Workshops

Statement on unprecedented number of workshop applications

All Thursday and Friday Workshops will be held in the Bertolon School of Business


Thursday, July 25:
1:30 – 2:30

The One Reform to Save America: Building a Massive Movement to Win Ranked Choice Voting (Room 112)
with Adam Friedman 

NOTE: As of July 24, Adam is no longer able to attend.  He has arranged for Greg Dennis, Calvin Tompkins, Patti Batchelder and Ryan Griffis to deliver his presentation.

Recently dubbed the “one reform to save America” by New York Times’ David Brooks, Ranked Choice Voting is arguably the most impactful and viable fix to help independents and third parties get traction in the American political system. In 2016, Maine became the first state in US history to enact Ranked Choice Voting statewide. In 2020, Massachusetts will be the second, as it is now home to the largest statewide movement for RCV in the nation. In this workshop you will learn how to go from a single meeting of local RCV activists into a massive campaign to upgrade the vote in your state. Together, we will have a lively, interactive group discussion about what strategies work, and what traps to avoid. We will focus on measurable successes and concrete actions that add up to a true national movement for Ranked Choice Voting.

Change Comes from the Roots in Your Community (Room 236)
with Liana West 

Connecting with and supporting local social movements is so important to gaining loyal supporters and Green Party meeting attendees. One social movement that we have partnered with in the Phoenix, Arizona community is the Vegan Activist Movement. We now have 4 out of the 6 officers of the Maricopa Green Party leadership team that is living vegan in their own lives. We have recruited Vegan activists to attend our meetings and even spearheaded a committee to work on writing local legislation.

Pushing Green Values into the National Discourse (Room 137)
with Thom Speidel 

With our democracy in crisis and the Earth unraveling, a Vision anchored in Green Values could be humankind’s best hope. Following a brief introduction by Catastrophe or Democracy author Thom Speidel, participants in this session will brainstorm actions to insert Green Values into the current political landscape and guide the whole-systems change now needed.
Source material can be found here.


2:45 – 3:45

Building a Mass Working Class Third Party (Room 112)
with Howie Hawkins, Past GP Candidate for Governor of N.Y.;
Cheri Honkala, Poor People’s Campaign Philadelphia;
Linda Thompson, GPUS Outreach Committee;
Jerry Levinsky, SEIU, Labor Committee for an Independent Political Party (LCIPP) 

A core discussion of how we get from where we are to becoming a mass party. The topics will include outreaching to diverse communities, how can we be seen as more than an environmental organization or party, setting national state and local goals to achieve significant growth and developing a culture that working families and trade unionists can feel comfortable in.

Orientation To The Coordinated Campaign Committee (Room 236)

The Coordinated Campaign Committee (CCC) is a standing committee of the GPUS that cooperates with state and local chapters in the support of federal, state, and local Green Party electoral campaigns through a variety of different programs and support functions. Learn about the various ways the CCC supports campaigns at all levels– including elections tracking, candidate education and other forms of candidate support.

Should EXTINCTION be on Green Platform ? – Let’s Dig Deeper (Room 137)
with Don Sather

Big Data tells us that Overpopulation, Hyperconsumption, and Riskautomation will lead to the next Mass Extinction. The opportunity is here for the Green Party to capture these issues as The Authority to Confront Extinction.
Source material can be found here.


4:00 – 5:00

Nonviolent Communication: Essential for communication in our violent world (Room 112)
with Rita Jacobs

The workshop includes a brief presentation covering 1) the origin of the movement or approach to nonviolent living called Nonviolent Communication (NVC), 2) the reasons this theory is useful and necessary in conducting group discussions in both online communications and live groups, 3) where and how to get additional information about NVC, and 4) suggestions for practical use of the theory in formulating guidelines for online list discussions and general meetings. The presentation will be followed by group activity in 1) dissecting some actual messages (revised somewhat to protect the innocent) that have been posted in online discussions, and how best to respond to the messages using NVC in order to promote continuation of a meaningful discussion and avoid escalating conflict, and 2) application of NVC to a consensus process used in meetings that fosters participation by all members, and avoids conflict.
Materials will be available at the session.

