Revolutions Per Minute - Radio from the New York City Democratic Socialists of America

New York State Assembly Members and Senators headed back to Albany last week for the start of the 2023 legislative session. We caught up with Queens Assembly Member and socialist Zohran Mamdani the night before the session began to learn how he’s feeling about this year's prospects to pass legislation that will help the working class and the addition of two new socialist legislators. We also talked to him about why his office joined as an intervening party to stop Con Edison from raising gas and electric bills and his platform of legislation to fix the MTA. We’re also joined live tonight by Lizzy Oh and Brandon West to talk about one of New York City DSA’s priority campaigns this year - taxing the rich. To submit a public comment against ConEd's proposed rate hike visit: bit.ly/NoConEdRateHikeFor more information on the Fix the MTA platform, visit: www.fixthemta.orgFor more information on the Tax the Rich campaign, visit: www.taxtherichny.com

The strikewave within higher education came ashore in New York last month, as more than 1600 part-time faculty members at The New School, represented by ACT-UAW Local 7902, went on strike, hitting the picket line for higher pay, benefits, and greater security for their work. After a 25-day long strike in what some have called the longest strike by adjuncts in US history and a brutal battle with New School management, the university and the union reached a tentative agreement on December 10th, which included a number of key wins for the striking faculty. Tonight, we will hear from Annie Levin, an ACT-UAW staff organizer and political writer, and Brian Allen, also an organizer for ACT-UAW and formerly a member of Teamster Local 528, to tell us more about this historic strike at the New School, and how adjunct faculty won their new contract. We will also cut to a brief interview with Bucky, a student at the New School, and hear how they and their fellow classmates occupied a university building in support of their striking faculty and their thoughts on what can be done to build a better & democratic academy.

In this episode of Revolutions Per Minute, we will taking you first to Brooklyn and then to Puerto Rico, to explore how neoliberal austerity is wreaking havoc on the lives of ordinary people. I’ll be talking to New York City Council Member Alexa Aviles, of District 38 her first year in office. Alexa is a proud DSA member and was endorsed by the movement prior to her election. She doesnt take real estate donations and has a track record of opposing the prison industrial complex, having worked to empower marginalized communities before her election as program director of the Scherman Foundation. The second half of the show takes us to an interview with Ruth Santiago, a trustee of the non-profit Earthjustice who lives on Puerto Rico’s southern coast. As an attorney, Ruth has represented those fighting against environmental injustice in all its forms.

While a “Red Wave” of victories did not materialize for Republicans earlier this month on election day in most parts of the country, conservatives won big here in New York gaining congressional seats as well as seats in the New York State Assembly and Senate. Republican Lee Zeldin centered his gubernatorial campaign around a false and racist narrative on crime, that dominated media coverage, and it was almost enough to defeat Governor Kathy Hochul, who ran a lackluster campaign despite a large fundraising haul.The New York Times reported earlier this week that Republican ad blitzes focused on crime, motivated voters to head to the polls in suburban Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley, despite many of those voters living in some of the safest places in the country, where crime rates have flattened and that many of them had exaggerated views about crime rates in New York City, which are still well below where they were for decades. Today we’re joined live by Nomi and DJ to break down some of the misinformation that blanketed the airways before the election. Nomi is the Constituent Services and Organizing Manager for Council Member Tiffany Caban and worked with DJ and other volunteers from the district to create a Public Safety Resource poster along with Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani’s office. We’ll talk to Nomi and DJ about how socialist are not only battling right-wing propaganda stoking fear of crime, but organizing for real public safety in our communities and dignity for all. We’ll also talk to Michaelangelo with Mid-Hudson Valley DSA about what Neoliberal Democrats are getting wrong in their post-election analysis and how centering socialist messaging led Sarahana Shrestha to victory in her Assembly race in the Hudson Valley.To join a Public Safety Canvass in Western Queens on Saturday, December 3, visit: Bit.ly/safetycanvass

Strikes are erupting across the country, from railroads to the New School and your local Starbucks. Reminder from your comrades at RPM - never cross a picket line, just grab a sign and walk alongside them. Workers Today we will hear from rank and file organizers about the Labor Notes troublemakers school, speak to Shep Whanon of Gays Against Guns on Trans Day of Remembrance and close out the show with Caitlin of the GYM on the brutal sweeps Eric Adams is unleashing upon our most vulnerable unhoused neighbors.

It’s election season again! That means that citizens will soon exercise their right to vote for their political leaders, but for workers in a union, or for those trying to organize one themselves, democracy does not end on election day. It is in the everyday struggle for a democracy worthy of the name not only in our politics, but in our workplaces and our unions. Tonight, we hear from Brandon Mancilla, a candidate for Regional Director of the UAW’s Region 9A, about what’s at stake in the UAW leadership elections this November and about how he and the other endorsed candidates of the UAW United Members United slate will transform the near century-old union. We also hear from our own Amy Wilson, host and producer here at RPM and a worker-organizer at the Trader Joe’s in Williamsburg, on organizing an independent union with Trader Joe’s United and what it means to lose an election. Brandon Mancilla on Twitter: @Brandonfor9A

The yearly NYC DSA convention is back, with about 100 delegates from every corner of the city gathering to discuss the path forward for our organizing community. After taking some serious losses in electoral organizing and membership enrollment, socialists in the city seek to find their place in the movement, to re-engage in the work and to bring our neighbors into our vision of a socialist future for our beloved city of new york.

