Tag: Unions

  • Monthly Round-Up – December 2025

    Monthly Round-Up – December 2025

    This article is written by a DSA member and does not formally represent the views of MADSA as a whole or its subgroups. 

    Welcome to Vol. 5 of the monthly round-up! The content in this publication overlaps significantly with our DSA newsletter and monthly General Membership Meetings. To sign up for the newsletter or check out an upcoming General Membership Meeting, visit: https://madison-dsa.org/events/

    MADSA Adds a New Branch

    The chapter reported at our December General Membership Meeting that MADSA has nearly doubled in size since October 2024 – from 368 members then, to 643 members now! In last month’s round-up, I shared a bit about how this growth is impacting the internal policies and structure of our organization. This month, I’m pleased to share another example of structural changes, as our chapter voted to add a new branch – the Southern Dane County Branch! 

    This branch will still be a part of MADSA, but will have the power to host their own meetings and to coordinate local efforts to support the chapter’s goals. They will host regular meetings around Fitchburg/Verona to increase accessibility for current MADSA members and potential new joiners. They plan to work with MADSA’s existing committees and working groups, while also acting as an organizing hub for people who live in more suburban and rural parts of Southern Dane County, with a strong emphasis on electoral, organizing, and educational initiatives. 

    Our Electoral Work is Expanding

    The nation has witnessed an increase in candidates running openly as socialists – often very successfully! With this development, we’ve seen more and more candidates on the local level. To meet the evolving political landscape, MADSA’s Electoral Working Group has updated our candidate endorsement process and published corresponding materials. The WG has added an endorsement deadline for 2026 elections, clarified the number of signatures required on endorsement petitions, and clarified interview questions for candidates. They also developed a sample questionnaire to demonstrate what types of answers candidates will need to provide during the process.

    MADSA Endorses Candidate Bobby Gronert

    The first candidate endorsed with this updated process is Bobby Gronert running for Common Council District 8! Bobby is a UW-Madison student and a member of the university’s YDSA chapter. His student-led campaign aims to work on affordable housing issues, tenants’ rights, and challenging fascism via local policies. Bobby was successfully endorsed by MADSA on December 13th, and the endorsement resolution included a pledge of 20-80 hours per month of volunteer support from the December date through election day, April 7, 2026. Bobby’s campaign is exciting news for the city of Madison, and it means new ties developing between UW’s YDSA and our MADSA chapter.

    The chapter expects to work on endorsement considerations for the following candidates this season:

    • Heidi Wegleitner, re-running for County Board District 2, and re-applying for MADSA endorsement;
    • Juliana Bennett and Zoe Sullivan running for State Assembly District 76;
    • Francesca Hong running for Wisconsin governor. 

    New Working Group Chartered: Platform/Program Development

    Lastly in this area, members at the December GMM approved a new working group dedicated to developing a clear platform for our chapter. The goal of the working group, slated to last 4 months, is to create a “comprehensive chapter program and/or platform” based on research and discussions with chapter members and with the broader Madison community. This will provide a more solid basis for organizing work, deciding on political endorsements, developing and supporting leadership in the chapter, and more. 

    Additional Organizing

    Some chapter members have been supporting the Starbucks union strike in November and December. Members signed up for picketing shifts and showed out with signs and warm coffee in the cold winter weather. 

    Starbucks Workers United began striking on November 13th nationwide, and continue to do so in many locations, including State Street in Madison. If you’d like to support striking workers, here are some actions you can take:

    • Boycott all Starbucks locations and products while the workers are striking; talk to people around you about joining the boycott – check out and sign the “No Contract, No Coffee” pledge;
    • Turn people away from non-striking / non-union Starbucks locations in the area;
    • Show up to the picket line and participate;
    • Bring treats (especially hot drinks) to the picket line for morale!

    MADSA also hosted some talks and discussions this month, including:

    • A members-only debate on electoralism – what is the extent to which socialists should be engaging in electoral politics within our current capitalist system? What are the costs and benefits around the increase in electoral work this year?
    • Hosting a guest speaker from Brazil’s PSOL, who gave a talk on internationalism and resisting fascism;
    • Strategy discussion on supporting immigrants’ safety in Madison;
    • Check-in discussion on MADSA’s coalition work around housing issues and the Homeless Justice Initiative; 
    • Planning around the 2026 Chapter Convention;
    • Internal debate on several bylaws as the chapter continues to grow.

    We also shared our Madison DSA Wrapped with highlights from this year!

    Social Events

    We continue hosting recurring social events, including New Member Orientations, DSA 101, Coffee with Comrades, and the Rosebuddies program. Comrades also rang in the new year with a members-only New Year’s Eve party.

