Steering Committee Meeting Agenda February 20th, 2022

East Bay DSA Steering Committee Meeting Agenda

February 20th, 2022

2-4 pm

Steering Committee Agenda

Settle in

Facilitated by Shane

Approval of Agenda

Approved by acclamation

Committee Reports

Recording Secretary (Carlos)

Last SC meeting vote
The DSA resolution on Branches - amended; amended resolution passed with 11 yess 1 no and 1 abstain
Online vote
To appoint Miguel D as an alternate
Passes - 9 yes, 1 No, 3 Abstains

Treasurer/Staffer (Lindsey)

Revenue is about $43000
Have not receive share from national yet, but should be coming
Fundraising bank to be expected at General Meeting
Up five monthly donors

Electoral (Neder)

First cohair election after the reconstitution of the commit
Neder, Jess and Renee were elected.
Pilot canvases for tax the rich were successful
A few candidates are filling out dsa questionnaire, but have not submitted. Einstein and Ortega are running

Teacher Worker’s Circle - Stop School Closures (K M)

Labor circle - from the growth of the jobs program.
Oakland school board called for the closures of 18[19?] schools.
Campaign against the closures was successful
An amendment was made to reduce the number of closures
Unsure if there is going to be strikes
Possibility of a request to help the last minute events.
If you have friends that work on an academic campus, sent them her email
Contract negotiation in higher ed and the local school district in the future

YDSA (Ali)

6 chapters of ydsa now.
DVC became a chapter again after finding a lead.
Palo Alto High now
USF - leadership is graduating - in between campaigns.
UC berkeley - organizing PTA - poli-ed and tabling
CSEB working with now
Albany High

Consent Agenda

Resolution to Provide Funding for the February General Meeting

Submitted by Maddy Grace W and Lindsey M

Whereas East Bay DSA must hold a General Meeting in February; and

Whereas the first GM of 2022 is an opportunity to “launch” the year, engage members, build excitement around new campaigns, and boost fundraising; and

Whereas all these aforementioned goals will be more successfully achieved by an in-person meeting, rather than virtual; and

Whereas the Mosswood Park amphitheater is outdoors, has enough capacity, and is near a BART station,

Therefore be it resolved that East Bay DSA provide funding to rent the amphitheater in Mosswood Park for the purposes of the chapter’s in-person February General Meeting on Sunday, February 27; and

Be it further resolved that the venue rental will be funded for the amount of $700-$900.

New Business

facilitated by Annika

Motion to Fundraise and Reimburse East Bay YDSA Members’ Winter Conference Costs

By Ali N

Whereas the national YDSA Winter Conference will be held from April 1-3 in Chicago. The conference will be an incredible opportunity for young democratic socialists to meet their comrades from around the country, grow politically, and develop as organizers.

Whereas at least 18 local YDSA leaders would like to attend the conference.

Whereas 16 of these YDSA leaders who are interested in attending are not able to pay in full for their registration, travel, and incidental costs.

Whereas East Bay DSA is committed to supporting YDSA chapters locally.

Whereas the YDSA coordinator is working with a group of local YDSA members to plan a fundraiser to cover the cost of attendance for as many YDSA members locally as possible.

Whereas the YDSA coordinator is also working with YDSA members across California to plan a fundraiser to cover the cost of attendance for as many YDSA members across California as possible.

Whereas the last East Bay YDSA Winter Conference fundraiser raised more than enough funds to cover expenses for all local members who attended.

Whereas the costs associated with flights, registration, and other expenses for the Winter Conference which runs April 1-3, 2022 in Chicago is approximately $6,500 for 16 YDSA members.

Whereas members must register by the deadline of early bird registration (Feb 25) with assurance that the cost of the conference can be covered.

Whereas nine attending YDSA members are unable to front the cost for registration.

Therefore be it resolved that the Chapter authorize support for this fundraising drive of up to $6,500 to cover the registration, travel, and incidental costs associated with the 2022 YDSA Winter Conference.

Therefore be it resolved that prior to fundraising, the Chapter front the $360 of registration fees for eight YDSA members.

Therefore be it further resolved that the Chapter authorize the Treasurer to use the funds raised and/or existing EBDSA funds to reimburse local YDSA members for the costs they incur and make purchases on behalf of YDSA members.

Therefore be it further resolved that all excess funds will be split between YDSA chapters in LA and the Bay Area.

Therefore be it further resolved that the Chapter authorize support in the form of enabling the creation of a Donorbox/Actblue link to collect funds with.

Therefore be it further resolved that the Chapter authorize support in the form of authorizing usage of member lists to be called by YDSA members to collect funds from.

Therefore be it further resolved that the Chapter authorize support in the form of authorizing usage of a phonebanking software such as Hubdialer to ensure that the privacy of members from the member lists is protected, and to facilitate efficient contact with the membership by YDSA members.