For over a month, protests and strikes have rocked the country of Iran in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who was arrested while visiting Tehran by the Guidance Patrol for violating Iran’s mandatory hijab law. Despite fierce crackdowns from the Iranian state, these protests, led by women, students, and workers, have made clear the demands for women’s rights and autonomy, shouting chants of “Women, life, freedom” and “Death to the Dictator”. Tonight, we hear from Dr. Naghmeh Sohrabi, a professor and scholar of Iranian history and politics, about these protests and their connection to the Iranian people’s long history fighting for justice and freedom. We’re also joined live tonight by Oriana and Tara from Movement Chaplain Collective in New York City. We’ll talk to them about the importance of providing spiritual and emotional care to movements through actions, advocacy, direct care to organizers, and as mutual aid.

RPM takes you to Brazil and Florida, two places on the frontlines of climate chaos. We are joined by Benjamin Fogel from Jacobin and Richie Floyd from St Petersburg City Council. We will be talking about the elections in Brazil and the impact of Hurricane Ian on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

In the early hours of the morning on the 15th of September, the Biden Administration announced that a tentative agreement had been reached by the railroad companies and the railroad unions, delaying a potential nationwide strike. Now, the decision to accept this tentative agreement, or reject it and potentially go on strike rests with the railroad workers themselves. Tonight, we talked to Ross, a locomotive engineer and member of Railroad Workers United, to hear more about what railroad workers really think of this agreement and what may happen next. We also hear from Honda from DSA Labor to learn more about the launch of DSA’s national labor solidarity fund, and how this fund can help aid working class struggle from coast-to-coast. Connect with Railroad Workers United: https://www.railroadworkersunited.org/ DSA National Labor Solidarity Fund: https://laborsolidarity.com/

Let's go inside the RPM producers' studio. In this episode, Jack and Amy discuss the founding of Revolutions per Minute, our approach to making socialist radio, and what we think other DSA chapters or political groups could learn from our four years of experience in broadcasting. We pay tribute to our comrade Lee Ziesche who is leaving NYC after many years of living and organizing in our community. Listen to Lee's very first appearance on our show and hear us discuss from a producers' angle what she has contributed to our work. Pitch an idea to Revolutions per Minute: bit.ly/pitch2RPMJoin the RPM collective: bit.ly/RPMJoinForm

In 1997 nearly 200,000 Teamsters went on strike against UPS. They fought for a better contract and they won. Will the American Labor Movement experience another massive strike at UPS led by the Teamsters in 2023? Matt, a member of the Teamsters, joins us to discuss that and much more.

Last Tuesday New York State held its second primary of the summer and New York City voters are sending another socialist senator to Albany. DSA endorsed candidate Kristen Gonzalez trounced Elizabeth Crowley winning the democratic primary in the newly formed Senate District 59, which includes portions of Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. We were at Kristen’s victory party in Long Island City and will share some sounds from the ground. And we are joined live tonight by former New York City Council candidate and NewsGuild of New York organizer, Brandon West. We’ll talk about the significance of Kristen’s win and the results of two other Brooklyn Senate races - Jabari Brisport’s run for re-election and David Alexis' challenge of Senator Kevin Parker in Flatbush. Jack Devine also speaks with Nic, a fellow PSC union member, about the year ahead for thousands of teachers organizing for a more just CUNY.

Earlier this month, voters in the state of Kansas roundly rejected the so-called “Value them Both” measure, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have laid the groundwork for a complete abortion ban in the future. This measure, pushed by extremist anti-abortion lobbies, was defeated in a 59-41% result by the voters of Kansas. Tonight, we’re speaking to Melinda, an organizer with Lawrence DSA and chair of the PAC Vote No Kansas, and Dr. Russell Fox, professor of political science at Friends University in Wichita, on the organizing that successfully defeated this ballot measure. We will also hear from Alyssa, an organizer with Reproductive Justice Collective here in NYC, on the right-wing rise in the courts and the impact of groups like the Federalist Society. Learn more about Lawrence DSA's successful campaign Vote No Kansas on Monday, August 29: https://actionnetwork.org/events/how-we-beat-kansas-anti-abortion-ballot-measure-a-campaign-debrief-w-lawrence-dsa Follow Reproductive Justice Collective on Instagram at @reprojusticecollective.

Tonight we’re joined LIVE by Jia Lee, an educator and organizer here in New York City.

Tonight we're joined live by the NewsGuild of New York's Chris Brooks and Stephanie Basile, two labor organizers on the front lines of some of today’s most exciting worker-led campaigns. We’ll be discussing trends in labor organizing, as seen in groundbreaking victories from workers at Amazon, Starbucks, Apple Stores, Trader Joe’s, and many more. What in labor history can help us understand this current moment, and how do we keep up the momentum? Want to learn more about worker-led momentum organizing? Read Chris Brooks in In These Times: https://inthesetimes.com/article/amazon-starbucks-workers-organizing-unions-momentum-movement-moment

From New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between socialists have been winning in local, state, and federal elections. Daniel and Mike from the National Electoral Committee join us to discuss recent victories, upcoming campaigns, and the challenges faced by the ascendent socialist movement in the years to come.

