I first started going to meetings with my local Democratic Socialists of America chapter, South Sound DSA, in January of last year. In February (even though I wasn’t yet a member) I was nominated to chair our Labor Working Group and the next month, the day after my 31st birthday, I made it official and joined on March 11, 2017.

Like most everyone else here, I came to the organization through some combination of the events over the previous year: the Bernie Sanders campaign, the rise of Donald Trump, a glimmer of hope, the despair of defeat. I saw tens of thousands of people, especially young folks around my age, flocking by the droves into DSA. So I went with them.

I’ve identified as a socialist my entire adult life, ever since I first learned about Eugene Debs — the ARU and IWW, the old Socialist Party of America — so when I saw DSA growing by leaps and bounds I knew I had to be a part of it.

Once I signed up, I immediately started going to every meeting. I helped to redraft our local bylaws and stepped up at the national level to build our new Democratic Socialist Labor Commission (DSLC) with other DSA labor activists. I ran for office in my local chapter too, where I’m now Lead Organizer — and gearing up for our dues renewal drive.

When I initially joined last March, my membership was good for one year. So this February, I got an email from DSA National Director Maria Svart reminding me to renew my membership and asking to consider switching from annual to monthly dues.

As much as I do with DSA and as much as the national organization has done to help me and my local chapter, I think it’s important to not only stay with DSA another year but to give to the organization the necessary resources we all need to organize and build working-class power.

But let’s all just for a minute stop and ask ourselves: What are dues?

Here’s what dues aren’t: a “necessary evil.” I hear this all the time when people are talking about their union membership, for example, especially around the upcoming Janus vs. AFSCME decision. “Hey it sucks, but you gotta pay!” This is not only a wrongheaded way of looking at what dues are, but it’s not at all convincing to somebody who’s maybe on the fence.

Try this instead: “Dues money not only goes toward creating the resources we need to build a strong political movement for working people, but paying dues means you have agency and ownership in your organization.”

Dues are good! They’re not a “fee” or payment for a service you receive in return. We’re not an insurance company, you know. (Actually, we want to abolish those. Don’t forget to get involved with our Democratic Socialists for Medicare for All campaign!)

It’s campaigns like that and all the rest of our movement work that our dues make possible. All our staff at national, our incredible organizers, the M4A toolkits, banners, pins, shirts, pamphlets, fliers, posters, art, our biannual national convention — and obligations like rent and legal representation! — all of that requires not just a lot of labor, but money too. Think about who we’re up against. They’re well-financed and well-organized. Are we?

But this isn’t MoveOn or the ACLU. We don’t ask for donations so you can take comfort knowing your money’s in good hands while we do the work on your behalf. That’s not what a member-driven, democratic organization looks like. That doesn’t help build power for working people, for the marginalized and the oppressed.

Here’s the most important part: Paying dues means it’s your organization. You got a vote. You own it. We own it. We decide its direction and we make it happen. That’s what makes our organization democratic and it’s how we build a truly democratic society—one “within the shell of the old,” if you will.

As DSA grows, and our potential to organize on a greater scale continues to grow, we’re gonna need two things right up front: First, everyone who signed up in droves last year, if they don’t renew, will likewise leave in droves. We need all our friends, all our comrades who signed up en masse to recommit to the movement so we don’t lose all we’ve built over the last two years.

Second, monthly dues make for a greater and steadier supply of the resources we need to organize and do the work. Annual dues are still an option, but we’re asking members to both up their dues rate and switch to monthly. That cuts back on the time spent getting members to renew, so we can be out there fighting landlords and bosses instead.

We still operate on a sliding scale, for both monthly and annual dues, so please pay what you can. If you can’t afford it but still want to join, get ahold of local or national organizers to ask for sponsorship or a reduced rate. (It’s “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need,” you know.) However you want to go about it, just make sure you renew your dues!

And if you’re not already a member, consider joining DSA!