the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) will be calling on their respective unions to revoke their endorsement of President Biden until he supports a ceasefire in Gaza and calls for an end to the occupation of Palestine. The action will begin at 10:30am tomorrow, Saturday, February 10, to meet at AFT HQ (555 New Jersey Ave NW, 20001). The workers will then march to NEA HQ at 11am, to conclude with a rally from 12 to 1pm. The workers have invited educators and supporters to join in their march: RSVP here.
Read more about worker demands:
- in The Nation
- NEA workers’ petition calling for a ceasefire.
BRIEFS
Check your email for your January General Body Meeting ballots
Opavote ballots were sent out to all members in good standing on Wednesday, February 7. If you did not receive a ballot and feel that this is an error, please check your spam folder and then reach out to steering-all@mdcdsa.org. The ballot, which is due by Monday, February 12 at 11:59pm, contains four questions stemming from the January General Body Meeting:
- Question 1: Shall the chapter adopt Resolution 2023-EER1: Endorse Andrea Crooms for US Congress?
- Question 2: Shall the chapter adopt Resolution 2023-EER3: Endorse Janeese Lewis George for Ward 4 Councilmember?
- Question 3: Shall the chapter adopt Resolution 2023-EER4: Endorse Ibraheem Samirah for US Congress?
- Question 4: Shall the ruling of the chair be upheld [in reference to whether a proposed endorsement for Washington, DC’s Initiative 83 requires a simple or two-thirds majority to be passed]?
We Power DC to hold general interest movement meeting tomorrow, February 10 from 2 to 4pm
Want to be a part of the Green New Deal in Washington, DC? Metro DC DSA’s utility municipalization organizing project, We Power DC, will be meeting tomorrow to learn about the fight to win a publicly owned utility that guarantees union jobs, runs on clean energy and puts people before profits. Organizers will discuss the campaign’s work and facilitate group discussion on labor, public power and the Green New Deal. RSVP to the online Movement Meeting from 2 to 4pm on February 10, followed by a 5pm happy hour at Sonny’s Pizza.
Additional action on the eco-socialist front: Countless households in DC and across the country are trying to stay warm amidst increasingly frigid temperatures this winter. Shamefully, Pepco and Washington Gas have increased their residential shutoffs for non-payment this year, opting to line the pockets of their Wall Street investors at the expense of our health and wellbeing. These inhumane and punitive tactics are easily preventable, as about 1% of Pepco’s and Washington Gas’s spending on shareholder dividends last year could have prevented all 13,000+ of their shutoffs. To provide households immediate and lasting relief, an alliance of environmentalist organizations are urging DC residents to fill out this form to call on the DC Council to introduce legislation that permanently prohibits residential power and heat utility disconnections for non-payment and forgives low-income customers’ utility debt. On February 1st, Zach Parker’s office introduced legislation to ban water shutoffs in the District, and activists in the city are aiming to act on this opening.
Join Montgomery County DSA for a rent stabilization canvass — February 18
The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs has released draft rent stabilization regulations, starting a thirty-day comment period which closes March 1. After this comment period, the County Council must approve the regulations before the Department of Housing and Community Affairs can start enforcing the new rent stabilization law. In conducting canvassing operations, Montgomery County DSA will be talking to tenants in Bethesda about the regulations and develop an insurgency to put pressure on the County Council to pass the regulations. RSVP here.
PG County DSA Branch sets monthly General Meeting for Sunday, February 11
PG County comrades: Come learn how you can get involved in local socialist efforts. Prince George’s MDC DSA branch has set a general meeting Sunday, February 11, from 1 to 3pm at the Hyattsville Library (6530 Adelphi Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782). RSVP here.
New to DSA and want to connect with others? New member community cohorts to begin in March
Anyone new to Metro DC DSA is invited to apply to join the Spring 2024 New Member Community Cohort. The cohort will take part in a mostly in-person weekly training from mid-March through mid-April covering “Why We Organize”, “What is Socialism?”, Chapter operations and resources and a dedicated social outing. Cohort applications are due before the end of the month.
