IC Quarterly Newsletter – 2022 Q3 and Q4

Period: 08/01/22 – 12/31/22

Volume 3, Issue 1

Volume 3, Issue 2

Main Activities & Results

Steering Committee

In addition to supporting subcommittees, the Steering Committee spent Q3 and Q4 setting regular meeting times, assigning liaisons for subcommittees, responding to the suspension of our Twitter account, and writing bylaws.

Americas 

In the final quarter of 2022, the Americas subcommittee held a number of political education forums. These included public events with indigenous leaders from the 2022 national strikes in Ecuador and an event with labor leaders relating to the U.S. embassy strike in Honduras that raised money for the workers’ strike fund. Within our monthly subcommittee meetings, we also included political education updates from experts and activists relating to Brazil and Haiti. During the same period, the subcommittee released statements on the possible military intervention in Haiti, the victory of Lula in the Brazilian elections, and the right-wing violence targeting labor and political leaders in Bolivia. Finally, the subcommittee continued developing its campaign to end the embargo of Cuba. This quarter saw the return of the IC medical delegation to Cuba and its reportbacks; continued growth in the Cuba working group; and the consolidation of plans for future directions for the campaign in terms of future delegations, recruitment, and other strategic projects such as removing Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terror list.

Anti-War

The Anti-War Subcommittee is in what we would describe as a rebuilding phase – after a period of inactivity we held our first general meeting since September this past Wednesday, December 14th, where we discussed our organizing plans around Ukraine, our Deauthorize, Defund, Demilitarize campaign, and the Yemen War Powers Resolution.

Asia & Oceania

• Launched Guam Working Group
• Guam WG discussed history of Guam and began reaching out to organizers around Prutehi Litekyan campaign
• ZHAP Coordinating Committee: Circulated open letter from Okinawa Environmental Justice Project and collected signatures from elected officials and organizations for it
• ZHAP CC: Scheduled meetings with elected officials
• ZHAP CC: Recorded greetings for Movement towards Democratic Socialism speaking tour
• Philippines Working Group: Held screening of The Kingmaker with International Coalition of Human Rights in the Philippines in commemoration of 50th anniversary of martial law in the Philippines 
• Philippines WG: Public statement in support with trade union leaders
• Philippines WG: Attended Philippines Human Rights Act unity call
• Philippines WG: Planning study of Philippine Society and Revolution
• China WG: Discussed 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China
• China WG: Members appeared on podcasts “”Guerilla History”” and “”The East is a Podcast”” explaining the 20th Party Congress
• Subcommittee: Co-sponsored International Strategy Center event on how US-China tensions impact Korean peninsula
• Subcommittee: Started planning political education event on Korean War 
• Subcommittee: Published statement on flooding in Pakistan and need for climate reparations/debt cancellation
• Subcommittee: Held webinar with Haqooq-e-Khalq on flooding in Pakistan
• Subcommittee: Endorsed Day of Action targeting IMF and World Bank
• Subcommittee: Discussed restructuring monthly general meetings
• Subcommittee: Held discussions on broadening member engagement
• Subcommittee: Added collective action items to monthly general meetings, promoting International Committee actions
• Subcommittee: Added left wing music from Asia or Oceania to open each meeting

Europe

The European Sub Committee has held monthly subcommittee meetings. Current events in Europe have been discussed, including political education events. Co-chairs have offered to help with the creation of statements, political education, and events suggested during these meetings, but so far people have been big with ideas, but less so with follow-through.

Co-chairs have also participated in meetings with European MPs and other officials and going between some members of the steering committee and the subcommittee on Ukraine. 

Climate and Economics

Held regular (monthly) general membership subcommittee meetings, Published a statement on floods in Pakistan and the need for debt relief and climate justice (co-authored with Asia & Oceania), and hosted a webinar on the same topic.

Middle East and Africa

During the past quarter, the Middle East & Africa Subcommittee has carried out a variety of organizing activities. We have established contact with the Federation of Informal Workers of Nigeria (FIWON) and held an internal political education event with FIWON members, members of MEAA and IC Labor Subcommittees and representatives from the NLC. We have also established contact with the Communist Party of Swaziland through the US organization, Friends of Swazi Freedom and are planning a preliminary meeting with them soon. The work on Yemen organizing continues, with a flurry of activity carried out before the near vote in December on the Yemen War Powers Resolution that was to be introduced by Senator Sanders. MEAA also endorsed the Black Alliance for Peace Month of Action Against AFRICOM in October and held a teach-in webinar on AFRICOM in November.  In October MEAA issued a statement on the protests in Iran after lengthy internal consultation and collaboration.  MEAA also continues to collaborate with the International People’s Tribunal against US Imperialism: Sanctions, Blockades, and Economic Coercive Measures as a co-sponsor.

