Strike Ready Resolution for NCTDSA

Whereas all 340,000 non-management UPS workers are covered by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and UPS Teamster members have been organizing escalating contract actions across the country as the contract fight heats up, and will need community support as they get closer to the August 1 deadline; and

Whereas If they strike, they will need the whole labor movement behind them to show that when we fight, we win; and

Whereas the Resolution #5 from the 2021 convention of the Democratic Socialist of America mandates the National Labor Commission engage DSA as a whole with labor work; and

Whereas the NC Triangle Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America stands in unwavering solidarity with workers and prioritizes the labor solidarity work,

Therefore be it resolved that NC Triangle DSA commits to taking the following steps to be STRIKE READY:

• The chapter will publicly commit to the national Strike Ready campaign and to listening to rank-and-file UPS Teamsters about what support they need throughout the contract fight;
• The chapter will announce this on social media and through all channels it uses to communicate with chapter members;
• The chapter will ask elected officials endorsed by the chapter to commit to supporting the Teamsters throughout their contract fight;
• The chapter will ask elected officials endorsed by the chapter to urge their colleagues to make this same commitment;
• The chapter will democratically choose at least two Solidarity Captains to liaise with the NLC for coordination on the national campaign to support the UPS Teamsters in their contract fight. The Solidarity Captains will communicate with the NLC and attend Labor Corps Solidarity Calls;
• The labor working group will assist the Solidarity Captains in supporting the teamsters by implementing the strike support plan outlined in the Strike Ready 2023 Chapter Kit;
• The labor working group will assist the Solidarity Captains in organizing events to educate the chapter, engage members, and prepare for strike support and solidarity actions in support of the UPS Teamsters;
• The chapter will promote internal and external events as widely as possible, and help mobilize members into helping with the campaign;
• Chapter mobilizers will be briefed on the needs of the campaign and help mobilize members into the campaign;
• The chapter steering committee will meet with Solidarity Captains at least once a month to be briefed on the progress and needs of the campaign.

Therefore be it further resolved that NC Triangle DSA will commit to the following timeline for honoring the above commitments;

By March 10:

• The chapter will publicly commit to the national Strike Ready campaign, announcing this commitment publicly and internally;
• The chapter will have elected at least two Solidarity Captains;
• The chapter will have formally asked endorsed elected leaders to commit their support to the UPS teamsters, and to urge their colleagues to do the same;

By March 30:

• The Solidarity Captains and labor working group will organize an educational event to familiarize members with key concepts of labor solidarity and strike support;
• The chapter will assist the Solidarity Captains and labor working group by disseminating the Strike Ready 2023 Chapter Kit to chapter members.

By April 30: The Chapter will:

• Urge chapter members to sign the Strike Ready Pledge through social media and email;
• The listwork and mapping outlined in the Strike Ready Kit will be underway.

By May 31:

• The Chapter will run a fundraiser for the DSA Labor Solidarity fund;
• The chapter will engage in direct individual outreach to chapter members, including text messages and phone calls, as well as a social media campaign and a fundraising event.

Throughout June and July :

• The Chapter will canvass their membership, local contacts and the community to build support for the UPS Teamsters by asking them to sign the Strike Ready Pledge;
• The Chapter will support escalating contract actions as announced by the IBT, local UPS Teamsters, and the National Labor Commission.

August 1:

• The Chapter will turn out members and community supporters to show up at the picket line or the contract ratification celebration.

After the fight:

• The solidarity captains will prepare a debrief for the chapter, to be presented at a subsequent chapter general meeting, outlining lessons learned, gains made, and recommended next steps for the chapter to continue building its presence and capacity in the labor movement.