For Immediate Release
Pittsfield, MA — The National Political Committee (NPC) of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has approved the new Berkshire County Chapter.
At the DSA New England Conference, held in Boston on March 23, the Berkshires DSA Chapter’s approximately 70 members learned that their Chapter was officially recognized by the NPC as part of a national network of more than 250 chapters and 56,000 individual members. The chapter was founded through the collaboration of six community members from across the county, who spent almost two years organizing and drafting bylaws for the NPC’s review and attended extensive training at conferences in the New England Region.
“As we look at the social fabric of the Berkshires, it’s clear that there is a deep socio-economic divide,” says newly-elected Chapter Co-Chair John Prusinski. “We not only founded the Berkshires DSA Chapter in order to activate in solidarity against the current federal administration and the failures of the Democratic Party over the years, but also to support the rights of workers, immigrants and all other people disenfranchised in our community because of their economic situation, race, sexual orientation or ethnicity.”
The Berkshires DSA Chapter meets on the third Thursday of every month at the Berkshire Athenaeum to discuss strategy and business, and hosts Socializing with Socialists the first Tuesday of every month at Thistle and Mirth in Pittsfield, MA.
“We are focused on working in concert with labor organizers and other activists to help build a local movement for the working class that can transform and restructure our community into a true democracy that upholds the rights of all people to a life that includes universal healthcare, free public college, and freedom from oppression in all its forms,” said newly-elected Chapter Co-Chair Dan Raftery.
The DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States. DSA’s members are building progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly democratic socialist presence in American communities and politics. We believe that working people should run both the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few. Berkshires DSA members use a variety of tactics, from legislative to direct action, to fight for reforms that empower working people.
For media Inquiries, please contact Amillie Coster (413) 854-5611, amilliedelphina@gmail.com