Champlain Valley DSA Forms Covid-19 Working Group
Like any capitalist crisis, the coronavirus crisis extends from our neighborhoods to the nation-state, from capital cities to the entire planet. And just like any capitalist crisis, we’ve only got each other to rely on, only our own lives to wage struggle in.
Several weeks into the coronavirus crisis, some conditions have become clear:
Millions of people have lost or will lose their jobs
The people who still have jobs face unsafe conditions and uncaring bosses, and folks are rising up
Models vary, but hundreds of thousands may die, and our profit-motivated health system is inadequate
The government will bail out the companies and the banks more quickly than the people, and may not even touch people without citizenship
It looks like we’re heading into what could be a long-lasting recession
Much of what’s cited above comes from excellent national analysis, from DSA National, from socialist webinars, from workers themselves. As crucial as these points are, they point out country-wide, or international trends.
Several weeks ago, Champlain Valley DSA voted to establish a Covid-19 Ad Hoc Working Group to organize with respect to the crises at hand. Though our goals are still evolving, several became quite clear from the start:
Support DSA National’s workplace organizing efforts, and support Vermont-based initiatives through this blog. As things unfold, we intend to put out resources about covid-19 organizing, interviews about local labor struggles, and serve as a solidarity network.
Engage with other groups to establish central demands. There are many demands from organizers in Vermont, many of which have shared goals. We intend to work with these people to articulate what’s shared, and work together to demand these from the boss class.
Support mutual aid. Like demands, there are numerous networks for mutual aid in Vermont. We are asking CVDSA members to support or participate in these networks, and to call on them if they need help.
Subscribe to our mailing list or follow us on Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date on what we are doing.
And more importantly, we need you to get involved! We hold weekly organizing calls. Please email covid@champlainvalleydsa.org if you want to join us.