    Protest Song of the Month

    For a December protest song, I share The Homeless Wassail. Wassailing is an old English tradition of Pagan/non-Christian origin that now takes place during the countdown to Christmas. It originally involved the blessing of fruit-producing trees – especially in apple orchards – by singing, drinking, and making merriment. It changed over time to include house-visiting, and eventually the Christmas caroling we know today. The linked song highlights the deep pain, inequity, and injustice that continue in our communities.

    And that concludes our monthly round-up!

  • Monthly Round-Up – October 2025

    By a Comrade

    This article is written by a DSA member and does not formally represent the views of MADSA as a whole or its subgroups. 

    Welcome to Vol. 3 of the monthly round-up! The content in this publication overlaps significantly with our DSA newsletter and monthly General Membership Meetings. To sign up for the newsletter or check out an upcoming General Membership Meeting, visit: https://madison-dsa.org/events/

    Union Efforts Continue in Madison

    In August we celebrated the successful union elections at Festival Foods, and Hilton Monona Terrace. Another union battle continues in Madison, however, led by healthcare workers at GHC, and supported by patients and community members.

    The GHC union effort was able to initiate a Special Member Meeting on October 13, where patients with GHC could express opinions on unionization, and conduct an “advisory” vote directing GHC to support the union. Members unanimously supported the union, and asked GHC’s board for transparency around how much money they’re spending on union busting.  Read more here! 

    Beating Back the Political Doom

    MADSA members have been creating more opportunities to learn and be in community, for members AND non-members. These are crucial antidotes to the doom, overwhelm, and helplessness that many people are feeling about the current state of the world. 

    This month, these events included:

    • A discussion with Copaganda author Alec Karakatsanis about policing, media, and narratives around safety;
    • A presentation, for people of all knowledge levels, on understanding the mechanisms of capitalist exploitation, titled Marx’s Capital and Global Capitalism Today;
    • An Organizing 101 workshop for people to learn about workers’ rights and the union process.

    The Electoral Working Group is also busy at work in this realm. Members of this WG have been canvassing local residents to learn more about the issues that matter most to them, and what solutions they hope to see. The working group also organized a public Madison Community Town Hall, with the goal of creating a space for community members to express grievances and connect around possible next steps.

    There was also fruitful internal discussion this month about a potential change to a MADSA voting policy, and how this interacts with the role of meetings in our organization. Some members made compelling points about meetings as a space for developing important leadership skills, refining our ideas and worldviews, changing each others’ minds, and strengthening community bonds; on the other hand, other members discussed concerns around accessibility and inclusivity, and encouraged the chapter to ensure that people can participate meaningfully in major decisions if they have limitations around meeting attendance. Debates like this reflect the chapter’s process of growth, and ongoing work around participatory and inclusive democracy. 

    Further Organizing Highlights This Month

    Our work continues in many ways thanks to our dedicated membership. Here are other key organizing efforts taking place this month in MADSA. This summary is not exhaustive! 

    • No Kings, No Bosses – The “No Kings” protests had a massive presence across the country this month, and this included Madison, WI! MADSA members showed up with a strong presence at the rally.
    • The petition process begins for potentially endorsing candidates in statewide elections. When MADSA endorses a candidate, it is not just a symbolic seal of approval; the chapter is also pledging to provide consistent labor and organization to help that candidate win and to collaborate with them throughout their term. Candidates who wish to gain backing from MADSA must go through a process that includes collecting petition signatures, meeting several times with various chapter bodies, and ultimately winning a chapter-wide endorsement vote. The candidate must demonstrate their commitment to following the expectations outlined in the chapter’s endorsed candidate policy, found here.
    • MADSA’s No Appetite for Apartheid contingent is supporting members in making a pledge to boycott Israeli products. Click here to take the pledge, and to get updates about stores who commit to being an Apartheid Free Store.

    Social Opportunities

    Our chapter has several ongoing reading groups, including:

    • Skyscraper Jails, discussed in the Abolitionist Working Group meetings;
    • Wretched of the Earth, discussed on Sundays, in a hybrid virtual/in-person format.

    We continue hosting recurring social events – New Member Orientations, Coffee with Comrades, Crafting with Comrades,  MADSA Run Club, and the Rosebuddies program.

    Protest Song of the Month

    The song I choose for this month is “Freedom Now” by Tracy Chapman! This song was dedicated to Nelson Mandela and his work in the anti-apartheid movement. I think that the sentiments in this song still resonate to this day.

    And that concludes our monthly round-up!