Main Page

Welcome to Boston DSA's wiki! It's here to serve as a reference for how our chapter works, how to organize, and how to get involved in our work. If you are not yet a member, you can join DSA here!

This wiki is members-only and most pages are not accessible without a wiki account. Any DSA member in good standing can request an account here. Make sure to use the email address associated with your DSA membership. Wiki membership requests are overseen and approved by appointed volunteers, so there may be some delay in granting your account; if you haven't gotten a response in 48 hours, please email tech@bostondsa.org.

Getting Started in Boston DSA

• Our chapter events calendar contains info about all of our upcoming events! Most Working Groups meet every month, we have a General Meeting (where members vote on chapter business and resolution) and General Organizing Meetings (including skills trainings, announcements, etc.) alternating every month, and we have an Annual Convention in April or May.
• Join our Discord server [bdsa.us/discord here]! This is where we do almost all of our discussion outside of meetings. To get the invite link, either log in to this wiki and visit the Discord wiki page, or log in to the Member Portal.
• Most work requests including reimbursements, phone or text banks, emails requests, endorsement requests, and so on can be submitted through this form.
• Request an account for this wiki. Make sure to use the email address you used to join DSA. Someone does have to manually check your membership and approve the request on the back end, so if you don't hear anything in a day or two, email tech@bostondsa.org and ask.
• The How-to Guides cover a wide variety of topics and serve as the formal documentation for how to do things in the chapter. These are generally not formal policies, but are either technical documents for the tools and platforms the chapter uses, or best practices documents so that members can have shared expectations and easier delegation of organizing tasks.
• Consult the Glossary if you encounter jargon you don't recognize.

Chapter Structure

Chapter Policies

• Chapter Bylaws: the overriding core documents that determine the structure and function of the chapter
• Chapter Policies: guidelines regarding member data, security, financials, and other sensitive topics
• Chapter Resolutions Archive: resolutions passed at General Meetings, even if they've been overturned or supplanted
• National policy and frequently asked questions about resolving concerns about harassment, grievances, and bullying. Grievances can be filed by emailing hgo@bostondsa.org. After a resolution is reached, the reporting party and accused party have the right to appeal by emailing nationalgrievanceofficer@dsausa.org.

Officers and Chapter-wide Elected Leadership

All decision-making and leadership roles in Boston DSA and National DSA are elected. Chapter-wide leadership is structured as follows:

• The Coordinating Committee, which consists of:
  • Co-chairs
  • Membership Coordinators
  • Communications Coordinator
  • Clerk
  • Treasurer
  • At-Large
• Harassment and Grievance Officers, which resolve interpersonal conflicts and address harassment, grievances, and bullying together with the Coordinating Committee.

Working Groups

Working Groups carry out our external political work. Working groups meet regularly, and information about working group meetings can be found on the Events page.

• Cambridge Working Group
• Ecosocialism Working Group (Ecosoc)
• Electoral Working Group (EWG)
• Healthcare Working Group
• Housing Working Group (HWG)
• Internationalism and Immigration Working Group (IIWG)
• Labor Working Group (LWG)
• Palestine Working Group (PWG)
• Somerville Working Group

Neighborhood Groups & Regional Branches

Boston DSA spans all of Eastern Massachusetts (east of Worcester County), other than Cape Cod. Because we have a large territory, some cities and neighborhoods within it have their own elected leadership, mailing lists, campaigns, and discussion groups to focus on local issues. All members of these regional branches and neighborhood groups are members of Boston DSA.

• Allston/Brighton
• Arlington
• Brookline
• Dorchester
• East Boston/Chelsea
• Jamaica Plain
• Malden
• Medford
• Merrimack Valley
• MetroWest
• North Shore
• Roxbury
• South Shore

All Working Groups and Neighborhood Groups have channels on the BDSA chapter Discord.

Committees

Committees help the chapter function by carrying out administrative work and other internal organizing. They maintain the various systems we use to do work in the chapter, such as administering elections and maintaining member data.

• Administrative Committee (AdComm) handles most internal chapter functions: technology, archiving and information management, and managing chapter resources.
  • General Meeting Planning Committee (GMPC) plans and organizes General Meetings and General Organizing Meetings.
  • Elections Committee (Hellections) directly holds (or assists with) running internal chapter elections.
• Boston Y/DSA Committee coordinates between Boston DSA and its local Young Democratic Socialists of America chapters.
• Communications Committee (Comms) handles outward-facing chapter social media posts, emails, and communications.
• Direct Action/De-escalation/Security (DADS) ensures that all of our chapter meetings, social events, and rallies are safe.
• Membership Committee (MemComm) handles member growth, retention, and development, as well as overseeing orientations, some social events, and Neighborhood Groups.
• Political Education Committee (PoliEd) handles our education by running reading groups and making presentations.
• Protest Organizing & Political Strategy (POPS) organizes direct actions such as protests, rallies, vigils, and other rapid response work.

How-To Guides, Tutorials, and Chapter Resources

We have a lot of and tutorials on getting stuff done in the chapter! Several major guides are:

• How to set up a Zoom call
• How to get an item on a General Meeting agenda
• How to Plan an Event
• How to Plan a Working Group Meeting
• Where to find event venues
• How to run an event safely
• How to Chair a Working Group
• How to run an online election
• How to run a phonebank
• How to do outreach and tabling
• How to find and make BDSA graphics
• How to Promote Your Event on the Chapter Platforms

Chapter Communications and Technology Platforms

• Discord: Where we do almost all of our discussion outside of meetings. To get the invite link, either log in to this wiki and visit the Discord wiki page, or log in to the Member Portal.
• Email: We send regular events emails to our membership, and each Working Group has their own email list.
• Zoom: How to set up a Zoom call
• Signal: The chapter's de facto encrypted messaging app, often used instead of text messages
• Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
• Google Drive: for leadership to share files with membership - for more detail, see Boston DSA Member Drive
• ActionNetwork: to manage member data - for more detail, see ActionNetwork
• Spoke: for sending out mass texts - for more detail, see Spoke

Electoral Working Group

Housing Working Group or Healthcare Working Group

Labor Working Group

Palestine Working Group

Administrative Committee

General Meeting Planning Committee

Membership Committee

Political Education