Applications open for Metro DC DSA Training Commission — Online information session February 12
Metro DC DSA members who want to shape chapter training and skill-building programs are encouraged to join the chapter’s Training Commission — and attend the online information session on the commission this Monday, February 12 at 7pm. The body hosts the chapter’s Organizer Training, Nuts and Bolts Trainings and other programs to build the capacity of DSA members to organize. The application (due on February 19) asks applicants to answer why you want to join, what you are interested in doing and one idea of a training you would like the chapter to hold. The meeting will provide basic information on the Commission and the application; join it by filling out the application, messaging Taylor (he/him) on Slack or just clicking here when the meeting starts.
MDC DSA Internationalism working group to restart — February 25
If you are interested in being part of restarting our chapter’s Internationalism working group, join a virtual meeting on Sunday, February 25, where the vision for the working group will be discussed and interested volunteers can sign up to be part of a coordinating crew. RSVP here.
Tell the White House to stop the bombing of Rojava and support the release of Abdullah Öcalan — February 15
Join the Emergency Committee for Rojava on February 15 at 2pm in front of the White House to protest Turkey’s escalating war (conducted with US F-16 fighter jets and complicity) against the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, commonly known as Rojava, and to call for the release of Abdullah Öcalan who is beginning his 25th year of political imprisonment in Turkey. Rojava is one of the most striking socialist projects in the world, aiming to create a horizontalist, feminist and ecological democracy in the ashes of the Syrian Civil War, and exists as part of the interrelated struggle for a Kurdish homeland free of Turkish, Iraqi and Syrian oppression.
Signups open for the History of Tenant Rights: DC Walking Tour — March 10
Sign up now for the History of Tenant Rights: DC Walking Tour, starting at 1pm on Sunday, March 10 at Columbia Heights Civic Plaza in DC. It will be a neighborhood walking tour exploring the past, present and future of tenant rights in the area, visiting three sites around Columbia Heights connected to the history of how tenants came together to demand rent control and better housing conditions, buy the buildings from their landlord and form cooperatives, organize tenant unions and exercise their power to get the DC Council to pass the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (TOPA) Act. The Walking Tour will be led by Professor Amanda Huron, organizers with the Stomp Out Slumlords campaign and current tenants in Columbia Heights, and draws from peoples’ personal experience organizing as tenants and original research on DC social movements. Sign up in advance to join the tour.
INFO ACCESS
Finding out about MDC DSA – and more:
Find out more about our local chapter structure — campaigns, working groups, and branches covering the DMV and the chapter’s detailed history since the mid-seventies. Then there’s our welcome to new members. Browse the archive of the Washington Socialist to see how we write about ourselves and our socialism (some assembly required). Staying Current: live from our studios Wednesday, February 28, 7 – 8pm Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation with Q&A.
DSA national has its own site of course. DSA Feed is an RSS feed that aggregates multiple DSA publications — including our own Washington Socialist — in one convenient place. More from the National Tech Committee here.
MDC DSA Publications Schedule: Washington Socialist is now publishing on a quarterly schedule. Updates to the current (“Winter”) number will be published on a rolling basis over the next two months. Get on record about your socialism! Contributors to the Washington Socialist can email submissions or questions at washingtonsocialist@mdcdsa.org.
February Updates will appear Fridays the 16th and 23rd. If you would like to see something included in the Update, submit your suggestions to the tip line.
Would you like to participate in MDC DSA’s publications? We write, we edit, we design, we do the tech — there are so many ways your hand could lighten the load in 2024 and beyond. Check us out on #publications and let us know what you would like to write, or write about, or …?
DSA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Saturday, February 10
2 – 4pm | We Power DC Movement Meeting
5 – 7pm | We Power DC Happy Hour
Sunday, February 11
1 – 3pm | DSA Prince George’s County Branch General Meeting
2 – 3:30pm | Abolition Working Group — Goal Setting Workshop
Thursday, February 15
6:30 – 8:30pm | Social Meetup — NoVA Branch DSA
Saturday, February 17
1:30 – 4:30pm | Stomp Out Slumlords Anti-Eviction Canvas
Tuesday, February 20
6 – 7pm | NoVA Medicare for All Working Group Meeting
7 – 8pm | Abolition Working Group Biweekly Meeting
Thursday, February 22
6 – 8:30pm | Repro Justice and Socialist Feminist Section Happy Hour
Saturday, February 24
5 – 6:30pm | M4A 101: Medicare for All Organizer Training Workshop
Sunday, February 25
2:30pm | Labor WG Happy Hour/Labor Notes conference preview
3 – 4pm | Internationalism WG regroup
Wednesday, February 28
COMMUNITY BULLETIN
Heartbreakers’ Ball | Atlas Brew Works, et al
Not feeling the Hallmark holiday of it all this February? Wanna get dolled up and have a good time, but aren’t digging the dating scene? Come rock out this Saturday, February 10 at the Heartbreaker’s Ball. This Valentine’s alternative event features three female-fronted DC bands (Capital Rat$, STEPH, and Edison Skies), a punk rock glam theme and an apothecary table full of plant-based treats from Witchy Business DC. Advance tickets available online here.
