Ithaca DSA Video Series
The Ithaca DSA Presents… video series in also found on our youtube channel and hosts a number of local, state, national, and international issues related to socialism. From COVID, tenants’ rights, public broadband, Palestinian liberation, and immigrant rights, Ithaca DSA Presents offers both the big picture and information on the small details ad particulars. Please check it out to learn more about issues that are important to us at Ithaca DSA and for socialists as a whole!
PALESTINE FLARES UP AGAIN: Maribel Tineo interviews Nada Matta. Israel has been illegally driving Palestinians out of East Jerusalem. Palestinians have become more unified in their resistance to Israeli colonization. The recent violence began with Israel blocking the Damascus Gate and attacking worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinians launched rockets into Israel, and Israel responded by massively bombing Gaza. The best solution would be a single democratic state, but it might be more possible to achieve two states under international law. (June 2021)
NEW YORK HEALTH ALBANY ACTION: David Foote and Theresa Alt were among the seven from Tompkins County who drove to Albany to rally for passing the New York Health Act. We assembled in a park, held up traffic, marched to the legislature, and the bravest “died” on the hot pavement of the street. Both movement spokespeople and friendly legislators addressed us, including our Assembly member Anna Kelles. Alas, the bill did not come to a vote, but there have been lively discussions among the advocates (June 2021).
ETPA COMES TO COUNCIL: Ithaca City Alderperson Ducson Nguyen discusses with Theresa Alt approaches to getting affordable housing in the City. The State now offers municipalities the right to opt in to rent stabilization for certain older, larger buildings. It’s called ETPA. The Planning and Economic Development Committee will vote on the first step, a study to prove we have the crisis we all know about (May 2021).
PUBLIC BROADBAND: Ethan Oro and Daeha Ko of the NYC DSA Tech Action Group tell Maribel Tineo why they pursue broadband that is publicly owned and publicly operated. Internet is infrastructure. Private providers have done a bad job; they give their best services to wealthy areas and neglect poor ones. Public-private partnerships too have failed in NYC. Governance must be inclusive. A public system can bring fiber to all areas and into every home (May 2021).
SCHOOLS REOPEN IN ITHACA: David Foote interviews Aurora Rojer. Middle and high school teachers are required to teach classes with some students in the room and others online — frustrating. This has motivated teachers to get more involved in their union. The union has been at the decision-making table, but it could be more effective. Standardized tests, cancelled last year, are coming back, but maybe could be eliminated in the future. Students are becoming more radical. Aurora is also chair of Ithaca DSA, which has groups working on multiple projects (April 2021).
BROADBAND FOR EVERYONE: Jason Leifer tells Maribel Tineo that there are two models of municipal broadband. A town can provide it or just own the infrastructure. The barriers are political. Dryden Town will own and operate its broadband. People will be able to take their complaints to the Town Board. Such new systems bring superior fiber technology to the home, not just on the road. Raleigh NC has such successful public broadband that private companies got the State legislature to prohibit other cities from doing it (April 2021).
NEW YORK CITY REOPENS SCHOOLS: New York City teacher Daniel Jerome tells Maribel Tineo about reopening schools after COVID. The pandemic has hurt the mental health of teachers and especially pupils. As of early March elementary and middle schools are open 2 or 3 days a week. High Schools are still closed. Parents and teachers are being left out of the conversation. There is a push to increase distance learning permanently. The Movement of Rank & File Educators - MORE - addresses school issues but also social ones (March 2021).
LIVING WAGE, IS IT FEASIBLE? (the answer is yes): Ian Greer tells Theresa Alt how the Co-Lab at ILR mobilizes research resources at Cornell to work on practical matters. They include the question of setting the minimum wage in Tompkins County at the level of the local living wage. Big employers mostly oppose it, but a few favor it. Some small employers are for it, most are not. Most really don’t know what it will cost them. Economists show that raising minimum wages leads to little reduction in jobs. Raising them would especially help people of color. Loss of benefits is a smaller problem with a bigger raise in the minimum wage than with a stingy one (March 2021).
ECOSOCIALISTS PUSH FOR PUBLIC POWER: Augie Faller tells Theresa Alt how the EcoSocialist Working Group of Ithaca DSA is in a statewide coalition to push a NYS bill that would let the State generate power and supply it to customers. Another bill would ensure that this Power Authority is democratically run. It would move quickly to renewables, caring for the planet and the people rather than profit. Jason Cortell tells about existing municipal power systems such as in the Village of Groton, his home. The Working Group also will help people facing shutoffs (March 2021).
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS AND LABOR SUCCESS: David Foote interviews Suzy Lee. She sees the prevalent view of immigration policy as exaggerating the power of racism and nativism. The vast majority of Americans support policies like amnesty and are quite open to immigration. Historically borders were opened and closed in response to the needs of capital. Conservatives want flows of people without rights. Socialists are OK with flows of people but want rights for all. Labor needs to support immigrant rights, because only with such rights can immigrants be part of workplace organizing, and only when organized labor hits the bottom line will capital be forced to demand policy changes, including rights for immigrants (February 2021).
ORGANIZING WORKERS: Ellen David Friedman tells David Foote that Marx helps a labor organizer focus on reality. The nature of work is changing worldwide. A workforce constantly switching jobs presents a challenge for organizing. Both Ellen and David are involved with the new Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (September 2020).
HOUSING PEOPLE CAN AFFORD: Theresa Alt and Conor Bednarski talk about their visions for affordable housing. Examples really exist. In the 20th century until the 1970s unions supported housing construction in New York City. The state gave money for mixed-income housing through Mitchell-Lama. Community land trusts allow people to buy their dwellings but not hugely profit when they sell them, so that the homes remain affordable. Vienna has been using tax money to build attractive housing since the 1920s (August 2020).
TENANT'S RIGHT: Attorney Bill Niebel tells Theresa Alt what tenants should be aware of even before they sign a lease, as well as what their rights are to privacy and a habitable place to live while they are renting. If it should come to the threat of an eviction, there are many ways to forestall that. Help can come from the Ithaca Tenants Union and other sources (June 2020).
FIRST STEPS TOWARD RENT CONTROL: Rebecca Garrard tells David Foote about New York State housing laws. New York City tenants had won protections long ago, but only in 2019 were upstate cities allowed to opt in to ETPA to win limits on rent increases, though only for buildings with six or more units built before 1974. It was a great step forward, but yet more laws are needed to protect tenants (December 2020).
HOUSING MYTHS: Housing in Ithaca and Tompkins County is notoriously expensive. Teresa Halpert and Tom Eisenberg explain that many erroneously assume that adding any new housing -- even luxury housing -- will make excess housing filter down to the bottom. This doesn't work. It's too slow. Landlord upscale rather than reduce rents. Worst of all, there are not enough middle-income people through whose hands housing units would have to pass to make filtering work. New projects must be required to include affordable units (November 2017).
RED VIENNA: Vienna after World War I faced devastating shortages of everything, especially housing. The City elected a socialist government, which built massive housing projects that provided not just places to live but laundries, clinics, day care, education and sports facilities. The buildings were solid and beautiful and established an ongoing tradition of quality public housing (December 2016).