New Member Guide

Welcome to the chapter! We're beyond excited to have you as a member of Phoenix DSA.

If you have any questions, please post it at the #help_me_comrade channel on our slack, or email the executive committee at phxazdsa@gmail.com

Here are a few ways to get plugged into socialist organizing in the Valley of the Sun:

Get connected

First, plug in to keep up to date with what’s going on at the chapter. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and subscribe to our email list if you haven’t already. Besides these platforms, the main way we communicate outside of meetings is through our chapter Slack. You can learn more about using this platform on our Phoenix DSA Slack guide. After you become a dues paying member, you should receive a welcome email with a subject line that starts with "Thank you for being a DSAer!" When you do, forward it to phxazdsa@gmail.com so we can get you on the Slack and help you join the discussions.

Join an event

If you don’t know where to start, attend a welcome meeting where we elaborate on our chapter’s projects, our structure, and the national organization. Otherwise, we ask that every member makes time for our Regular Meetings, as they make up our primary legislative body. It’s there where we stay updated on the work across the chapter and make collective decisions. These are usually scheduled on the first Saturday and third Monday of the month, though this can vary based on need. We also have plenty of other events scheduled all the time, so check the Calendar to get involved in our chapter’s organizing efforts.

Learn about socialism

As democratic socialists, weaving together our political action with a strong historical and theoretical background is an imperative. It imparts lessons that can help us avoid common pitfalls and grounds our thought in the world as it is. Equally important is learning together, which enables us to gain a broader understanding informed by various perspectives. As such, we highly recommend attending an event organized by our Political Education Committee.

The Political Education Committee meets monthly to discuss upcoming literature studies, book club updates, and other related events. Check out our Slack channel “#books-media-n-more” for our next meeting and book club-related announcements!

The book club meets virtually via Zoom every Sunday at 5:00 PM where we read about labor organizing, political theory, socialism and more! We welcome everyone to collectively learn about class struggle, whatever your experience, so check our Slack channel or the Calendar to find the next educational event, or our Linktree for current Political Education materials.

Sign up for dues

We can only organize towards socialism without relying on big donors by maintaining a self-funded organization of working people, while still ensuring that no member is turned away if they can't pay. To keep our work going and become a full member, sign up for dues at this link. On average, members pay about $10 a month for dues. These national dues, a portion of which goes to our chapter, support the formation of new chapters, national educational events, and our youth section, the Young Democratic Socialists of America. If you have questions about paying dues, read this FAQ.

Additionally, Phoenix DSA receives only a small portion of member dues from national DSA. Everything else we do depends upon local donations. If you'd like to directly fund that work, consider donating to this chapter. A few places that your donations could go:

  • Putting on canvasses

  • Space fees, materials, and snacks for our Socialist Night School

  • Chapter meeting space and social event space fees

  • Printing flyers, trifolds, posters, and buttons

  • Our chapter website and social media advertising