LVDSA Member Handbook

The principal goal of DSA is the complete elimination of capitalist modes of economic organization and all interrelated forms of oppression. DSA members typically believe that capitalism is inseparable from racism, misogyny, ableism, anti-LGBTQ+ violence, classism, and the myriad intersecting forms of oppression we experience and witness on a daily basis.

Democratic socialists believe our economy and society should exist not to make profits for a few, but to meet human needs and foster true equality.

This is a people-powered movement. Our chapter is run entirely by volunteers. We are workers, students, and retirees. We are various ages, races, and genders. We have diverse backgrounds, interests, and skills. We engage with the work, contributing our time and labor each as we are able. Some are veteran activists and some of us are just beginning. We share a vision of a just and equitable society, and we are building power across Las Vegas (and beyond!) to achieve that vision.

We organize to ensure all people have the freedom to thrive and fully control their social and economic destinies. We currently have over 90,000 members nationwide, and there are hundreds of chapters like ours in communities across the nation. For more information about what it means to be a democratic socialist, check out the Q&A page from DSA national.

LVDSA consists entirely of its members—our chapter is run entirely by volunteers. Aside from a skeletal staff at the national level, that’s true for every chapter. Anything that’s being done, from phone banking to strategic planning to organizing childcare for canvassers, even building this page on the website, happens because someone made the time for it, alongside demands from work, our loves, and our homes.

We employ a variety of tactics with the aim of winning measurable gains and dismantling oppressive structures in quantifiable ways. Our members plan events, actions, night schools, and much more to create the broad solidarity necessary to challenge out-of-touch political structures. We’re not here to posture or make empty signals. We’re not interested in moral grandstanding. We’re interested in building a more just society, and we work hard to do it.

On a national level, all DSA members receive our quarterly magazine, Democratic Left, plus access to DSA’s activist webinar training series.

On a local level, joining DSA will give you access to our official Las Vegas DSA Slack workspace, where you can collaborate and continue to stay informed about the inner-workings of our local chapter.

Becoming a member will also give you voting rights for all official chapter business – whenever our local chapter votes for proposals, amendments, officers, or anything else. Signing up for monthly-dues, rather than an annual membership, also ensures that 20% of your monthly dues are shared with LVDSA.

As a democratic, grassroots organization, DSA is continuing the political revolution for the long term. By paying dues, DSA members self-fund our own tools for liberation.

Dues are recurring payments made by members of an organization as a prerequisite for membership. In DSA, the dues amount depends on how much you want to pay! DSA has a tiered dues system that allows you to pay based on your income, but they don’t check up on you. But DSA is a member sustained organization, and we wouldn’t be able to all do this work if we didn’t pitch in to keep this ship afloat

Many political organizations rely on grants or huge sums of money from wealthy donors. We don’t roll like that. Those kinds of arrangements inevitably end up as a tit-for-tat relationship, and even with public grants, accepting that kind of money would make us beholden to certain political actors, which would limit the kinds of protest and agitation we could perform. Most importantly, it would undermine the radical democracy that we hold central to our mission.

Neither national dues nor local dues are required to attend DSA meetings and events or to participate in discussions. However, paying dues to an organization means that you get a say in the direction of that organization. Practically, this means that when we vote on stuff at general meetings, you get to vote. Members are also able to run for elected positions in the chapter, and be elected as delegates to the national convention. This is also true of our committees; dues-paying members are empowered to vote on key decisions, and serve as committee chairs. Paying dues also gives you access to our official Las Vegas DSA Slack channel, where you can collaborate and continue to stay informed about the inner-workings of our local chapter.

DSA is a great space to learn new ideas and skills. You don’t need previous experience organizing or in politics. And you’ll be surprised by how much you already know from living under capitalism. We all know the stress of rising rents, the fear of an expensive medical bill, the feeling of alienation at work. We’ve all seen what racism, patriarchy, and imperialism at home and abroad has done to our communities. We need all kinds of skills in our movement. We need people to read, write, teach, analyze, debate, carpool, make calls, take to the streets, provide child watch, bring snacks, make banners, design spreadsheets and everything in between. All that’s necessary is a willingness to show up and work democratically.

Join The Slack Workspace

The LVDSA Slack (an app-based online chat room) has channels for chapter-wide announcements, committee work, and channels to socialize and share news articles and memes. Most of our work in between meetings happens over Slack.

Attend a General Body Meeting

Our chapter holds monthly general body meetings. This is a good chance to hear updates from all of the chapter’s committees about their ongoing work and how to get involved.

Attend a Meeting

Meetings are used to organize around our chapter’s campaigns, specific issues, or to help with the core administrative functions of the chapter. Anyone interested can join to listen in and find out more information or take on organizing responsibilities. Check https://lvdsa.org/events to find a meeting.

Attend a Socialist Night School or Reading Group

Socialist Night School is an inclusive space with in-depth discussions on various pre-planned topics, regardless of attendees’ background knowledge. This is a great entry point to learn more about the socialist movement in a classroom-like setting. We also have reading groups that dive deep into specific readings over the course of multiple weeks. Check https://lvdsa.org/events to find an educational event.

Take on Some Work

Priority Stewards will delegate work over Slack and in meetings. Feel free to jump in and volunteer for a task when something sparks your interest – we need all hands on deck!

DSA maintains a national discussion board for DSA members. This moderated forum is used to connect with other members and can be used for organizing and strategy.

Visit the Discussion Board

Take our Member Survey

Community Agreements

Slack Guide

FAQs

Chapter Bylaws

Upcoming Events

Resources