Rally at Masterman School today

Friend --

Masterman School in North Philadelphia is facing an asbestos crisis. Parents at the school, organized through their Home & School Association (HSA) describe the situation:

"Due to the School District of Philadelphia's lack of transparency and collaboration, the Masterman HSA was forced to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information about capital projects and environmental hazards at the school...The HSA learned that there were at least 100 asbestos hazards identified by licensed inspectors at the school that families were NOT notified about."

Today, Masterman PFT members will be reporting to work outside of their building, refusing to enter a dangerous facility. There will be a press conference and rally TODAY at 3:20 PM, outside the school (1699 Spring Garden St, 19130). Masterman PFT members are asking for fellow union members and concerned community members to turn out in support. If you can’t make it, please sign this petition, and read more about the situation in The Inquirer. 

On the calendar
Unless otherwise specified, all events are held via Zoom.

• Electoral Committee Open Meeting, tonight at 6pm; We'll be joined by Rick Krajewski to vision what DSA's electoral work will look like heading into the fall and 2022, and what policy goals we will work to achieve through our chapter's electoral work. RSVP here
  
  
  
• Defund the Police Campaign Meeting, August 27 at 6pm; Join the regular meeting of the RJC’s Defund the Police campaign and discuss gun violence in the city, Red Rabbits, and the campaign’s mission. RSVP here
• #TeachTruth Teach-in, August 27 at 5pm at the President's House; Learn SNCC-style and visit our Green Schools Committee table this Friday. Check out the Facebook event here
• Green New Deal Commission Meeting, August 30th at 6:30pm; Discuss the GND Comission's campaigns and future actions at this regular meeting. RSVP here. 
• Labor Day Cookout! September 5 at 3pm, Lemon Hill Picnic Site #3 in Fairmount Park; Come join DSA for this cookout in the park! We'll provide the grill and grilltables - please bring beverages, sides, and desserts to share. All are welcome, including kids and non-members. Register here

View the full calendar

Updates from BuxMont DSA

• BuxMont DSA Steering Committee elections will be held during the annual convention today at 7pm. Access the convention packet and more here

  • Steering Committee members must be BuxMont DSA members in good standing with the Local and national organization. Officer terms are one year, from September 2021 to August 2022. 

  • Officer positions and responsibilities can be found here. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

• Socialist Social, tomorrow at 7pm; Register here

This Week in Unions
The Labor Corner is back in your inbox 🌹

• Sign the I’ll Be There Pledge and commit to supporting unions: 
  • “We stand ready to fight alongside Philly's workers and their unions in their fight for the contracts they deserve in 2021. We pledge to show up for workers by phone banking, letter writing, swarming social media, fundraising for strike support, picketing, and more. An injury to one is an injury to all!”
    
• AFSCME DC 33, DC 47, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, and the American Postal Workers Union, Local 89 are all in contract negotiations or about to head into contract negotiations. Keep an eye out for updates from us on the best ways to support them moving forward. 
• Septa’s Transit Workers Union will be negotiating their contract soon: Check out this article for more information on their fight for hazard pay and pandemic safety measures. 

Get involved with the Labor Branch:

Who Can Join?
Voting members must participate in worker organization (i.e. unions, caucuses, worker centers, unionization efforts etc.) or organizations that support worker organization (i.e. pro-labor legal organizations) as rank-and-file members, elected leaders, or staff.

How do I get involved?
Email [email protected] 

What do we do? 

• Support workers who want to organize
• Support workers on strike or taking other job actions
• Build relationships with union leadership 
• Organize within subcommittees to move our campaigns forward

On the Bulletin

• A note from our Harassment and Grievance Officers: We would like to encourage all members to familiarize themselves with the updated National Code of Conduct. If you have any questions, please contact the HGOs at [email protected]. 
  • If you want to read about Philly DSA's grievance process or file a grievance, you can do so here.
• Tell your representative to support a Green New Deal for Public Schools. Find the petition here. 
• There are five days left to complete the National DSA Membership Survey. This will help us map our membership and get a better understanding of who we are and how we can best organize. Check the leaderboard to monitor Philly DSA’s progress

• Interested in data? Contact our Secretary Harinee at [email protected] to talk about managing our internal data. Those with CRM and data system experience are highly encouraged to reach out!
• If you’d like to be considered for permanent committee membership, apply here by August 31! We value diversity and we especially encourage non-cis, non-white, and non-straight members apply. 
• Support Philly DSA! 
  • Support our Local chapter by paying local dues
  • Moved away from Philly? Update your address on the DSA national database

In solidarity,

Philly DSA