Therefore be it further resolved that fundraising efforts between East Bay YDSA and LA YDSA be coordinated, although this is not a necessary part of this proposal

This coordination would involve using a single Donorbox/Actblue link and could involve sharing lists between the two chapters, at the discretion of East Bay DSA Steering.
This would facilitate an excellent collaboration between EB and LA YDSA chapters and set the groundwork for future collaborative events.

Motivated by Ali N

Q/A Highlights

Neder: is it nine people or for 8: Ali - 9, there’s a typo.
What are we authoring Lindesy to reimburse? Food and transit has been the typical payment. Will raise money for registration and flights.
Hasan: what are some of the things that people get out of this, or the return? It depends on experience. Definitely useful for new people.

Neder GS - motion to amend.

Therefore be it further resolved that the Chapter authorize the Treasurer to use the funds raised and/or existing EBDSA funds to reimburse local YDSA members for the costs they incur and make purchases on behalf of YDSA members. If the Chapter is to reimburse YDSA members from its own existing funds (not funds raised by YDSA), it may do so up to an amount of $1,000.
VOTE: Approved by acclamation

Resolution Debate begins

Shane: call to question; seconded by Graham
Move to adopt by acclamation - VOTE: Passed by acclimation

Resolution for PTA T-Shirt Screen-Printing Funds Production Run #2

Submitted by Joty Dhaliwal & Nathan Swedlow

Whereas the initial People’s Transit Alliance (PTA) shirts were wildly popular and are almost sold out of its initial production run. There is a wait list on some sizes that were limited. PTA would like to do a second production run, this time in a thicker weight cotton, professionally dyed, and with more availability in larger sizes;

Whereas PTA was approved to use $3500 for the first production run of 75 shirts. PTA only used $1660 for the 75 shirts and on Dec 20th, the chapter accounted to have received $1179.33 in shirt proceeds with an additional 30 shirts remaining at the time to be sold. Majority of the initial funds spent have been recouped, the remaining shirt are all in small sizes;

Whereas PTA has developed a color schema that uses peach as a secondary background color to the DSA red. It is used on the flyers PTA distributes to riders as well as on the website and in educational resources. Peach was selected because it is a warmer and more inviting color than just having white as the background and PTA is striving to be an inclusive and inviting space to riders and workers new to organizing;

Whereas custom-dyeing the shirts by PTA members was laborious and took multiple days. PTA would like to use a local professional dyeing company for this production run. The dyeing vendor has produced a really nice peach color for Roses Taproom and can duplicate the color for the PTA shirts;

Whereas merch needs to look unique and fashionable in order for people to actually wear it. There has been positive feedback on the shirt design, socialist Twitter was going wild over them, we have a waitlist of 70+ ppl who would love to order online if that becomes available. Several ATU members have asked for one. PTA should be able to disperse this next production run easily;

Whereas merch is a great way to raise awareness of PTA’s organizing efforts as well as of East Bay DSA. This can lead to new membership. The cooler the project looks, the more people are drawn to it. PTA actually has a new member who says she saw the shirts, thought they looked cool, and thought this might be a fun group of ppl to organize with! She is now a consist and engaged member;

Therefore be it resolved that the People’s Transit Alliance is approved to receive up to $2542 in funding the purchase of 120 shirts that they will then sell and return all proceeds to the chapter’s bank account. Alliance Graphics has quoted $2242 in total for 120 shirts. The estimated cost for dyeing the shirts is $300. The shirts will be sold at a sliding scale of $25 - 45 each, resulting in a potential $3000-$5400 returning to the chapter's bank account.

SUPPORTING REFERENCES

Final Shirt Design - Next production run will use a thicker weight cotton

Reference Images of Peach Color by the Dyeing Vendor

Motivated by Annika

Q&A highlights

Q: Clarification of the cost of the last one. A: Whereas PTA was approved to use $3500 for the first production run of 75 shirts. PTA only used $1660 for the 75 shirts and on Dec 20th, the chapter accounted to have received $1179.33 in shirt proceeds with an additional 30 shirts remaining at the time to be sold. Majority of the initial funds spent have been recouped, the remaining shirt are all in small sizes; about 360 to recoup.
Q: - what happened to unspent funds? A: neither lost nor retained

Motion to committee as a whole - highlights

Graham - keep conscious of being in shirt debt
Shane - thought it was impressive they got 80% back
Jess - if the size is and issue, they could correct the order next time to recoup more money
Andrew - recommends making EBDSA shirts

Graham Call to the question; Andrew: seconded

Annika moved to adopt by acclimation - VOTE: Passed via acclimation

Shane takes over facilitation

Resolution on EBDSA Alternates for CADSA

Submitted by Annika B., Shane R., and Andrew R.

