Thread by @Boston_DSA

In light of the recent outbreak of COVID-19, we are all being advised to stay in and avoid in-person gatherings. However, this pandemic does not mean the problems of the capitalist system are staying quietly home-rather, this moment of crisis exacerbates hardship.

Thread 🔻

It is imperative that we not allow the responsibility of social distancing to stop our work. Therefore our coordinating committee has devised a set of plans and recommendations to help weather this crises and stem it's effects. For starters we are stressing meeting online only.

Our March GM will be a zoom conference call on COVID-19 w/ presentations from public health experts, analysis of how capitalism has failed to address the crisis, and organizing for mutual aid, eviction moratoriums and single-payer healthcare

More info

facebook.com/events/2605858…

Our annual local convention was scheduled for April 25th, but we have to decided to wait on a final confirmation, as we currently lack adequate information. Officer and CC elections however, will happen on schedule. Self nomination forms will go out next week!

We strongly recommend moving regular work group meetings and other events that can be done remotely to Zoom. We recently invested in a 2nd Zoom line, so the chapter is able to host two events at once. If you have access to more Zooms (like from your capitalist job), use it!

Some types of work we do simply cannot be shifted online. It is up to the comrades working on each project to decide if such events should be postponed. If you do meet in person, take these precautions

👇👇👇

- Keep meetings to fewer than 25 people.

- Do not attend if you are feeling even a little unwell.

- Do not hug or shake hands.

- Wash your hands frequently.

- Clean your meeting space thoroughly.

The Democracy Center also emailed a list, please follow if you meet there.

We have created a #pandemic-response channel on the chapter Slack. If you are a member and do not have a Slack account, request one here - members.bostondsa.org. We encourage Slack use in general, as a remote organizing tool to share information/resources during this crisis.

It will be a rough spring & we will need to rely on each other more than ever to get through. It may seem paradoxical to focus on community organizing when our collective responsibility at the moment is to stay physically isolated. But there is more than one kind of isolation.

We believe we can use our resources--our physical and technological tools, our dedication, ingenuity, and the collective knowledge of so many organizers to combat the social alienation that capitalism imposes on our communities every day.

This twitter thread is a summary of the statement sent out to chapter membership via email by @bloodygranuaile , our terrific membership coordinator. We thank her for the work and as always, please never hesitate to reach out to your fellow organizers with questions or concerns.