@troydsa.bsky.social
We are the Troy, New York chapter of @demsocialists.bsky.social building tenant power, worker power, and electoral movements in the Collar City and Rensselaer County. linktr.ee/troydsa
joindsa.org
26.06.2025 00:07 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Congrats Zohran & Congrats NYC DSA! A socialist-- running on reducing the cost of living for the working class-- just beat out candidates who have used their power in the past for fraud and sexual harassment and who were backed by billionaires and massive corporations. Zohran’s win is a demonstration of what we know-- that organized people can win against organized money. But elections alone can’t win everything. If you’re excited over Zohran’s victory last night, now’s the time to join DSA! We’re a member-funded, member-run organization fighting to build a better, socialist world for all of us. The more we’re organized, the more we can do-- together. joindsa.org
The more we organize, the more we win-- so join us in getting organized.
26.06.2025 00:06 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
"Troy has a critical housing affordability, quality, and stability crisis. Rensselaer County has the highest eviction rate in the state, and holdover eviction filings-- where a landlord initiates eviction proceedings after a lease expires for any reason besides nonpayment or for no reason at all-- have more than doubled in Troy since 2019. The City of Troy-- with 65% of households renting-- must opt into the most expansive version possible of New York State's Good Cause Eviction Protections (or "Good Cause") law to protect tenants' rights to stable, safe, and affordable housing and protection from landlord retaliation. "Good Cause" offers lease-abiding tenants a guaranteed lease renewal, capping rent increases per year at 10% or 5% plus the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower, and restricting the causes for which landlord can evict tenants.
Since April 2024, 12 cities in New York have passed "Good Cause," including Albany, Rochester, Kingston, and Ithaca. To date, Troy's City Council has yet to consider this legislation. Voters of Troy expect the city to pass Albany's version of Good Cause, which identifies exempt small landlords as owners of units of one or fewer (owner occupied buildings of 10 units or less are already exempt in state law). At a time when housing affordability and stability feel increasingly out of reach for a majority of Troy residents, passing "Good Cause" is a common sense, fiscally friendly measure the city can take to keep more Troy residents, including families, in their homes. Good Cause Troy is a grassroots coalition campaign led by the Troy chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (Troy DSA) and composed of individual tenants and supporters, as well as over a dozen community based organizations around the city and the Capital Region. The campaign launched in May of 2024 with the goal of getting the City of Troy to opt into "Good Cause".
To date, the campaign has collected over 1,800 signatures from Troy voters across the city who support these critical renter protections. We spoke at the City Council meeting tonight to implore the City Council to introduce and pass this critically needed legislation. The campaign looks forward to a consistent and growing presence at City Council meetings in the coming months and working with City Council and the Mayor's office to get "Good Cause" on the books in Troy. Given that it is slated to be a very competitive city council election year, we encourage the City Council incumbents, the Mayor, and opposing candidates alike to consider the material importance and popularity of tenant protections in a majority renter city like Troy.
Housing in New York State has long been expensive, but even upstate the number of tenants burdened by rent (paying 30% or more of their income in rent) is dramatically increasing, the number of affordable units is decreasing. With rents going up for all income levels, tenants in Troy deserve the security of knowing they won't be forced out of their home at the end of their lease and that they will continue to be able to afford their rent.
Good Cause Troy calls on City Council to pass Good Cause Eviction Protections:
09.02.2025 19:10 — 👍 2 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
DSA is what we make it! Join the DSA at dsausa.org/join
DSA is what we make it!
Join: act.dsausa.org/donate/membe...
Find your local chapter: www.dsausa.org/chapters/
No chapter near you? Start a chapter!: www.dsausa.org/chapters/sta...
On a red background: "What is collective power? Collective power is the ability of a group to affect change through cooperation and organization. What are some ways we can exert our collective power?" On the left side is an illustration of a bunch of workers standing in a mass group with arms outstretched to form a massive fist.
Collective power is the ability of a group to affect change (POWER!) through cooperation and organization.
-Are you a member of a labor union?
-Are you a member of a tenant union?
-Are you a member of a mutual aid network?
As a DSA member, you get to help build our collective power!
An illustration divided. The top of the image is a large fish chasing after a school of little fish. The words "What is the alternative to Liberal Individualism?" The bottom of the image is the large fish running away as the school of little fish shape themselves into the shape of an even bigger fish. The words: Collective Power! (personal note from the person running this account having a moment of indulgence: think of the pokemon Wishiwashi. It appears as a meek fish with low stats. But it has the ability "Schooling" where is turns into a massive fish made up of other Wishiwashi, and it has boosted stats.)
