First in reply to Marv Gandall: I should give a little background to myself: I joined the carpenters union in 1970. At that time, we had to raise our right hand and pledge that among other things we had not been and never would become a member of the Communist Party. I raised my hand in a fist, which at that time was associated with the Black Panther Party. The conductor of the union came over to me and chewed me out afterwards. That was my introduction to the union. Marv asks about my other activities: I was the central organizer of an opposition caucus for many years and initiated debates with the bureaucracy at every meeting. I spoke up against every contract we had because each time I knew it wasn't enough. I organized protests and was the chairman of the strike committee for the great 2,000 member SF Bay Area wildcat strike of 1999. That was a strike against the rotten contract they were forcing down our throats. I was elected recording secretary of my local 3 times, over the opposition of the bureaucracy. I was brought up on charges three times and convicted the last time and expelled from the union for life for leading wildcat strike of 1999. Along the way, I was nationally known as the central opponent of the union bureaucracy. I got my local to go on record as supporting a labor party and got them to allow me to hold meetings in the union hall for the Bay Area Coalition for a Labor Party. I had my life threatened and my arm broken. In fact, even after I was expelled I continued to "cause trouble" (as our business agent put it) in our hiring hall until I retired. Marv can look up my name if he has any doubts, but I hope that answers his question. That is the short answer. If he wants to know more, I can tell him.
The tipofft about DSA's relationship to the union bureaucracy is that they have all these low level union bureaucrats in leading positions in DSA chapters yet as far as I know there have been no debates with them, meaning no criticism of the bureaucracy's policies. Here's how it works: When the bureaucracy wants activists to come out for some sort of public event - for instance a strike rally - the DSA leadership sends out a text message or something of the sort. Occasionally, they hold a meeting where some union bureaucrat speaks, but there is little time if any at all for members to question or debate with them. For example, several years ago there was a teachers strike here in Oakland. There was lots of discontent with the terms of the settlement. East Bay DSA held a meeting after it was all over at which three hand-picked "rank and file" teachers spoke. They were hand picked by the bureaucracy. The three "rank and filers" spoke about how hard they'd fought, there was lots of cheering and clapping from the compliant DSA members. There was a truncated discussion period, and that was the end. In most cases, there isn't even any discussion period. That's what the "rank and file" policy amounts to. Sure, like typical "activists" DSA members will participate in union activities, but always on the terms of the union bureaucracy and without criticism of that bureaucracy. Now, on Ukraine, here is the DSA statement: "The war in Ukraine is a disaster for working class people in Ukraine, the region, and a terrible threat to us all, including increasing the danger of nuclear war and exacerbating global economic crises. We oppose the Russian invasion and call for the withdrawal of Russian troops through a settled ceasefire agreement. We recognize that the expansion of NATO and the aggressive approach of Western nations have helped cause the crisis and we demand an end to NATO expansion. We also oppose US and NATO military interventionism and the tens of billions in military aid and weapons shipments which only further exacerbates the war and undermine a negotiated settlement, as well as sanctions that will harm ordinary Russians. We call on the US and other countries to welcome refugees fleeing the war and provide needed humanitarian aid." Let's break that down: First there is the ritual call for Russia to withdraw. Then there is the usual campist mention of the threat of nuclear war, which isn't real and which is used to call for an end to US support for Ukraine. Then we get to the heart of the matter: The US and NATO are responsible. They are the aggressors. That is an outright lie. Putin has made it perfectly clear that his issue is that Ukraine has no right to exist. Furthermore, at the time of the invasion there wasn't even any chance of Ukraine joining NATO. "Demand an end toNATO expansion"? But those countries that joined nato in recent decades did it on their initiative and did so shortly after Russia had invaded other countries (Moldova, Georgia). Tell it to the people of those countries who wanted protection from an aggressively imperialist and expansionist Russia. They call for an end to sanctions "which hurt ordinary Russians." I wonder if they'd call for an end to sanctions against Israel, "which would hurt ordinary Israelis." Then they call for an end to military aid to Ukraine. That's the real heart of the matter. They are calling for the conditions that will enable the victory of the invasion. And no mention anywhere of the horrific war crimes Russia is commiting. The whole thing is a slightly disguised support for Putin. It's not just Ukraine. When the US and Israel attacked Iran, DSA issued a strong statement <https://www.dsausa.org/statements/dsa-stands-against-imperialist-war-and-with-the-iranian-people/> opposing it. Fine. But where was DSA during all the protests against the regime a few years earlier. You can search high and low and you won't find any support for those protests. By their silence, DSA is implicitly supporting that brutal regime. I'll give them credit, though: It's not just Iran. DSA has supported the corrupt and repressive Maduro regime in Venezuela. No, not just oppose US intervention, support the regime. A few years back, DSA sent a delegation to tour that country as guests of Maduro & Co. that's like the tours of Israel and Democratic and Republican politicians conduct. Syria? Several years ago, the chair of the DSA international committee published an article in the DSA journal supporting Assad. I wrote a response which, after a lot of struggle, they did publish. But nobody else objected to that original support for Assad. Now let's consider the Porto Alegre "anti fascist" conference, which more accurately should be called a pro-Putin conference. DSA sent a delegation, and since there is no indication of any criticism of the conference that means they supported it. I laid it all out here: The International "Anti Fascist" Conference that wasn't. <https://oaklandsocialist.com/2026/04/25/the-international-anti-fascist-conference-that-wasnt/> Since Putin is the world's #1 centralizer of fascism (although his close ally, Trump, is now coming close), any conference on "fascism" that actually in effect supports Putin is complicit with him and his pro-fascist role. John Reimann -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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