The Des Moines Workers' Alliance aims to build working class power to defend against bosses, landlords, and political elites.
The Aims of the Des Moines Workers' Alliance
1) WE AIM TO CREATE A MULTIRACIAL AND DIVERSE ORGANIZATION WHICH FIGHTS FOR THE COMMON INTERESTS AND NEEDS OF COMMON PEOPLE. We demand an end to the division of common people, based on race, gender, sexuality or other categories. Common people have common interests, which can and should be worked on collectively
2) WE AIM TO EMPOWER THE COMMON PEOPLE
TO DEFEND THEMSELVES AGAINST
BOSSES, LANDLORDS, COPS, POLITICIANS AND ALL OTHER THREATS TO OUR COMMUNITY. Threats in our communities must be dealt with through direct means and we will focus on the problems that common people face right now and empower common people to act in defense of their interests.
3) WE AIM FOR COMMUNITY CONTROL OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. WE WANT AN END TO GENTRIFICATION AND ADEQUATE HOUSING FOR ALL. Our neighborhoods should be under our control, not the Chamber of Commerce. We will fight the developers and the municipal bureaucrats who want to drive us out of our neighborhoods with high rent and high prices. Empty homes should be occupied by people who need them, not sold to the highest bidder. Our neighborhoods are ours to run.
4) WE AIM TO STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITIES THROUGH PROGRAMS AND MEANS OF DIRECT AID AND ACTION. Working people who are living paycheck to paycheck or are unemployed or homeless have problems right now! We face many challenges: paying for food and groceries, getting healthcare, paying rent...the list goes on. We will find ways to strengthen our community by alleviating the problems our community faces through direct aid programs : free groceries, free breakfast, defense against landlords. For every common problem we face, we can find a com- mon solution.
5) WE AIM FOR END TO POLICE VIOLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. WE WANT AN END TO INCARCERATION OF OUR COMMUNITY, WE WANT AN END TO THE STIFLING OF WORKING CLASS ADVANCEMENT BY THE STATE. The police are everywhere in our communities, yet fix none of the problems. We know that the police are the problem, intimidating our community, hurting our family members and fellow workers. When working people fight for a better future as a group, police are the first line of defense for the establishment.
6) WE AIM FOR WORKER CONTROL OF ALL WORKPLACES. If you work there, you should make the decisions about what happens there and receive the bene- fits of your labor. We will work to organize worker-led unions and build a base of community support for them.