Whereas the California DSA bylaws do not specify the process by which alternates are chosen when a delegate cannot attend a CADSA meeting;

Whereas the steering committee is empowered to decide on an alternates selection process for our delegates;

Whereas Allie L, Miguel D, and Jamie G are the three CADSA alternates for our chapter;

Whereas delegates are required to either attend CADSA meetings themselves, or to send alternates in whole cloth for the entire CADSA meeting;

Therefore be it resolved that in the event that a delegate cannot attend a CADSA meeting, that delegate is empowered to select which of the chapter’s three alternates they’d like to send in their stead;

Therefore be it further resolved that in the event that their chosen alternate cannot attend the CADSA meeting, the delegate must select one of the remaining two alternates to attend the meeting in their stead.

Motivated by Shane

Q&A highlights

Q: In the event the preferred person can’t be picked, would it be within the chairs power to pick who to go. A: technically yes, with a resolution.
Q: What is the chapter responsibility to make sure we have 13th people? A: recommends the delegate asks the alternate or we have one less vote.
Q: A delegate replacement process in roberts rules? Graham - chapter lylaws and roberts rules doesn’t allow for proxy voting. A: proxy vote is not an option.

Working the nascent Cal DSA formation with kid gloves is recommended.
Important to note the the alternate was from a separate vote and not runners up from the delegate election.

ENTERING INTO COMMITTEE AS A WHOLE

Moved to vote via acclimation - VOTE: Passed via acclimation

Resolution to Co-Sponsor and Participate in the 2022 Berkeley Rent Board Convention

Author & Sponsor: Matthew L.

Co-Sponsors: Paola L., Negeene M., Elana A., Ruscal C., Zach W.

WHEREAS, for decades, Berkeley renters and their allies have convened every two years to hold a convention to select the pro-tenant slate for the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board, one of only two elected rent boards in the United States (the other being Santa Monica); and

WHEREAS, in 2018, East Bay DSA (following a positive recommendation from the endorsements subcommittee) overwhelmingly voted to endorse that year’s slate, but did not in any way participate in the slating process; and

WHEREAS, the biennial process often referred to as the “Tenants’ Convention” or the “Rent Board Convention” - is organized by a progressive coalition, relying on the support of both progressive individuals and organizations. For instance, in recent years co-sponsoring organizations have included the Berkeley Tenants Union, Our Revolution East Bay, Berkeley Citizens Action, the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, the Green Party, the Peace and Freedom Party, the Gray Panthers, Friends of Adeline, SEIU 1021, and UC Berkeley YDSA; and

WHEREAS, among other privileges and responsibilities, co-sponsoring organizations are invited to select a member to participate in the screening process. Those persons then determine the questions asked of all candidates, interview the candidates, and provide recommendations (highly recommended, recommend, acceptable, not recommended) to Convention attendees. The screeners’ ratings can have a significant impact on Convention attendees vote to be on the slate; and

WHEREAS, due to the broad progressive coalition participating in (or supporting) the process, the pro-tenant slate often sweeps Rent Board elections; and

WHEREAS, there is realistically no other way for East Bay DSA to win Berkeley Rent Board elections (e.g. EBDSA running a separate Rent Board slate), given both the electoral system used to elect the commissioners (multiple non transferable vote) and the long-standing influence of the existing process (almost akin to a political party. Furthermore, the aforementioned organizations which co-sponsor the process are by no means ideological opponents of DSA, thereby making hypothetical alternatives to the existing process largely unnecessary; and

WHEREAS, by cosponsoring and fully participating in the process, East Bay DSA gains multiple benefits. These include:

Increased exposure to potential new members, as well as networking with existing and potential future coalition partners
Influence over who is slated for the Rent Board. While all the candidates can be expected to support rent control, given the status Rent Board commissioners have, it is important to ensure that slate members do not have bad views on other issues (e.g. land use)
Increased chances of DSA members being slated for and elected to the Rent Board. In addition to building the credibility of DSA, doing so can build a bench of DSA candidates for higher office in the future; and

WHEREAS, in 2020 the membership passed a similar resolution to cosponsor that year’s Convention. All five slated candidates received positive ratings from the screener selected by East Bay DSA and were overwhelmingly endorsed by East Bay DSA. Since then, the Berkeley Rent Board has become presumably the first government agency in the United States to acknowledge that Israel’s crimes against Palestinians constitute apartheid and ethnic cleansing;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT East Bay DSA is authorized to fully participate as a member organization in the 2022 Berkeley Rent Board Convention, including the planning and screening processes; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT Matthew L. is appointed as East Bay DSA’s interim representative to the 2022 Rent Board Convention.

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT for the avoidance of doubt, this resolution does not constitute an automatic endorsement by East Bay DSA of the candidates selected by the Convention. Rather, the candidates must still earn a chapter endorsement through the normal process. However, those candidates will receive timely consideration of an endorsement following the Convention.

Motivated by Mathew and Paola

Q&A highlights

Q - what do you mean timely process in endorsements? The electoral endorsement process is a slow process. A - the term was due to the endorsement process last year.

DEBATE - no one against

VOTE

Moved to vote via acclimation

Neder moves to moves for a roll call vote
seconded by Annika, Hasan, and Carlos

PASSED Yes 10 No 0 Abastain 3

Adjourned at 15:55