February book club meeting | DC Trans Book Club
DC Trans Book Club is starting February off with a little Valentine’s treat – “Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live,” by Sacha Lamb. This YA short story has been called “a romantic #ownvoices fairy tale for trans boys.” Meet the Book Club at Sonny’s Pizza (3120 Georgia Ave, NW) on Sunday, February 11 at 2:00pm to discuss the book (available for free online, for those without their own hard copy).
Decolonizing Body Image | Salon Lewaro
Community builder Mayra Mejia will present on the history of fatphobia in the US and the steps people are taking to decolonize their ideals of beauty, and artist Ashley Jaye Williams will present new work inspecting their own personal relationship with the dark side of American body standards and its effect on their art practice. The event will be held on February 20, 7:30 to 9:30pm at Playhaus (1325 5th Street NE, Suite C) — details here.XXXXXX
Updated food distribution dates and locations | PG County Food Equity Council
Capital Area Food Bank and Community Ministry of Prince George’s County have updated their PG County food distribution dates and locations: distro for first Friday of each month will take place at Oxon Hill Boys and Girls Club; second Friday of each month at Meridian Hill Baptist Church (no longer at the Evelyn Cole Center); third Friday of each month at Greater Beulah Baptist Church; fourth Friday of each month at Craig Memorial Community Church. Click here for additional details.
ECO City Farms CSA Now Open | Eco City Farms
ECO City Farms’ Spring to Fall CSA program is now open, and this year they are introducing a sliding scale to meet more community members’ needs at variable incomes. Eco City Farms is a nonprofit urban teaching and learning farm in Prince George’s County that grows great food, farms and farmers in ways that protect, restore and sustain the natural environment and the health of local communities.
GOOD READS / ESSENTIAL TRAFFIC
‘I can still sense the thrill in opening the book [The Making of the English Working Class] and reading in the first paragraph: “The working class did not rise like the sun at an appointed time. It was present at its own making.” I did not know it was possible to write about history in that way.’ The centenary of E.P. Thompson’s birth brings renewed scrutiny to today’s sense of class struggle. “Thompson’s most influential work was written at the high tide of working-class influence in British politics. Today, the old industrial working class, about the making of which Thompson wrote, has largely been unmade, politically marginalised and stripped of its social power.” From The Guardian
WaPo owes an apology to the DC mayor it drove from office
For a reminder of the Washington Post’s “polite” racism and reactionary role in local politics, read this article from FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) about the Post’s role in defeating Vincent Gray; thereby giving the District Muriel Bowser.
Amid Union-Busting, Starbucks Workers Just Keep Organizing
If Starbucks executives thought the company’s aggressive and illegal anti-union efforts would eventually wear down employees and that enthusiasm for organizing would wane, they were wrong. Since 2021, 483 Starbucks stores in 46 states have filed to unionize; of those, 385 stores in 43 states have won union elections, a nearly 80% win rate. The company continues to fight with illegal and stall tactics but workers keep organizing. From The Stand via Portside
The Right to Housing, Not Vacation Homes
Can strict regulations on Airbnb solve the housing crisis? Probably not, but they’re a good start. The 15-year-old startup that touted itself as part of the “sharing economy” is now cranking up rental costs wherever it operates. “… Airbnb hosts are increasingly professional landlords—wealthy elites and corporate entities that scoop up large numbers of properties and turn big profits by renting them out to travelers.” From ZNET via Portside
The flame of thought, the magnificence of art, the wonder of discovery, and the audacity of invention all belong to revolutionary periods when humanity, tired of the chains of its restrictions, shatters them, and stops inebriated to breathe the breeze of a vaster and freer horizon.
–Virgilia D’Andrea