Labor, Unions, WisconsinLeave a comment

The Princess and the Pea

dsamadison

By Frank Emspak For those not familiar, the Princess and the Pea is a fable where a princess can’t sleep because of a pea under her mattress. Although it’s technically about someone finding true love because of their weird sleeping habits, it can also be interpreted as being about the fragile egos and impossible desires of the mega-rich. My takeaway from this fable is that a little annoyance can go a long way. The tactic of using a small annoyance to build a popular campaign is part of a strategy to rebuild our unions. This tactic should contribute to building political support … Continue reading The Princess and the Pea

Economy, Labor, UnionsLeave a comment

Starbucks: The long haul from recognition to a national contract

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Frank Emspak argues that Starbucks workers can win a union and a contract at Starbucks if the labor movement acts like a labor movement. Update from State Street Starbucks Our union sympathetic manager has quit because he “can no longer ethically work for this company”. Our new store manager has been selected and is a universally disliked leader who is known for firing union organizers. We have also learned that our district manager expects our store specifically, though not others, to follow a scheduling system made by an AI. Because of this, in the school year when we typically have about … Continue reading Starbucks: The long haul from recognition to a national contract

Homelessness, housing, LocalLeave a comment

Porchlight Tenants Crash Charity Event to Warn Donors About Dangerous Living Conditions

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Madison Tenant Power Madison, WI – On Monday, Porchlight tenants and their housing allies crashed a charity event for Porchlight, Inc., the nonprofit that runs Porchlight Men’s Shelter, in order to warn potential donors about dangerous living conditions. One person wore a cockroach costume. Madison Wisconsin Homeless Union and Madison Tenant Power are calling attention to unsanitary and unsafe conditions in Porchlight properties in Madison, including: apartments full of cockroaches, bedbugs, and other pests; lack of bedding (tenants sleeping on the floor); and units that are not properly air conditioned or heated. Porchlight staff hang up the phone on housing advocates … Continue reading Porchlight Tenants Crash Charity Event to Warn Donors About Dangerous Living Conditions

Local, Organizing, RacismLeave a comment

UW-Madison YDSA Statement on the Ben Shapiro Protest

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By the Young Democratic Socialists of America at UW-Madison We all know the conservative shtick by now. The right-wing organizations on campuses across the nation invite inflammatory, hateful, and reactionary talking heads to promote their bigotry and cry victim each time a student protest is mounted against them. According to Nick Baker of YAF, our organization is “appalled that someone with different views than their own would be allowed to step foot on campus”. Seems like an inaccurate oversimplification of the situation, but what else would you expect? Because obviously it’s not about a simple difference of opinion. When Matt … Continue reading UW-Madison YDSA Statement on the Ben Shapiro Protest

Decolonization, WarLeave a comment

In Support of Palestinian Liberation

dsamadison

We stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, indigenous and colonized people everywhere, and all those here in Madison and around the world who are struggling for their liberation. Since October 7th, Israel’s military has intensified its 17 year blockade of Gaza into a full siege, blocking off water, electricity, and basic supplies. In the first 6 days of this conflict, over 6,000 bombs were dropped on the 140 square miles of the Gaza Strip. Over 1.1 million Palestinians, half of them children, have been ordered to leave their homes. This is genocide. This violence is not new. It … Continue reading In Support of Palestinian Liberation

housing, Local, tenants rightsLeave a comment

An Open Letter: Nationwide Developer Core Spaces Is Bad for Tenants and the Future of Affordable Housing in Madison

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By Madison Tenant Power This spring, Core Spaces (a Chicago-based developer with two “luxury” student housing developments in Madison and controversial proposals for two more) made national news for mass evicting thousands of tenants in Santa Barbara. These “renovictions” happened with little notice, leaving residents scrambling to find housing in their communities. In response, tenants in California founded the nationwide Core Spaces Tenant Association to fight back against the threat of mass displacement. Even as these tenants have worked to secure new legal protections against renovictions, Core Spaces has attempted to mislead tenants about the ordinances that apply to their … Continue reading An Open Letter: Nationwide Developer Core Spaces Is Bad for Tenants and the Future of Affordable Housing in Madison

Labor, Local, OrganizingLeave a comment

Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America stands in solidarity with striking TruStage workers

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Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America enthusiastically supports ongoing Unfair Labor Practices Strike of OPEIU Local 39, which represents 450 workers at TruStage (until recently known as CUNA Mutual Group), an insurance firm. Continue reading Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America stands in solidarity with striking TruStage workers

abolition, Environment / Climate change, Military-industrial ComplexLeave a comment

Two Madison Companies Complicit in Constructing Georgia’s “Cop City”

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By the People’s Green New Deal Working Group Sign our petition to tell TranSmart and Corporate Services Company to divest. TranSmart and Corporation Services Company (CSC), based in Madison, are a couple of the hundreds of subcontractors and institutions nationwide that are contributing to the construction of Atlanta’s Cop City project. We are asking TranSmart and CSC to drop their construction contracts and support of the unjust and immoral Atlanta Public Safety Training Center project. Atlanta’s Weelaunee Forest, one of the largest urban forests in the country, is the proposed site of the widely opposed Cop City, an international training … Continue reading Two Madison Companies Complicit in Constructing Georgia’s “Cop City”

UncategorizedLeave a comment

Poverty as a Tool

Sam Spyra

Poverty is a form of control. This is something that’s deeply impactful, but is rarely, if ever, directly stated. There is a substantial body of work written about the ways people can become impoverished, what poverty does to the people living through it, or how those in poverty are exploited. These are the trees that create this very important forest which doesn’t seem to be discussed or acknowledged. So, let’s break that mold and say it one more time, just to be safe. Poverty is, in and of itself, a form of control. It is a form of control that … Continue reading Poverty as a Tool