Building Up
Welcome to Groundwork’s newsletter, Building Up. Here we’ll share our perspective about National DSA internal politics and the NPC, as well as highlight efforts Groundwork members are doing across the country and ways that you can get involved in our campaigns!
CAMPAIGN UPDATES FROM NYC GROUNDWORKERS IN THE FIELD
Groundworkers in New York have been there and hard at work. As one of the largest caucuses in both national DSA and NYC-DSA, we have committed ourselves to investing in chapter priorities. Our members are heavily involved in almost every campaign and Working Group in New York City, volunteering time and effort to build a DSA that wins socialist politics and takes further and further steps toward demonstrating an alternate, better vision to the masses. Having recently moved back to NYC-DSA myself, I took it upon myself to ask Groundwork’s organizers- what does your campaign or working group want the org to know? What’s the state of your campaign? What asks do you have from the caucus and the entire org? I have compiled some of their responses.
“Groundwork Thought” Library
The Groundwork Thought Library is a list of books and articles that our members draw on when developing our response to extant political events. We have gathered these documents to clarify our perspectives, provide political education resources for Groundwork members, and use them as a tool to advance mass-politics in our chapters.
Political Disagreement in NYC-DSA: Breaking Down the No More 24 Vote and Ensuing Discourse
Groundwork Co-Chair Joe W. discusses the recent NYC-DSA CLC vote on local No More 24, corrects the record as to what happened, and voices his disappointment at the hostile agitation that surrounded this discourse.
Great Lakes Socialism: What Successful Chapters Like Metro Detroit dsa can Teach Chicago
Chicago DSA co chair and GW member Lyra S details her experiences in the two largest midwestern chapters, Chicago and Detroit, over the course of 5 years. She concludes on what strategies and structures promote growth and debate and what don’t.
Every Door, Every Neighborhood: Building a Working-Class Party in Greater Boston
Groundwork’s candidates for the Boston DSA Coordinating Committee details what we aim to organize in the coming years of Boston DSA and how we aim to achieve it if we are to be elected to the Steering Committee for the 2026-2027 term.
What kind of democracy do you want in Metro Detroit DSA?
Here in Groundwork, we believe that winning socialism requires building an organization of millions of everyday people. And the only way to do that is to meet people where they are.
Can We Onboard The Working Class?
A Response to the GDC Report by a prior NYC-DSA Membership Coordinator.
Class Alignment Electoral Strategy Part 4: Conjuncture & Conclusion
In this final installment of our Class Alignment Electoral Strategy, we discuss political time, how to read the moment, and how to meet it head-on.
Class Alignment Electoral Strategy Part 3: Practical Chapter Strategy
Unsure about a potential campaign? We lay out how to gauge the terrain of a race, your chapter’s capacity, and what it takes to win.
Class Alignment Electoral Strategy Part 2: Class Struggle & Cadre Elections
In this installment, we outline what makes a class struggle campaign, what makes a cadre campaign, and when we should engage in which.
Class Alignment Electoral Strategy Part 1: Why Elections?
Our introduction to Groundwork’s Class Alignment Electoral Strategy explores why we engage in electoral politics, what the central problem is in today’s socialist movement, and how we can fight it.
Frontline Report from The Twin Cities
Twin Cities Groundwork reports in on the unfolding crisis in Minneapolis.
Meet the Moment, Spend the Surplus: Why We Must Invest in an Organizing DSA Today
In this article, we make the case for spending the national organization’s ample surplus funds to expand the membership, develop cadre, and build an organization capable of meeting this political moment.
Groundwork for DSA-LA
Hear from your 2025 DSA-LA Co-Chairs about why you should support Groundwork’s Building the Socialist City slate!
Atlanta DSA's Southern Breakthrough: Inside the Kelsea Bond Campaign
We dive deep into the factors that made the Kelsea Bond campaign such an astounding success for Democratic Socialism in the heart of the South.
Endorse Chi, Build Socialism: A Response to Comrade Grace
As we approach an endorsement vote on NY-8, NYC Groundwork offers a comradely critique of Co-chair Grace’s argument against running Chi Ossé.
Laying the Groundwork for a Class Alignment Labor Strategy (complete)
This is the complete text of an article arguing for DSA to take up the Class Alignment Strategy, an exciting new approach to labor work.
Laying the Groundwork for a Class Alignment Labor Strategy, part 4: What should be done
In this final part of our series on the Class Alignment Strategy, the authors propose four modifications to DSA’s labor institutions as well as a five-point plan for immediate action.
Laying the Groundwork for a Class Alignment Labor Strategy, part 3: Vectors and Through-Lines
In this third part of our series on the Class Alignment Strategy, the authors make an inventory of DSA’s vectors of influence in the labor movement as well as a description of the current political conjuncture.