Labor

Over the last quarter, IC Labor has been working to restart our operations from a period of near dormancy when we lacked co-chairs for nearly a year. As we ramp up, we have been working to expand our capacity and work with other sections of the International Committee and DSA. 

IC labor is involved with the cross-committee working group on Philippine solidarity, through which we work with the PHRA Coalition and International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP).. On Oct 10, Philippine labor organizers Kara Taggaoa and Larry Valbuena were targeted with trumped up charges and illegally arrested. We were in touch with the KMU Labor Center and publicized the fundraiser for contributions to Kara and Larry’s legal fund. We also co-sponsored a film screening of Kingmaker, about Imelda Marcos, with ICHRP and TrueAnon Podcast. We are coordinating with GLJ-ILRF about a forthcoming letter calling for the suspension of trade preferences for the Philippines in late of ongoing repression of dissent. 

Further, we worked on two webinars this quarter. The first webinar, headed by the Americas subcommittee, was on the subject of strikes at the construction site of the US’s new embassy in Honduras. This webinar was well attended by Americans and Honduran workers we were working with and successfully helped them raise awareness and funds for the strike. Alongside the Middle East and Africa subcommittee, we helped set up an internal webinar with the Federation of Informal workers of Nigeria. This was an excellent webinar that will likely help develop a long-term relationship with this organization and the left in Nigeria. On the domestic front, IC has been working with DSA labor with their ongoing brewing in Solidarity project. We have facilitated contact between Starbucks union organizers in the US and countries such as New Zealand, Chile, and Canada. This work has been helpful for building DSA’s credibility in the current upsurge of the worker’s movement. We also unsuccessfully tried to endorse a campaign by the organization LabourStart supporting persecuted Belarusian trade unionists. Overall, the last quarter has been a learning experience for IC labor as we rebuild our capacity, make new connections in the US and abroad, and find our place in DSA. We have exciting plans for the next quarter.

Activities Planned for Next Quarter

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee will continue writing bylaws and prepare a process for drafting a consensus resolution for convention. 

Americas 

In the next quarter, we anticipate continued activity in political education and a renewed effort to use the subcommittee to coordinate strategic campaigns across DSA chapters. Cuba continues to be a vital and expansive project for the subcommittee, and future projects include a general-membership delegation (pending NPC approval); a pressure campaign around de-listing Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terror list; a push to both recruit and formalize chapter commitments to a national strategy on Cuba; and encouragement for chapters to pass municipal and state resolutions condemning the embargo.Organizers within the Colombia and Honduras subcommittees are also developing promising directions for IC-coordinated strategic campaigns. At the level of subcommittee leadership, diplomatic outreach to mass movements and parties continues in key regions such as Mexico, Brazil, and Bolivia, and we hope to see further development of these ties. Finally, we hope to develop intermediate levels of leadership within the subcommittee, especially around roles such as liaising with chapters and coordinating political education events. 

Antiwar

Regularly holding meetings at all is something that the subcommittee has fallen off of doing and something I’m looking to get started on again. Additionally, the DDD campaign is reorienting itself, looking towards building stronger ties with labor unions – a short-term goal will be working with unions to pass anti-war resolutions.

Asia & Oceania

• Subcommittee: Hold political education event on Korean War 
• Guam WG: Continue developing Prutehi Litekyan campaign
• China WG: Explore No Cold War campaign/coalition

We could use more help with recruiting members and participating in meetings with outside parties. 

Europe

We would like to hold outward-facing political education featuring members of European-led parties and have promising leads. 

Climate and Economics

Our top priority in the new year to continue the IGET (Intro to Global Economics & Trade) political education series in the first quarter of 2023, and to increase collaboration and communication within the subcommittee.