National Committee Legislative Sessions (Room 236)
with Mike Feinstein

The objective of this workshop is to solicit input (a) on a draft proposal establishing regular legislative sessions for the GPUS National Committee (NC); and (b) the specific choices and trade-offs that would be involved in implementing it. The goal of establishing regular NC legislative sessions (NCLS) is to enable the NC to be more efficient and effective, while involving more NC members in the decision-making process. This would be facilitated by establishing a predictable timeline for NC decision-making.

For an Eco-Socialist Green Party (Room 137)
with Chris Blankenhorn

With the passage of Platform Amendment 835 in 2016, the Green Party US took a major step in becoming an official Ecosocialist party. While socialists have always been a core contingent in the party, Platform Amendment 835 was an important first step in clearly identifying the Green Party’s position as an anti-capitalist party. This workshop will look at how Green values are inherently ecosocialist and why the Green Party must carry the Ecosocialist banner proudly if we hope to grow into a true mass party that can challenge the capitalist duopoly.

Friday, July 26
9:00 – 10:00

Social Media 101 for Greens (Room 111)
with Dave Schwab

In this workshop Greens will learn how to use social media to effectively get a message out and grow a campaign or party. We will focus on the two most popular platforms: Facebook and Twitter.

Who you calling “spoiler”? (Room 112)
with John Andrews and Justin Beth, Presidential Campaign Support Committee

In some races, Green candidates face constant accusations that their main accomplishment will be to “spoil” the election. This accusation is used in an effort to marginalize Green candidates and justify their exclusion from debates and media coverage. This workshop will expose the fallacies in the spoiler accusation and provide practical and effective strategies for responding to it when it is raised. The impact of ranked-choice voting on elections will be reviewed. Videos of actual encounters between journalists and Green candidates will be used to illustrate and critique responses.

Eco-socialism & the Four Pillars (Room 137)
with Gloria Mattera

How do Greens define and understand eco-socialism and connect our anti-capitalist perspective to the Four Pillars

The Lake Erie Bill of Rights, a Community fighting for survival (Room 236)
with Bryan Twitchell and Hilary Tore

Lucas County Green Party central committee members share how they helped to pass the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.


10:15 – 11: 15

Developing a Green Party Platform for Black Liberation (Room 111)
with Trahern Crews, Green Party Black Caucus;
Robin Harris, Co-Chair Green Party of Florida;
Linda Thompson – GPUS Diversity Committee;
Karlene Griffiths Sekou, Boston area Black Lives Matter

The Black Caucus has recently developed an excellent committee and platform for Reparations for the Black Community. However many key elements of a platform for Black Liberation can still be developed in order to have special national outreach materials to address and formulate answers to the burning issues that black people face. This workshop will initiate a discussion of the key elements that would go into such a platform and outreach brochure. We will look at prior and existing platforms of the Black Panther Party 10 Point Program and the program of the Black Lives Matter Movement to see how we can adapt or incorporate them for our party. We will also discuss how white Green Party members can function as effective allies in the struggle for Black Liberation.

Six Week Special Election Campaign (Room 112)
with Mirna Martinez, Ronna Stuller, Josh Kelly, Bob Stuller and possibly Haakon Brooks

We had six weeks to run a special election in which we received endorsements from: The Day newspaper, CT Chapter Sierra Club, CT Police and Fire Union, Our Revolution, The Political Revolution and I was the first 3rd party candidate in CT to receive Citizen Election Program financing in the 12 year history of the program.
View materials here.