Tonight we’re joined live by Michaelangelo Pomarico, an organizer with Mid Hudson Valley DSA and the Public Power New York Coalition who has devoted a lot of time over the last several months organizing to elect Sarahana Shrestha, a DSA endorsed candidate for the New York Assembly. Michaelaneglo will share how Sarahana’s insurgent campaign in the Hudson Valley succeeded to unseat longtime incumbent Kevin Cahill last month in the Democratic primary and what comes next for their DSA chapter. We also talk with Socialist Councilmembers Alexa Aviles and Tiffany Caban about their first six months on the New York City Council and we’ll hear in their own words why they, along with four other council members, were the only members to vote NO on the City Budget that was pushed through in a late night vote by the Council Speaker and later signed by Mayor Adams earlier this month. To learn more about Mid-Hudson Valley DSA follow them on twitter @MHVDSA and visit www.mhvdsa.org To learn more about Sarahana Shrestha follow her on twitter @sarahana and www.sarahanaforassembly.com/

We’re coming to the end of Pride Month amidst an environment of escalating attacks from the right on queer and trans people. Tonight, we speak to two grassroots organizers working on self-defense programs for queer, trans, and people of color in NYC and the Bay Area. We hear from Kenji of Soar Over Hate and DJ Guerrilla Pump of We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For on how they are protecting their communities by organizing educational programs, creating art and healing practices, distributing tools and resources, and uniting community care with self-defense.We’re also joined live tonight by Aaron Fernando, a member of the Queens DSA Electoral Organizing Committee, to discuss yesterday’s primary election results. Because of the redistricting debacle, New York is holding two primaries this summer with voters weighing in on Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Assembly races yesterday.DSA For the Many endorsed four socialist Assembly Members for re-election and five new candidates for the Assembly. All the incumbent DSA members won their primaries, some by a very large margin,but of the five new candidates only Sarahana Shrestha, running in the Hudson Valley won her race outright, toppling 13-term incumbent Kevin Cahill who has held the seat since 1999. Samy Nemir Olivares’ race against Erik Dilan in Bushwick and Cypress Hills is still too close to call with Samy trailing by about 200 votes.To learn more about queer self-defense programs and how you can get involved and support, visit soaroverhate.org and wevebeenwaitingforus.org.To learn more about getting involved in upcoming races to elect DSA endorsed candidates for senate visit fortheturnout.nyc

For the first time in the nation’s history, the Colombian people have elected a leftist to the presidency. Gustavo Petro defeated far-right populist, Rodolfo Hernández. The former guerilla has pledged to challenge economic inequality and fight climate change by transforming the country’s energy system. What does this victory mean for socialism in Latin America? DSA National Political Committee Member Marvin Gonzalez joins us to discuss that and much more. Here in New York City, the city council and Mayor Adams passed a new budget last week that funnels money to private creditors and the cops while cutting funds for education and other social services. We’ll hear from Kay Gabriel on why this budget is an attack on the working class and how NYC-DSA plans to build a movement to fight back.

The elected officials of New York State ended their legislative session in Albany on June 2nd. They are headed home for the summer after failing to secure the rights of tenants or meeting New York state’s climate goals, refusing to pass Good Cause Eviction and the Build Public Renewables Act. What happened? To try and answer this and more, we bring on socialist organizers to break down what happened in Albany and how New York lawmakers left tenants and the climate out to dry. Tonight, we are joined by Avi, a tenant organizer fighting for the Right to Remain, and RPM’s co-host and ecosocialist specialist, Lee Ziesche. We will assess the situation in Albany and the movement necessary, both inside and outside the halls of the State Capitol, to defeat the corporate opposition and make Good Cause and BPRA a reality in the Empire State. Visit right2remain.com to learn more about the ongoing campaign to pass Good Cause Eviction legislation in New York state. On this show, Lee references the Sane Energy Project (saneenergy.org) and No NBK Pipeline Coalition (nonbkpipeline.org) as well as the NYC-DSA Ecosocialist Working Group (https://ecosocialists.nyc/).

This week marks both the 13th anniversary of the assassination of beloved abortion provider and patients’ rights advocate Dr. George Tiller by an anti-abortion extremist, and the second anniversary of the peoples’ uprising against NYPD sparked by the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many many more. Although the official Supreme Court decision that will overturn Roe v. Wade has yet to be released, the reality on the ground in many places in the so-called United States is that abortion has been made illegal. Here in New York City, organizers are preparing for shifts in the nature of abortion care, attempting to protect providers in the face of the potential criminalization of abortion, and navigating a street landscape that lays bare the reality that organized white nationalists and fascists have thrown their lot in with the anti-abortion movement. On this show, we're joined by NYC for Abortion Rights organizer Nix to discuss self-managed abortion and the landscape of abortion access now. We take live calls from the WBAI audience about abortion. Continue the discussion by following NYC for Abortion Rights: abortionrights.nyc

On June 2, the legislative session will end in New York State and elected officials will head home for the summer. And in typical Albany fashion, the fight to pass the most transformational bills is coming down to the wire. Tonight, we continue our series of interviews with the DSA for the Many slate of candidates with Vanessa Agudelo, who is joining us live on RPM from Peekskill, New York. Vanessa is running for Assembly District 95 in the Lower Hudson Valley. We'll talk to her about why Peekskill and the other communities she’s running to represent need a Green New Deal, the status of the Build Public Renewables Act with one week left to pass the bill, and much more. For more info on Vanessa follow @VanessaBAgudelo on twitter and visit her website www.vanessaforny.com

Amazon Labor Union scored a big victory for the labor movement last month when organized workers overwhelmingly won an NLRB election at a Staten Island Amazon facility. Yet most of Amazon and the private sector in general remains unorganized. Despite a valiant effort, ALU’s next attempt at a different Amazon facility failed. What is to be done? Brian, a former Amazon worker and member of DSA Labor’s logistics committee, joins us to discuss organizing at Amazon and the state of the labor movement.