Individualism: Maybe this fish is gonna vote democrat! Maybe this fish is buying Toms shoes.
Collective Power: There is power when swimming is coordinated, thus they avoid being eaten as individuals when they realize their interests lie with every other fish avoiding getting eaten. Fish solidarity!
On a red background the text: "What is individualism? Neoliberalism presents to us as the only option for political power being individual consumer power. This is reflected not only in “ethical” purchases, but also in how liberal politics is presented to us, and how we are invited to participate. The capitalist class uses neoliberal individualism to keep people feeling powerless: You want to save the oceans? Buy an $8 reusable straw! Don’t like your job? Get a new one! Just vote to express yourself politically!" On the left side of the image is a drinking glass full of water, a gold reusable straw in it. three more straws are aside of the cup.
Neoliberalism present to us the only option for political power being individual consumer power reflected through "ethical purchases", but also how we are invited to participate.
-Want to save the oceans? Buy a reusable straw!
-Don't like your job? Get a new one!
-Just vote to express yourself!
Individualism vs collective power on a white background. The DSA rosebud logo is in the top left corner, artfully placed.
Individualism vs Collective power
09.02.2025 18:54 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
What is DSA? The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a national political organization funded and run democratically by members that seeks to build a mass movement and transfer power from the ruling elite to the working class, and gain freedom & democratic control over all aspects of our society.
We know that capitalism is inherently opposed to freedom. A society where the vast majority of our lives is spent working for someone else’s profit is not free. A society where a person can only have food, housing and healthcare if it is profitable for someone else to provide it to them is not free. A society where humans are powerless to fight an ongoing mass extinction and where our movement across land is criminalized is not free. We believe that true democratic control can only come from the working class being able to decide how our labor and natural resources are used. In order to do that, our understanding of power must be transformed and our understanding that our liberation is tied to each others must be central to that fight.
Capitalism is inherently opposed to freedom. A society working the vast majority of our lives for someone else's profit isn't free.
True democratic control can only come from the working class being able to decide how our labor and resources are used.
What is DSA? The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a national political organization funded and run democratically by members that seeks to build a mass movement and transfer power from the ruling elite to the working class, and gain freedom & democratic control over all aspects of our society.
-Power is the ability to affect change The goal of our movement is ultimately a transfer of power, and it’s important to be specific about this, because so often when people talk about “socialism” they either talk about some enhanced version of a welfare state or a redefinition of who makes up the ruling class. An enhanced welfare state might be brought about through worker organizing, and might make worker organizing easier too, but it still preserves the elite power structure and depends on the good will of the capitalist class to keep it in place, which makes those victories tenuous. A redefinition of who makes up the ruling class, even if it includes people from currently oppressed groups, will recreate oppression. We’re not trying to change who is in power but rather how power is distributed: to the many not the few. A transfer of power from the ruling elite to the working class means permanently changing how we make decisions in our society, and massively broadening who is involved in those processes.
Power is the ability to affect change.
An enhanced welfare state might make worker organizing easier, but still preserves the elite power structure and depends on good will of capitalist class.
Redefining who makes up the ruling class, even if it includes the oppressed, will recreate oppression.
What is DSA? The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a national political organization funded and run democratically by members that seeks to build a mass movement and transfer power from the ruling elite to the working class, and gain freedom & democratic control over all aspects of our society.
We talk a lot about a “mass movement” and what that means is: we are trying to build a movement of the majority of people. Although the capitalist class is a tiny minority of people globally, they hold a vastly disproportionate amount of control over all of our lives. We know that they have an enormous amount of organized money, which gives them a great deal of power. We know that we will never have the money to fight their interests in their system & the only way to counter that power is by organizing a movement of the majority to disrupt it. That means meeting people where they are, having hard conversations, and engaging in struggle across race, gender, and other lines that are drawn by the capitalist class to divide us up. A “mass movement” is constantly seeking to pull in new people not just for the sake of it, but because we need them to win our fights and because bringing them in helps unite us to focus on fighting the broken systems of our country, instead of each other.
Mass movement: We are trying to build a movement of the majority of people.
Capitalist class is a tiny minority of people globally, holding a vastly disproportionate amount of control over our lives. The only way to counter that power is by organizing a movement of the majority to disrupt it.
What is DSA? The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a national political organization funded and run democratically by members that seeks to build a mass movement and transfer power from the ruling elite to the working class, and gain freedom & democratic control over all aspects of our society.
