Comrades with Kids is a group of socialist caregivers and members of NYC-DSA that are organizing to build a DSA that is more approachable for working-class families, and a socialist world where kids and their families can thrive.
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Families are the working class.
When we talk about the working class that produces the wealth of our city, the vast majority go to work every day to put food on the table for their families. The austerity politics of the last few decades have hit working families hardest, making it nearly impossible to affordably care for children. Wages for working-class families have stagnated, and many face limited access to healthcare, childcare, paid leave, and other public goods that are essential to a decent quality of life. Choosing to build a family can be for all of us – not just the wealthy few.
We know that by working together, we can make a better world for families and kids.
Our Principles: Bread, Roses and Milk For All
- Solidarity at the center. Our struggles as caretakers are the struggles of all working people. To fight for policies and resources that benefit children, we must fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, and workers’ rights for those who care for children and make up our communities. We stand in solidarity with all those who seek a better world. Our fight is the fight of all workers.
- Socialism strengthens the village. The old adage “it takes a village to raise a child” is true: strong communities are essential to the well-being of families. But under capitalism, our proverbial villages are broke, starved, and atomized. Socialist policies like universal healthcare and childcare, and the broader socialist vision of a society where we own the wealth we all produce, will not only benefit children and families but also strengthen ‘the village’ as a whole.
- The “family” belongs to all of us. We reject the conservative agenda of using the family as a tool to maintain capitalist, neoliberal, patriarchal, ableist and heteronormative structures and instead advocate for policies that recognize every family structure and prioritize the collective well-being of families over individual interests of the capitalist class. We embrace a broad and expansive vision of family that serves the needs of all people, particularly children.
- Public education as a front line. The primary contact between families and the state is through public school, making it an important lever for activating the working class. Every child, worker, and family deserves a public education system that fosters creativity, curiosity, understanding, and a deep sense of belonging. We fight for solidarity among teachers and families as an organizing model, unprecedented funding to every non-selective public school, and policies that reflect the unique needs of children and those who teach them.
Our Platform: A Better DSA and a Better World
- Make DSA a political and social home base for working-class families. This includes ensuring there is childcare available at NYC-DSA meetings and events, organizing family-focused events that are directly associated with NYC-DSA, developing guides and other materials for branches and campaigns on how to bring families into our organizing, making space for people without children to have relationships with young people, and more.
- Build a visible cadre of working-class caregivers within NYC-DSA as a political force. We will have a legislative agenda, a distinct presence at rallies and lobbies, and will engage with DSA’s national and local political bodies. We will also be seeking to increase representation of working-class caregivers in NYC-DSA’s leadership and decision-making processes.
- Fight for policies that immediately and materially benefit working-class families. Comrades With Kids will engage in campaigns for causes such as universal healthcare, affordable childcare, family leave, and investments in public education. We will also enter into coalitions with allied organizations to further the cause of working-class families and caregivers.