Tonight we’re continuing our series of interviews with the DSA For the Many Slate and are joined live by Kristen Gonzalez, a tech worker and community organizer running for State Senate District 17. District 17 might be a new district spanning from Woodside, Queens to Greenpoint, Brooklyn - but that depends on the courts. We’ll talk to Kristen about the Senate redistricting debacle and much more. We’ll also be opening up the phone lines later in the show and want to hear from you!

International Workers’ Day is right around the corner on May 1, and this year it comes among a huge upswell of worker-run unionism and labor militancy. From Delta Airlines to Amazon and Starbucks to local shops like Film Forum here in NYC, workers are coming together and fighting for their rights on the job. Here at Revolutions per Minute, we are organizers, and organizers know that all labor stories start with workers talking to each other – on the job, at home, and in the streets. For our 2022 Workers Day Special, members of the RPM collective have each interviewed a worker in our own lives about their work, their struggles, and their joys. We’re speaking to the people we love, respect, and work with, in hopes that you’ll do the same this Workers’ Day and every day! Lee Ziesche interviews her life partner Miles Bartlett on his 20 years' experience as a back of house kitchen worker.Chris Carr interviews his UAW brother and worker at the same university, Zach Valdez. Zach is an administrative assistant and UAW Local 2110 steward. Learn more about this local's contract fight at @2110for1M1V and sign their petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/fair-contract-now-support-local-2110-staff. Desiree Joy Frias interviews her best friend and godmother of her son, Jamese Lamb, on her experience as a graduate student medical worker.Amy Wilson interviews her labor movement comrade and friend, Kayleigh Truman. Kayleigh is a second-generation stagehand working Broadway, off-Broadway, and Madison Square Garden, and running for leadership in IATSE Local One to change the culture of their union.

Tonight we are joined live from New Jersey by Chigozie Onyema, a North New Jersey DSA endorsed candidate for City Council in Newark. We will also be speaking to Rebecca Martinez and Julian Mesri from the Radical Theatre collective about their production of Songs About Trains. We also caught up with State Senator Julia Salazar to talk to her about the New York State budget, why she voted against it and what socialist in Albany are fighting for with just six weeks left in the legislative session. For more info on Chigozie Onyema visit: www.chigozieonyema.com

Tonight we’ll continue our series of interviews with the DSA For The Many Slate with David Alexis, a rideshare driver, working class father and climate organizer who is running to represent Senate District 21 in Flatbush, BrooklynMany began 2022 with some hope that with Andrew Cuomo out of office, New York might finally be able to pass a state budget that meets the needs of working class people. The budget was due April 1st and is now five days late. Much of the hold up is because of last minute additions from Governor Kathy Hochul to roll back bail reform within the budget and fund a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, owned by billionaire fracker Terry Pegula. And it's not just Governor Hochul doing the bidding of fossil fuel capital in Albany. We talk to David Alexis about his campaign to unseat Senator Kevin Parker who has stalled climate legislation in Albany earning him the nickname the “Joe Manchin of New York.” We’ll hear why David is fighting for Public Power for his neighbors in Flatbush, how being a dad impacted his run for office and his vision for public safety and housing.Follow @David4BK or visit https://www.davidforbk.com/ for more info on David.

We spoke with a Starbucks worker-organizer from Buffalo, NY back in January here on RPM, and since that time the fight has only gotten hotter. As of today, over 170 Starbucks locations in 27 states have filed for elections with the National Labor Relations Board – including several right here in New York City! With union victories in Buffalo, Arizona, Tennessee, at the heart of the Starbucks mythology in its hometown of Seattle, Washington, and more coming in every day, Starbucks corporate is upping the pressure on organizing workers and resorting to classic union-busting techniques. This month, DSA’s national labor commission launched a nation-wide campaign to engage DSA members and allies in support of coffee workers unionizing locally. On tonight’s show, we’re live in the studio with Aimes, a Starbucks worker-organizer from the Starbucks Roastery in Chelsea, Manhattan, and Honda, from the national DSA Labor steering committee. We’ll be discussing Starbucks union campaigns in New York City, and what you can do to support local workers no matter where you’re tuning in from. Follow @DSA_Labor and @SBWorkersUnited for updates on this campaign. Join Astoria Boulevard Starbucks worker-organizers for a rally on Friday, April 1 at 6pm outside their store at 3018 Astoria Boulevard, and follow them at @astoriablvdsbx. Solidarity to the worker-organizers of the Chelsea Reserve Roastery on their election on 4/1, and to all retail and service workers organizing today.