A Green New Dollar for a Green New Deal (Room 137)
with Joe Bongiovanni (GPVA) Sue Peters (GPNY) Howard Switzer (GPTN)

The goal of this workshop is to provide a better understanding of how a Public Money System works, why we need one and how to engage people on this issue. A brief history of Green monetary policy is presented and how we can “transition from a consumer society to a quality of life society.” Also, how we can reverse the money driven trends such as war and industrial operations destroying life on Earth with a Public Money System that distributes wealth systematically and broadly instead of the current private for-profit system of issuing money as debt that concentrates wealth and power systematically.
Materials available here.

Exctinction Rebellion (Room 236)
with Bruce and Barbara Wright

A Nonviolent Rebellion against the US inaction on Climate Change and Extinction… this is a different movt based on disruption and Direct Action based on four demains that respresent XR US. These demands only represent XR US.


11:30 – 12:30

Resistance to Contemporary Colonialism in Hawai’i and Puerto Rico (Room 111)
with Jon Olsen and Darlene Elias

36 year resident of Hawai’i and Hawai’i Green Party founding member will explain the current national liberation effort in Hawai’i and show a 15 minute, Hawai’i-made professional video: total 20 min; Puerto Rican activist and Green national co-chair will describe contemporary efforts to defy the imposed colonial regime in Puerto Rico; 20 minutes; 20 minutes for Q and A

Power Analysis: Mapping Theirs and Testing Yours (Room 112)
with Michael O’Neil

People Have The Power, but how do we find it? In this workshop, first we’ll learn how to build a Power Map to analyse institutions and individuals that might support or oppose an issue or campaign, along with their relative influence. Then we’ll learn about how we can incrementally test and build the power of our own organizations and coalitions to see if we have enough power to win the fight. We will cover a *lot* of material in this session so please arrive on time!

The Politics and Technology of Ecosocialism (Room 137)
with Victor Wallis

Drawing on my book Red-Green Revolution (2018), I will lead a discussion about the social prerequisites for an effective ecological agenda. This includes not only questions of how society must be reorganized but also questions of how to draw a majority of the population into the political movement necessary to accomplish this.

War is the Central Issue (Room 236)
with Carol Coakley, Massachusettes Peace Action;
Bahman Azad, US Peace Council;
Ajamu Baraka, Black Alliance for Peace;
Linda Thompson, Metro West Peace Action Committee, United National Anti-War Coalition

War is the Achilles heal of the Democratic Party. We are the only consistent anti-war party in the US electoral field that advocates stopping endless war and cutting the military budget. Since all other reforms such as the Green New Deal, quality education, ending student debt and building low cost housing among other issues depend on cutting the military budget how can we get our message out and help to reorganize a massive peace movement. US aggression against Venezuela, Iran, Korea and the Middle East and reaching youth will be discussed.


1:45 – 2:45

Media and Messaging 101 for Greens (Room 111)
with David Schwab and Barbara Dahlgren

In this workshop Greens will learn how to run communications for both campaign and party goals, focusing on both messaging and working with media.

Bringing structural balance to the Global Greens (Room 112)
with John Rensenbrink

Global Greens need balance. The under-used Global Green Network can and should be upgraded to provide direct input from the Green Parties of the world with its own offices and officers side by side in power and authority with the Global Green Coordination.

Ballot Access: Getting Greens on the Ballot in 2020 and Beyond (Room 137)
with Tony Ndege and Brendan Phillips, Ballot Access Committee

Every two years Greens all across the country have to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures just to get their candidates name on the ballot. Huge amounts of time, resources, and volunteer hours are dedicated to this struggle. In this workshop we will talk about what sort of obstacles our state parties face getting on the ballot, and what they are doing to overcome them. You will get education and insights from Ballot Access Committee members on how they are working to get our candidates on the ballot. Come find out how you can help get us on the ballot in all 50+ states and territories in 2020 and beyond.

