Organizing in Layer 8 – Building Tech in Democratic Socialists of America
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the country, swelling in the past ten years from just a few thousand to over 110,000 dues-paying members. They believe that working people should run the economy and society democratically to meet their needs, not to make profits for a few, and so they prioritize mass campaigns that center the working class, like labor and tenant organizing and class struggle elections – including winning the mayor’s office here in New York City. Using technology to build DSA’s political independence and their membership’s organizing capacity has been key to helping them grow and succeed. This talk aims to provide an overview of DSA’s technology use, address real world problems with adopting closed and open-source tools, and outline their efforts to create a politically independent tech stack, as well as discuss other challenges organizing on Layer 8 – the Political Layer.
Sunday 1200 Crystal Ballroom
