Prioritize Member-Led Democracy, Not Staff!
January 29, 2024
The DSA’s National Political Committee recently voted for budget cuts to reduce the national organization’s $2 million deficit. Rhode Island DSA is troubled by the fact that these cuts — the deepest of which apply to DSA’s youth section — target expenses that were mandated by convention votes, but don’t touch the jobs of the current group of unelected national DSA staffers.
DSA personnel cost $3.6 million, which is 72% of the organization’s projected income. Yet several NPC members and their political caucuses have stated that these staff jobs must be preserved, even if that means cutting member-approved initiatives, stipends for elected DSA leaders, and chapters’ share of their dues.
While DSA members take pride in belonging to a democratic organization, all too often unelected directors and staff hold inappropriate power on the national level. This is a major cause of the current budget deficit. Prior to October of last year, neither DSA members nor even the NPC were permitted to see the full budget numbers. And it’s well known that the national organization squandered members’ dues on a $360,000-per-year contract with a grievance officer, which alone accounts for more than half of the $2 million deficit.
Staff play an important supporting role in any large organization, but the purpose of a socialist group is not to create jobs for professionals. The world doesn’t need yet another progressive NGO. Rhode Island DSA calls on the NPC to eliminate non-essential staff and director positions before making any further cuts to members’ democratically chosen priorities, stipends for elected leaders, or dues share for chapters.