Making America Care Again: Why Americans Should Oppose War (Room 236)
with Rich Whitney

War is “out of sight, out of mind” to most Americans most of the time. Yet, day after day, the U.S. government is murdering people abroad while depriving our communities of badly needed resources at home. This presentation, by peace activist Rich Whitney on behalf of the Green Party Peace Action Committee, is intended to as a primer to help us cut through the disinformation about U.S. foreign policy that trivializes war, remind us of the horrific consequences of war, the illegality of war, the real economic drivers of war, and help engage us in the movement — and party — for peace.

Presenter materials can be viewed here.


3:00 – 4:00

Digital Organizing Tools (Room 111)
with Chris Blankenhorn

In the 35 year history of the Green Party US, organizing methods and technology has changed greatly. From the rise of the internet and smart phones to the current dominance of social media in communications, things are far different than they were in the days of the Committees of Corespondents that led to the formation of what we know today as the Green Party US. As a party we need to reconsider what “resources” mean as a party and update our organizing and communication methods and tools to better connect and compete in a changing political climate. This workshop will consider past and present Green organizing norms and present new alternative methods and tools to help the party organize and grow.
Source materials available here.

How To Plan A Campaign School (Room 112)
with the Coordinated Campaign Committee

Candidate education is critical to the Green Party’s mission to elect candidates to public office. This workshop will help states and locals plan to host their own campaign schools in 2019 and 2020. The goal is to have a campaign school in most states by 2020. Topics to be covered include preparing educational resources, selecting a training venue, a sample campaign school agenda and training tips from Coordinated Campaign Committee training specialists.

Securing Our Individual Liberties – SOIL (Room 137)
with Brian Bennet

We need more loving stewards on the land. I intend to inspire you as Community Organizers. It has been repeated that Henry Kissinger stated “he who controls the food controls the people”. So as individuals we must control our food supply. Beginning with your soil and culminating with the soul, culture, and energy of your local community, you can/will inspire a generation of small-scale local regenerative agricultural entrepreneurs. Start small, grow slow, share what you know. We can begin to free ourselves from over consumption by producing more of what we need, healthy relationships. You in the Green Party will teach Green Party values while feeding yourself through direct hands on production. Start your own Agricultural Revolution. Wendell Berry said: “Revolutions start small and close to home”.

Should EXTINCTION be on Green Platform ? – Let’s Dig Deeper (Room 236)
with Don Sather (Repeat session)

Big Data tells us that Overpopulation, Hyperconsumption, and Riskautomation will lead to the next Mass Extinction. The opportunity is here for the Green Party to capture these issues as The Authority to Confront Extinction.  Source material can be found here.
(This is a repeat session)


4:15 – 5:15

Livestreaming: Production and Promotion (Room 111)
with Michael O’Neil

Michael O’Neil once produced a presidential debate response livestream from a hospital suite, and he co-hosts a weekly livestream and podcast called A Green Way Forward. At this workshop we’ll discuss tips and tools to get the most out of your livestream, whether it’s a quick-and-dirty smartphone setup or something more complex. And we’ll discuss the importance of *promoting* your livestream so people actually watch it!

The Deeper Questions: What Does It Mean to Run and Serve as a Green? (Room 112)
with Charlene DiCalogero

Ever thought about running for local, state or Congressional office, or helping others run? And when you win office, how can you best carry out a Green agenda as mayor, County Commissioner, state legislator, or other elected official? Do you wish you could ask Greens who have already done it?

This workshop will gather recent candidates and electeds from around the country to respond to focused questions about their decision to run, experiences as candidates and electeds, and Lessons Learned. You will have the opportunity to follow up with your own questions during and after the workshop. Be inspired by those who’ve been there so you can make the leap from thinking about running for office, or running campaigns, to doing it.

This workshop is great for people who’ve never run or worked on a campaign; who have already campaigned and want to connect with others to share info and prepare for future campaigns, for electeds to meet, and all who want to meet candidates and electeds from around the country.

In addition to connecting with candidates and public officials, you will receive a Candidate Readiness Questionnaire being piloted by the MA Candidate Development Committee, to take back to your chapter and party, which can help you and others think about what it means to be ready to run and serve.

