The Democratic Socialists of America are completely red-faced, with a financial situation so dire that some leaders are demanding job cuts and layoffs as if they were an American corporate entity, The Post has learned.
The DSA, which has led protests against Israel over the Jewish state’s retaliatory response to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, is mired in a seven-figure hole and desperately needs a way to stop the red ink, its members acknowledge.
“We will cut $500,000 in personnel-related expenses. We will first ask for volunteers at both the director level and bargaining unit staff to cut their positions and receive compensation,” according to a proposal put forward by members of the DSA National Political Committee affiliated with its Marxist group Bread and Roses.
“If necessary, we will explore the possibility of initiating layoffs in accordance with the DSA union contract,” DSA officials said.
The situation appears to be a case of an organization that blindly seeks utopia and professes support for the working class colliding with reality, forcing it to have to balance a budget like the rest of the United States and even contemplate layoffs hated by unions.
“DSA is in a financial crisis and personnel-related costs represent 58% of our total expenses and 72% of our projected revenue,” DSA members Alex Pellitteri, Kristin Schall and Laura Wadlin wrote in the proposal. costs reduction.
The Democratic Socialists of America are reportedly considering cutting jobs and laying off staff due to the organization’s poor finances. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“The current deficit will force us to make seven-figure budget cuts. This will require us to make painful decisions that will affect all levels of the organization. … Given our current financial state, we do not believe we can have a healthy, democratic and effective organization spending the amount we currently spend on personnel,” they said.
“If necessary, we will explore the possibility of initiating layoffs under the DSA union contract. Be rotating: The Personnel Committee will be responsible for determining the number and type of positions that will be eligible for buyout or layoff, and will assist with logistics and a staff transition plan,” the group said.
Progressive Jewish activists are blaming DSA leaders who blindly back Palestinian groups, at least in part, for the fiscal crisis, saying they have damaged the group’s credibility and lost support by backing Hamas terrorists.
A pro-Palestinian protest in Manhattan organized by the DSA on October 9, 2023. James Keivom
The DSA has long supported the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel.
“DSA long ago fell into the trap of becoming so radical in the name of ‘justice’ that it abandoned the mission of the progressive movement,” said Amanda Berman, founder and executive director of Ziess, a group representing liberal Jews who They support Israel.
He said an internal DSA dispute in 2022 over whether it should withdraw support for Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-Westchester/Bronx) for visiting Israel already led members to admit they were “bleeding activists and financial resources.”
“After Hamas’ brutal invasion of Israel on October 7, DSA redoubled its strategy of deepening and prolonging anti-Semitism, thinking it could dig them out of the hole,” Berman said. “Instead, this depraved idea sank them even deeper.
A pro-Palestinian rally co-organized by the DSA in lower Manhattan on January 15, 2024. Gina M Randazzo/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
“True progressives, whether in the grassroots or in political leadership, will continue to reject this extremist group and their hateful ideas in the name of true justice and fairness, including for American Jews,” Berman said.
But the DSA officials who recommended the job cuts said the left-wing group should be encouraged by the energy surrounding their anti-Israel protests, and seemed baffled why their results are changing.
“But how did this decline in revenue, membership and overall enthusiasm occur in the first place? Actually, this should be a really favorable time for DSA. “We live in a time when revived labor struggles and the fight for a free Palestine are galvanizing so many Americans, particularly young people,” DSA officials said in a column in Bread and Roses’ “The Call.”
“Biden’s disastrous policy of fueling Israel’s genocide in Gaza has created the kind of space for an independent alternative to the Democratic Party that hasn’t existed since Bernie [Sanders, Vermont senator, former presidential candidate].”
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