Middle East and Africa

In the coming quarter we plan to continue our organizing work on Yemen, meet with the Communist Party of Swaziland and attend and support the January launch of the International People’s Tribunal against US Imperialism: Sanctions, Blockades, and Economic Coercive Measures at the People’s Forum in NYC. In addition, we are working with the BDS WG and DIsability WG on developing an educational event on disability justice in Gaza. In February one of our co-chairs will travel to Tanzania to attend the Global People Power Forum and possibly meet with members of the Kenyan Communist Party in Kenya. Work on identifying and developing a priority campaign for the subcommittee continues as do the efforts to boost subcommittee engagement.

Labor

In the next quarter, we will continue the important long-term work we are involved in and expand our capacity by engaging with the Latin American/international labor movement, running a webinar, and doing solidarity at home. 

We are inviting a Brazilian labor leader visiting the US for a conference in PA to also visit Washington DC in mid-April for a hybrid event alongside the local DSA internationalism working group. 

We will continue to stay engaged with LabourStart and other international labor organizations that publicize campaigns in support of various labor struggles worldwide. These bodies provide important opportunities for DSA IC to show direct solidarity with union movements globally.

We plan to host a discussion on labor internationalism and the importance of supporting the movements and institutions of the international working class. This will occur in January or February and the format is still being discussed. 

We are in early talks about assisting a union in northern Mexico contact DSA-endorsed electeds asking them to sign a letter of solidarity with workers at a factory of  VU, an American car upholstery company (located in Coahuila 3 miles from the US border) who have organized with the Independent Mexican Worker’s League. This independent union is fighting back against poor working conditions in the factory and the corrupt protection union. Unionists’ lives are being threatened, so the visibility US congresspeople could give them would be invaluable for keeping a group of brave workers safe. 

We will continue the long-term work we have been engaged in with the Philippine Solidarity working group, including by holding a webinar on the political-economic context of the Philippines, continuing to support the PHRA campaign, and supporting coalition efforts to push for human rights commitments through trade policy.  

We will continue to explore new relationships with global workers’ organizations, including the Federation of Informal Workers of Nigeria. 

Communications (Tweets, pictures, videos, etc.)

August 2022:

Tweets: 18

Profile Visit:

Tweet Impressions: 268K

Mentions:

New Followers: 88

Top Tweet: https://twitter.com/dsa_intl_comm/status/1562100490174955521

September 2022:

Tweets: 60

Profile Visit:

Tweet Impressions: 3.39M

Mentions:

New Followers: 1,889

Top Tweet: https://twitter.com/dsa_intl_comm/status/1568013101701959680

October 2022:

Tweets: 36

Profile Visit:

Tweet Impressions: 473K

Mentions:

New Followers: 476

Top Tweet:https://twitter.com/dsa_intl_comm/status/1582836520884793344

November 2022:

Tweets: 18

Profile Visit:

Tweet Impressions: 141K

Mentions:

New Followers: 61

Top Tweet: https://twitter.com/dsa_intl_comm/status/1588895691044052992

December 2022:

Tweets: 36

Profile Visit:

Tweet Impressions: 260K

Mentions:

New Followers: 122

Top Tweet: https://twitter.com/dsa_intl_comm/status/1601976814267764738

TOP TWEETS OF Q3 2022: https://twitter.com/dsa_intl_comm/status/1568013101701959680

TOP TWEETS OF Q4 2022: https://twitter.com/dsa_intl_comm/status/1601976814267764738

Contact Us!

Steering Committee: [email protected]

Steering Committee Members:

Voting Members

Jack L. (Liaison to: Labor, Climate & Econ) 

Paul G. (Liaison to: Labor)

Ivana V. (Liaison to: Antiwar, Europe)

Lindsey S. (Liaison to: ME&A, Antiwar, Asia/Oceania)

A.K. (Liaison to: ME&A, Asia/Oceania)

Luisa M. (Liaison to: Americas)

Tom W. (Liaison to: Americas, Europe)

Jana S. (Liaison to: Americas, Labor)

Melanie B. (Liaison to: Climate & Econ)

Jorge R. (Liaison to: Asia/Oceania, Europe)

Dieter L. (Liaison to: Antiwar)

International Committee’s Subcommittees

Americas

Co-chairs: Steve R., Greg W.

Antiwar

Co-chairs: Eshaan V., Brynn D.

Asia & Oceania

Co-chairs: Anlin W., Ron J.

Climate & Economics

Co-chairs: Gaya S., Adam R.

Middle East & Africa

Co-chairs: Mirah W., Mazdak

Europe

Co-chairs: Chip G., Jaime C.

Labor

Co-chairs: Connor W., Nell G.