We’re so glad you want to join us in the largest socialist organization in the United States!

To build a movement that can take on the billionaire class and create a society that works for all of us, we need as many people as possible to get involved.

The button below will take you to the page to join the Democratic Socialists of America! The rest of this page will explain a little bit more about what that means and what happens after you join.

What is DSA? What is the Colorado Springs chapter?

Democratic socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically—to meet public needs, not to make profits for a few. We’re working towards this future by building a working class movement of the majority and confronting the capitalist class through collective action. Capitalism can’t function without workers, so we can be very powerful together!

DSA is a national organization whose roots are in the former Socialist Party of America, which was lead by socialist-labor leader Eugene Debs. In 2015, DSA only had 6,000 members. By 2017, DSA had over 50,000 members. We now have roughly 80,000 members, over 200 chapters, and chapters in all 50 states plus DC and Puerto Rico.

Colorado Springs DSA is our local DSA chapter. We started as an Organizing Committee in the summer of 2019 with 5 founding members. In February 2021, we were formally recognized as a DSA chapter. We’re relatively new, but we’re growing all the time! Today, we have nearly 200 members in the Pikes Peak Region, and we often collaborate with other DSA chapters in Colorado (notably Denver DSA).

Why do DSA members pay dues?

DSA is 100% member led, funded, and organized. The success of our movement depends on all of us banding together to accomplish our democratically decided goals. There are no infusions of outside money or influence; every dollar that we spend comes from our dues. We’re all coming from different financial circumstances, and DSA’s flexible dues model allows you to pay what you can depending on your situation. We’d like to list a few things that we do with our dues to show you that they’re worth it!

  • Having access to a physical space in the Chinook Center for meetings, art builds, classes/trainings, and other events to bring us all together as comrades and allow us a space to accomplish our work.

  • The ability to buy supplies like trash bags for our garbage cleanups, paint and canvas for banners, snacks for political education events, and various mutual aid projects.

  • Hosting this website, printing flyers and informational pamphlets, and having access to organizational tools that facilitate text campaigns and phone banking are critical components of spreading our messages and growing our movement!

  • Participation in community events like Pride.

  • Focused campaigns like our efforts towards Stop Cop City Colorado Springs.

What are the next steps after I join?

One great thing about our chapter is how we welcome new members. An existing member will reach out to you to schedule a 1-on-1 meeting. These meetings not only give you the opportunity to ask any questions that you might have, but also help us get to know you, figure out the ways that you’re most excited to get involved, and get you plugged in to relevant events and working groups. We’ll also add you to our Slack, which is where most of our internal chapter communication takes place.

There are innumerable ways to be in DSA. We value a variety of strategic approaches to fighting capitalism, whether you're interested in labor organizing, tenants rights, electoral politics, international solidarity, stopping cop cities, or any number of other socialist goals, you can do that work arm in arm with your comrades at DSA. Most of our work happens through specialized working groups, which you are highly encouraged to join. We also have monthly general meetings (open to the public), and lots of other events and trainings. Our monthly general meetings are where we stay informed about work across the chapter, vote on chapter business, and democratically decide on chapter policy and work priorities. No matter how you choose to contribute, one thing is clear: We are stronger together!