Tonight we’re joined live in the studio by Sessi Kuwabara Blanchard and Jacob Clary, organizers from NYC-DSA’s Socialist Drug Politics Organizing Committee. We discuss the class politics of drug use, overdose prevention centers AKA safe injection sites, and much more. Learn how the transformative perspective of socialist drug politics offers different ways of understanding drug use and the social forces that shape users' experience. We also return to the South Bronx, where survivors of January’s devastating Twin Parks fire and their supporters are fighting for what they are owed from the city and landlord, in the face of corruption that may go all the way to the top of New York’s political structure. We speak to Ariadna Phillips from South Bronx Mutual Aid and Misra Walker from Take Back the Bronx on building real tenant power. Follow the Socialist Drug Politics Organizing Committee on Twitter @socialistdrugs. Join VOCAL-NY's Users Union for a Statewide Day of Action on April 7. The NYC event is a rally on the steps of City Hall at 11am. Sign up to receive more details here: https://vocal-ny.org/event/04-07-22-users-union-statewide-day-of-action/

After three long weeks, Putin’s war with Ukraine has devastated the region with mass shellings of Ukrainian towns and villages, and bombings that have included hospitals and kindergartens. All of this has been under the banal guise of a [quote] “special military operation”, words which ring hollow to any Leftist familiar with the lies of Imperial Powers. This assault has taken thousands of Ukrainian lives and made tens of thousands more into refugees. With lines of Russian tanks that stretch for miles, marching onward to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, it can be easy to forget that this war carries the weight of history. To explore some of the deeper, historical complexities that led to this war, covering past, present, and future, we talked with Volodymyr Ishchenko, a Ukrainian sociologist and scholar of Eastern European history. Meanwhile back here in New York City, tens of thousands suffer under the regime of mass incarceration. Starting at the age of 15, Prakash Churaman lost six years of his life in pretrial detention after being forced into a false confession by the NYPD. Authorities claim he murdered his best friend, but there is no physical or forensic evidence linking him to the crime. Only the words of a scared, young kid locked in a room. Prakash proclaims his innocence and refuses to take any plea deal. Despite limited access to the outside world, Prakash organized to gather bail money for his release. Last week we spoke with Prakash and his lawyer Jose Nieves about his story and the Free Prakash Alliance.

Tonight on RPM we continue our series of conversations with DSA’s 2022 For The Many candidate slate with Illapa Sairitupac. Illapa is social worker and climate organizer who has been endorsed by NYC-DSA for Assembly District 65, a Lower East Side district once held by the notorious Sheldon Silver. We’ll talk to Illapa about running a campaign for working class New Yorkers in a district that also includes the capital of capitalism: Wall Street.We’ll also hear from members of the NYC-DSA Housing Working Group who were out canvassing in lower Manhattan with Illapa this weekend for the Right to Remain campaign - to pass the Good Cause Eviction bill.Plus a breaking news update on the REI Soho Union vote with Amy Wilson. For more info on Illapa: https://illapa.nyc/To learn more about Right to Remain and the NYC-DSA Housing Working Group: https://linktr.ee/nycdsa_housing

The specter and reality of war haunts humanity. The imperialist expansion of NATO and right-wing Russian nationalism continue to escalate tensions in the Ukraine, where CIA backed fascist paramilitaries roam the streets. While Russian invasion would prove devastating for the workers of the world, further US intervention would only make things worse. War is only rational for the profiteers in the military industrial complex. Deescalation and peace are the only sensible pathways for those who value human life. A devastating war in the Middle East rages on with deafening silence from the corporate media. Saudi jets drop American made bombs on Yemeni civillians. Bombardment has not only reduced cities to rubble, but has shaken the economy to its core. Dylan and Kawthar join us to discuss the horrifying US backed Saudi led genocide in Yemen and the efforts by antiimperialists in the United States to organize to end it. Join the rally in front of Meeks’ Jamaica office on March 1st 12pm, 153-01 Jamaica Ave Call 1-833-STOP-WAR Ask them to oppose an FTO designation as well (this is more recent) every75seconds.org Yemeni Alliance Committee Is continuing to lobby around this, Adam Schiff’s office NYC-DSA Anti-War Working Group Email us, [email protected] Follow us, @nycDSAantiwar

Considered on its own, the New York Police Department is in the top ten largest armies in the world. Why? As working-class New Yorkers struggle to stay fed and safely housed, the NYPD enjoys nearly unlimited resources and sees no issue with using those resources to oppress and surveil the city’s population. On tonight's show, we speak to Khalil from NYC-DSA’s Defund NYPD campaign on why socialists’ commitment to REAL public safety remains strong. We also take calls live from the WBAI audience. In international news, capitalists and war-mongers are pushing for further escalation in the Russia-Ukraine dispute. We’ll hear from Gerard of the Democratic Socialists International Committee on their recent statement opposing US militarization and interventionism in Ukraine and Eastern Europe and calling for an end to NATO expansionism. Join NYC-DSA's campaign to Defund NYPD: https://www.defundnypd.com/get-involved Read the International Committee's statement in English, Russian, or Ukrainian: https://international.dsausa.org/statements/no-war-with-russia/ On this episode, Lee Ziesche shares a brief public service announcement about this month's sky-high ConEd bills. We will be covering this issue more in depth on future episodes, but visit bit.ly/conedbill to learn more about how this situation was created by New York politicians' climate inaction and how DSA is fighting back.