Fighting authoritarianism from Tiananmen 1989 to Washington 2019 (Room 137)
with Rose Tang

Rose Tang is an international journalist, human rights activist, and a survivor as one of the student leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. She will speak about her experience at Tiananmen and how it relates to student-led climate uprisings in Europe resulting in the election of several Green Party members of Parliament. Lessons learned, including innovative protest tactics fighting the authoritarian regime in China, are valuable in fighting the developing authoritarian regime here in the US.

An Ecosocialist Green New Deal (Room 236)
with Jill Stein, Ajamu Baraka and  Howie Hawkins

We will discuss what the contents of the Green Party’s Green New Deal should be and the politics of fighting for it.


Seventy-five submissions were received for the ANM workshops this year to fill 33 slots, an unprecedented number in the history of the ANM.  Submitters whose workshops were not chosen were invited to submit their materials for posting on the ANM website and those that sent in their materials are listed below. Thank you to everyone for participating in this process.

Opposing Legalized Euthanasia & Doctor-Assisted Suicide: 
Give Everyone Good Medical Care and Help to Live Independently, Not Death!
by David Rolde

Proponents of legalized assisted suicide frame the issue as one of a personal choice or right to die. But this is not the case. In reality legalized doctor-assisted suicide is used to deny people healthcare and to encourage disabled, impoverished and oppressed people to end their lives. In Oregon and California, cancer patients have received letters from their insurance companies saying that their insurance will not pay for the treatments that their doctors have prescribed but will pay for assisted death. Surveys of Oregonians who have been prescribed assisted suicide show that most patients who are prescribed assisted suicide do not cite unbearable pain as their reason. They mostly say that they want to end their lives so they will not be a burden to their families or because they are embarrassed or upset that they can’t take care of themselves. They should be given help to live, not encouraged to die. Treatments for pain are very advanced now. It is not necessary to kill someone even to alleviate pain. Killing patients is not healthcare. It is wrong and contrary to the hippocratic oath to redefine healthcare to include killing. Medical professionals are supposed to help people live and be healthier. In the so-called USA we don’t even have access to good health care and other things that people need to live comfortably. We should be fighting for everyone to have these things not to help people kill themselves. Impoverished and oppressed people around the world are fighting to live, not to die. This workshop will discuss opposition to legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide by disability rights activists and by activists from African and other colonized communities. Disability rights activists with groups such as Not Dead Yet, Second Thoughts (in Massachusetts) and ADAPT work to oppose legalized assisted suicide because it devalues the lives of people with disabilities. People with disabilities (for instance wheelchair users) routinely have to deal with medical professionals who tell them that they would be better off dead. In the Netherlands and Belgium, where euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide have been legal for the longest and is more advanced, young people in their twenties are being legally euthanized for depression and post-traumatic stress. This is not about free choice. People have the right to refuse medical treatments. This issue is about redefining death as a medical treatment, which it is not. I am involved with several organizations that oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide. I am the Secretary of the Greater Boston Chapter of the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts, and I serve on the Green-Rainbow Party State Committee. I have been a Green-Rainbow Party member since 2003. I organized with Second Thoughts Massachusetts to defeat the statewide ballot question on legalizing doctor-assisted suicide in 2012.

Resources
Second Thoughts Massachusetts – An organization of people with disabilities opposing the legalization of assisted suicide
https://www.second-thoughts.org/

Not Dead Yet – A national [U.S.], grassroots disability rights group that opposes legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia as deadly forms of discrimination
http://notdeadyet.org/

The Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund’s page opposing the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia
https://dredf.org/public-policy/assisted-suicide/

A good editorial against assisted suicide by Richard Thomas, the mayor of Mount Vernon, NY, a city with 60% Black population
https://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-opinion/article/Mount-Vernon-Mayor-Richard-Thomas-urges-rejection-7963525.php