Kshama Sawant: How Socialists Beat the Democrats in Seattle

Long before democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were household names, Socialist Alternative and Kshama won an openly socialist campaign for the Seattle City Council in 2013. Kshama was the first socialist elected in Seattle in nearly a century. After a decade in office, having overcome unrelenting big business opposition to win historic gains for working people and four consecutive elections, Kshama is leaving the City Council undefeated. Kshama’s socialist office, alongside movements of working people, have racked up an unprecedented list of victories: the first $15 minimum wage in a major U.S. city (automatically adjusted for inflation, it’s now the highest in the country), the historic Amazon Tax on Seattle’s wealthiest corporations to fund affordable housing, ten major renters’ rights laws, the first ban on caste discrimination anywhere in the world outside South Asia, making Seattle an abortion sanctuary city where providers and patients cannot be prosecuted or extradited, and so many more. How was this possible? What are the lessons we should take forward from this decade of socialist politics in Seattle, to win even greater victories across the country? Check out this first part of our two-episode special to find out! On Strike is 100% funded by working people. BECOME A MEMBER of Workers Strike Back now to support our work: https://www.workersstrikeback.org/membership On Strike is a production of Workers Strike Back, hosted by Kshama Sawant and Bia Lacombe. #KshamaSawant #socialism #socialist #politics #Democrats #workingclass #AOC #organizing #labormovement #unions