Yesterday two very different visions for the future of New York’s energy system were presented at a marathon 12+ hour long budget hearing on environmental conservation. On one hand, New York’s regulators argued to stay the course and continue to let the market and capital be the primary drivers of building renewable energy, despite the state having missed it’s renewable energy goals year after year and currently only 6% of New York’s energy comes from wind and solar. Community advocates and DSA-electeds had a different view - one where the future is a public good- and renewables are being built at the scale the climate crisis demands and are publicly-owned. Tonight we’ll continue our series of interviews with NYC-DSA’s 2022 slate and are joined live by Sarahana Shrestha a candidate for Assembly District 103 in the Mid-Hudson Valley and member of the NY Public Power Coalition who is running under the slogan - the future is a public good. More info about Sarahana: www.sarahanaforassembly.comMore info about Public Power: www.publicpowerny.org

Starting late last year in Buffalo, NY, a union wave has spread all over the country as workers at an ever-increasing number of Starbucks coffee shops are getting organized and making demands on their boss and on the multi-national corporation that employs them. This movement is gaining speed every day - and to help us understand what’s going on from a worker perspective, we’re joined live in the studio by James, a worker-organizer with Starbucks Workers United in Buffalo. Another national movement is mobilizing to defend access to abortion as the right-wing assault on this fundamental right continues to escalate. With landmark legislation Roe V. Wade on the verge of being rolled back, socialists are continuing to organize for grassroots solutions to this national crisis that center anti-racism, abolition, and a no-holds-barred approach to guaranteeing access to safe abortion. We’ll hear from Ali of Chicago DSA and Chicago for Abortion on this crucial struggle. On this show, Jack makes a brief announcement about the New Deal for CUNY. Learn more and get involved at bit.ly/action-nd4c. Find a local abortion fund to support if you can: https://abortionfunds.org/funds/ Follow along with James and the Starbucks partners at @SBWorkersUnited. Current Starbucks partners can email [email protected] to get connected to an organizer. This episode is dedicated to the memory of our NYC-DSA comrade, Alex Z.

Tonight on our show we will be talking about our host Desiree Joy Frias' home of the South Bronx where capitalist interests and government failures are continuing to cost lives. In the middle of brutal winter weather and yet another Covid spike, tenants are once again mobilizing to defend against evictions and build working-class power with all of New York City’s residents, including the 1 in 12 New Yorkers who live in public or section 8 housing. Last week’s tragic and preventable Twin Parks fire on 181st street in the Bronx and yesterday’s Con Edison explosion on Fox Street less than two miles away are just the latest examples of the ongoing violence of landlord neglect and failures by the federal and local government to provide adequate public housing and public infrastructure. Con Edison is responsible for yesterday’s explosion that killed one, injured seven and leveled an entire row home in the South Bronx. This exploitative monopoly spends millions in lobbying fees to fight green projects and remain the sole provider of power to over 12 million customers. To discuss these preventable tragedy and how socialists are organizing for tenant power, we're live in the studio with RPM comrade and fellow Bronx/Upper Manhattan DSA member Bernard Goyder and an organizer from NYC-DSA’s Brooklyn Housing Working Group, Isaac. Tonight you’ll learn about NYC-DSA’s Right to Remain campaign to pass Good Cause Eviction, transformative legislation that will protect millions of tenants just like us. Keeping with the uptown theme, we’ll also hear an update on the successful strike by the Student Workers of Columbia. Get organized, get involved, help your neighbor, call your legislator: https://linktr.ee/nycdsa_housing Read more on South Bronx Mutual Aid and others' efforts to support tenants in the Bronx: https://twitter.com/booksandrose/status/1483854067457826822?s=20

In an effort to exert its power over the Americas, the United States has enforced an embargo on Cuba ever since its revolutionary struggle for independence from American imperialism. The blockade is an effort to force regime change against the will of Cuban people who want to improve their society without foreign interference. Despite the immense suffering caused by the embargo to this very day, socialists in Cuba have made remarkable achievements in education and healthcare. DSA members Rolando, Tom, and Patrick as well as Daniel Montero, a journalist from Cuba, join us to discuss the movement to end the embargo and the fight to preserve Cuban self-determination.

The formation of the United Auto Workers in the 1930s represented the upsurge in organized working class militancy that pushed forward a New Deal. Since that time the UAW has been a base of support for its members that collectively provides workers with a better life. Yet the UAW has weakened as its corrupt leadership has chosen compromise with the bosses over a robust internal democracy. That’s all about to change. The successful One Member, One Vote referendum has forced open the democratic process and created space for new leadership to rise up. We’ll discuss that and much more with UAW members Kay and Chris. The UAW is much more than just autoworkers. After threatening to strike, the 17,000 member Student Researchers Union of the University of California system won recognition and officially became the newest UAW local. How did these academic workers build a new organization? We hear directly from Kat and Laura of the SRU on how they made it happen.

It’s never been easy to be a front-line retail or customer service worker at the holidays, and with a dramatic surge in COVID cases affecting New York City, this year is even harder. For our Revolutions per Minute holiday special, we’re joined live by Eric Dirnbach of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee, DSA’s national project in partnership with the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America, as well as Aria, a retail worker who participated in a successful strike last year at the Good Vibrations sex shop in Massachusetts with support from EWOC.Plus, a special correspondent, Shen, visits the picket line in Chinatown to speak with Liang, a restaurant worker at the historic dim sum restaurant Jing Fong.We are fundraising for the WBAI end of year Tower Fund with some help from our NYC-DSA chorus, Sing in Solidarity. Give to the Tower Fund at towerfund.wbai.org and follow our chorus on Twitter @nycdsachoir.Sign the petition to support Jing Fong workers and stop displacement in Chinatown at bit.ly/stopdisplacement.Are you a retail or service worker looking for support organizing your worksite? You are not alone. Support and help is available. Visit https://workerorganizing.org/support/.