Every DSA member can participate in the democratic process to decide the direction of the org through votes, discussion, debate, and action.
Members pay dues, but to keep this democratic, we allow a range of dues options for low income folks, students, & exemptions for folks who can't afford dues.
What is DSA? The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a national political organization funded and run democratically by members that seeks to build a mass movement and transfer power from the ruling elite to the working class, and gain freedom & democratic control over all aspects of our society.
DSA is commonly mistaken for a political party! We are a political organization, meaning we are an organization of people brought together around a shared perspective on issues of power, how it is distributed, and the negative effects this distribution has on our society.
09.02.2025 18:54 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
What is DSA? The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a national political organization funded and run democratically by members that seeks to build a mass movement and transfer power from the ruling elite to the working class, and gain freedom & democratic control over all aspects of our society.
What is the DSA?
It is a national political organization funded and run democratically by members that seek to build a mass movement and transfer power from the ruling elite to the working class, and gain freedom & democratic control over all aspects of society.
"What is socialism? What did you come here to build?" An illustration of a a lightbulb with the DSA rosebud logo as the filament is drawn in white lines over a red background on the left side of the image.
"Capitalism, as a socioeconomic system driven by maximizing profit through exploitation, is inherently incompatible with freedom, equality, solidarity, and environmental conservation. These ideals can only be achieved through the realization of a socialist society where the means of production are socially owned and collectively managed. This is the vision of socialism." -A system where we control things, not some owner class who’s never had to work a day in their life. -A system that prohibits and prevents this kind of aggregation of ownership into fewer and fewer hands while the rest of us get poorer ‘a system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and society.’
What is socialism?
A socialist society is a system where the workers control the means of production, not some owner class who never had to work a hard day in their life. A system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighbourhoods, and society.
"What is democracy? What are some areas of your life that could use more democracy?" An illustration of a a lightbulb with the DSA rosebud logo as the filament is drawn in white lines over a red background on the left side of the image.
The D in DSA
Capitalism is not democratic. Why do we say we value democracy, but forty hours a week (or more) we're supposed to forget that in favor of the boss?
The Global Capitalism Octopus - An illustration of a giant angry octopus wrapping it's tentacles over the planet earth. Each tentacle has a term written on it: Food insecurity, war, labour exploitation, financial crisis, poverty, climate change, resource depletion, ecological destruction.
Ah, the evil Capitalism Octopus...
If you can think of an issue today, you can trace it's source to capitalism.
"What is capitalism? How has capitalism affected you personally?" Written on a white background. An illustration of a a lightbulb with the DSA rosebud logo as the filament is drawn in white lines over a red background on the left side of the image.
"Capitalism, as a socioeconomic system driven by maximizing profit through exploitation, is inherently incompatible with freedom, equality, solidarity, and environmental conservation. Capitalism is a system where capitalists– the people who own the factories, the offices, the materials, and the land needed to do the work necessary to having a society– control the products of that work and receive the profits of that work, while the workers who do that work get paid a fraction of what that labor’s worth. This owner class, by way of having all this money and all this power, also gets to decide how our society works, gets to make the laws, and gets to pick the politicians that govern for them. ‘Capitalism is a system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit.’
Capitalism is driven by maximizing profit through exploitation. The people who own the factories, offices, materials, and land control the products of that work and receive the profits, while the works who do that work get paid a fraction of the labor's worth. The owner class uses money for power.
09.02.2025 18:54 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
White text: Troy Democratic Socialists of America : What is DSA? On a red background. Two illustrated hands in black extending towards one another.
What is the DSA?
Check out this thread to find out more about our organization!
A white background with a red border. The text on the top says "What is DSA?". In the center is the Troy DSA logo - a red circle with a white lined rose growing from a shirt collar. The bottom text says "Discussion & Mixer, Sunday, January 26, 6-8pm. 386 1st Street, Troy NY"
Interested in learning about DSA? Want to see what you can do to help impact your community? Come to Troy DSA's discussion and mixer to learn more!
19.01.2025 18:48 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Image reads: Troy DSA Presents A socialist fundamentals double feature: What is Class & How to Do Democracy in DSA. Saturday, 12/21, 3pm-5pm. Hybrid. RSVP: tinyurl.com/SocialistFun1
Join us for a Socialist Fundamentals double feature! First, we'll have a presentation & discussion on how socialists define class. Then, we'll talk about how we practice democracy in DSA.
RSVP: tinyurl.com/SocialistFun1