2021 has been another incredibly tough year, with the pandemic and climate crisis exacerbating income inequality and dire living situations for working class people across the globe. Tonight we’ll catch up with a few DSA working groups to talk about the organizing they’ve done to build working class power and solidarity this year and what’s coming up for 2022. Our guests tonight are Joel from the BDS and Palestine Solidarity Working Group on the Boycott Puma campaign and the power of a consumer boycott, Emma Claire from the Healthcare Working Group on universal healthcare and labor rights for home health care workers, and Josh and Robert from Eco-Socialists on the Green New Deal for Public Schools and the New York Public Power campaign. To learn more or get involved with NYC-DSA's eco-socialist organizing, visit https://ecosocialists.nyc/join-us/. Find NYC-DSA's Healthcare Working Group on Twitter or Facebook @NYCDSAHealth or email the organizers at [email protected]. Curious about the BDS movement and DSA's Palestine solidarity work? View the primer and FAQ: https://palestine.dsausa.org/palestine-and-bds-faq/. Throughout this episode and all our remaining 2021 episodes, we are fundraising for WBAI's rent on the transmitter at 4 Times Square. We encourage all who are able to donate what they can, even a small amount, toward this important community institution. Visit towerfund.wbai.org to give.

*and Cypress Hills, and Ocean Hill!Believe it or not, 2022 is right around the corner and will bring with it a new electoral cycle and a new slate of DSA-endorsed socialist candidates for office. On tonight’s show, we kick off our series of interviews with NYC-DSA’s 2022 slate as we speak LIVE with Samy Nemir Olivares, candidate for Assembly District 54 in Bushwick, Cypress Hills, and Ocean Hill. Hear from Samy on their experience as a community organizer in North Brooklyn, the radical legacy of queer and trans people of color, the next steps for socialists in Albany, and smashing gender binaries right alongside capitalism. We also speak to Gabriel Hernandez of NYC-DSA’s Queer Caucus on building queer community and mentorship for socialists. Finally, we hear a brief update on the struggle for free, equitable higher education for all from the New Deal for CUNY coalition. To learn more about Samy Nemir-Olivares and support his run for Assembly, visit: https://www.samyfornewyork.com/ To learn more about NYC-DSA’s Queer Caucus, sign up for their mailing list here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/queer-caucus-interest-form For more on the December 11 action for a New Deal for CUNY, visit: https://psc-cuny.org/SatDec11

Working class struggle continues to spread across New York City and the rest of the country. Wirecutter workers at the New York Times have launched their strike, joining the 3,000 Columbia academic workers on the picket line. 14,000 Kroger workers in Houston have authorized a strike while 24,000 academic workers at the University of California have done the same. Rank-n-file reform slate Teamsters United won a sea-changing victory in leadership elections. New leadership has promised more labor militancy and committed the 1.3 million member union to organizing Amazon facilities and drivers across the country. Earlier this month the New York Taxi Workers Alliance declared victory after a hunger strike forced the city government to acquiesce to their demand to cancel millions in debt and restructure their loan. We’re joined by Jaslin Kaur and Augustine to hear about this fight and what it means for working class New Yorkers. Last week a Wisconsin court allowed Kyle Rittenhouse to walk free despite the fact that he shot, wounded, and killed protesters in Kenosha. We’ll play you sounds from the streets as protesters reacted to this injustice here in Brooklyn.

Today we’re talking with Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest and her district manager Justin Freeman about how they are bringing their socialist office directly to the community they represent and are building power not just to win elections, but pass legislation that meaningful changes the lives of the working class in Brooklyn like the Less is More bill, which was signed into law this year, and Public Power and ‘Good Cause Eviction’ bill which are top priorities for DSA electeds this upcoming legislative session. And it’s not just the power in the halls of government that is being challenged by organizers in New York City right now. Workers are taking on one of the most powerful and influential Ivy League universities and newspapers in the country at the same time. We’ll hear from RPM’s own Chris Carr who is one of many union members of the Student Workers of Columbia currently on strike and from one of the New York Times’ Wirecutter union members who plan to strike on Black Friday. Follow Phara and Justin on twitter @phara4assembly and @JustinR_Freemanand get involved with Phara's office at bit.ly/pharaoffice

Election day was Tuesday and DSA’s 30+ nationally-endorsed campaigns were put to voters. With a nearly 70% win rate for DSA's campaigns nationally, there's much to discuss about organizing for socialism at the ballot box and the rising tensions between the left and the existing Democratic establishment. On tonight’s show, we'll share provisional election results and an interview with a DSA-endorsed candidate for Somerville, Massachusetts City Council, Tessa Bridge. Here in NYC, Eric Adams has -- unfortunately -- swept to victory as mayor. Adams has publicly distanced himself from the left and socialism, so to extend the courtesy, let us just say that *all* cops are bastards. How are we going to beat Adams and the bourgeois, capitalist interests he represents? We discuss that question live with our comrade Robert Cuffy, a union city worker and police abolitionist who organizes with NYC-DSA's Labor Branch and Afrosocialist Caucus. We also hear a report from RPM's antifascist correspondent Amy Wilson on the rise of far-right organizing in New York City around the wedge issue of mandates for COVID-19 vaccine. Keep up with the results of DSA's nationally-endorsed races as they develop, thanks to our comrades at Metro DC DSA: https://washingtonsocialist.mdcdsa.org/station-z/dsa-races-2021

You’re listening to Revolutions Per Minute live from the new WBAI studios, a socialist radio show and podcast from members of New York City Democratic Socialists of America. The Democratic Socialists of America is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with 95,000 members nationwide and NYC-DSA is its biggest chapter. We are run by our 9,000+ members and organizers who are working together to build democratic socialism in all five boroughs. A UAW worker on strike at a John Deere facility in Iowa was killed on the picket lines early this morning. We send our love and solidarity to his loved ones and his ten thousand union brothers and sisters still out there fighting for a dignified life. His sacrifice will not be forgotten. Unionization efforts and the strike wave continue to spread. Amazon workers in Staten Island announced an NLRB petition earlier this week. Thousands of academic workers unionized at the University of Pittsburgh while thousands more at Harvard today launched a three day work stoppage. Columbia academic workers walked out today are prepared to hit the picket lines next week here in New York. 45,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente have authorized a strike. NYC-DSA members this past weekend stood in solidarity with 2,000 healthcare workers on strike at Catholic Mercy Hospital in Buffalo. We’ll hear from Charlie Baker on this struggle and the rally for DSA endorsed Mayoral candidate India Walton. Dozens of DSA candidates are running in races across the country from Massachusetts to New York to Florida. Jorge from Joel Brooks campaign in Jersey City joins to discuss their city council campaign in its final week. We’ll also hear a special report from Lee on the victorious struggle led by NYC-DSA Ecosocialist Working Group to prevent a fracked gas power plant from being built in Astoria.

As regular listeners of Revolutions per Minute know, we are living in a time of many overlapping campaigns for justice for the working-class. Sometimes, organizing campaigns result in victory and opportunities for celebration while looking toward the next goal. Other times, campaigns require strategic escalation. On tonight’s show, we’ll speak to New York for Abortion Rights about a key victory in the struggle to protect access to abortion for all. We’ll hear from NYC-DSA member and Assemblymember from District 36 in Astoria Zohran Mamdani on the New York Taxi Workers Alliance sit-in at City Hall and why he’s going on hunger strike alongside taxi workers to demand debt forgiveness.Finally, we travel to Little Rock, Arkansas, with Malik, a former NYC-DSA organizer, who is using lessons learned from NYC to build socialism in his hometown.Follow New York for Abortion Rights at abortionrights.nyc.Follow Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani at @ZohranKMamdani and learn more about the New York Taxi Workers Alliance sit-in at @NYTWA. Follow Central Arkansas DSA at @CentralARKDSA.

If you're a listener member, in order to maximize the power of our small collective, we're asking you to vote in this order: 1. Nicodemus Nicoludis 2. Dylan Saba For the rest of your ballot, we recommend looking into these candidates who are not members of Red Wave but are aligned with our goals: Eleanor Elizabeth Forman Bruce Greif (DSA Member) Philip DePaolo (DSA Member) If you're a staff member, we recommend ranking board incumbents R. Paul Martin, Max Schmid, and Shawn Rhodes in any order. Thanks as ever for your support for Red Wave’s project to build a powerful working class radio station in service of our shared socialist movement. All power to the transmitter, the Red Wave Collective

A strike wave is spreading across the United States. Thousands of nurses, carpenters, miners, factory workers, teachers and other workers are taking a stand against the big shots who steal the fruits of our labor. Unionization drives of academic, healthcare, and media workers have brought tens of thousands of new brothers and sisters into the organized labor movement. 60,000 IATSE film workers have authorized a sector strike in the entertainment industry as the hundreds of thousands of members in entertainment unions like SAG, WGA, and the DGA alongside the Democratic Socialists of America have committed to standing in solidarity. Has labor begun to turn the tide against capital in the United States? While Red for Ed and higher education unions across the country have launched major strikes of hundreds of thousands of workers united with their students over the past three years, the public sector stasis has yet to be broken in the heart of American social democracy. DSA members and other socialist labor organizers are preparing to bring the education strike wave to New York City. A huge coalition is building for the New Deal for CUNY. PSC, NYC-DSA, and YDSA organizers at CUNY campuses are uniting for a plan that will pay academic workers a living wage and make CUNY tuition free. As a historian and union worker and organizers at CUNY this fight is personal to me. NYC-DSA Assemblywoman Phara Souffrant Forrest spoke with us at NYC-DSA convention about the New Deal for CUNY and a potential political strike to make that happen. We’ll also talk with my comrades in PSC and hear from YDSA organizers.

On Friday rent will be due for millions of New Yorkers. For tenants struggling to pay rent, this summer has been a roller coaster of ups and downs as hard fought for eviction moratoriums at the state and federal level have been won, overturned and finally reinstated here in New York, providing crucial protections until Jan 15, 2022. Today we will talk with NYC-DSA endorsed candidate and democratic nominee for City Council District 38 Alexa Avilés about why she was arrested earlier this summer fighting for housing justice, what caused New York City's housing crisis in the first place, and what her housing priorities are once she becomes a member of city council next year. For more info follow the Housing Justice for All campaign @housing4allNY on Twitter and Alexa Avilés @alexaforcouncil