Bylaws of the DSA National Tech Committee
Passed January 2022
ARTICLE I. Name.
The Democratic Socialists of America National Technology Committee (also known as “The National Tech Committee”, “The National Tech Working Group”, or “The NTC”) is a national committee of the Democratic Socialists of America (“DSA”, or “National DSA”).
ARTICLE II. Purpose.
The National Tech Committee exists to organize DSA members working on tech projects to support DSA members, national campaigns, national committees, national working groups, local chapters, and DSA staff. The NTC will collaborate with DSA leaders, including the elected National Political Committee and DSA staff, to identify needs and coordinate member labor around technical projects, including consulting, design and implementation.
ARTICLE III. Membership.
Section 1. Membership.
Membership on the NTC is open to DSA members in good standing who are interested and able to contribute to the work of the committee and who have met with a mobilizer authorized by the Steering Committee.
Members will be invited to, at minimum, quarterly informational update meetings and provided with regular updates from ongoing projects. Members will have access to communication platforms in order to communicate with the Steering Committee and other members.
Work within the NTC will be coordinated across three (3) subcommittees. The NTC is led by the Steering Committee and includes oversight of NTC subcommittees in order to coordinate budgeting, oversee permanent infrastructure, guide new projects, and maintain perpetual knowledge of DSA’s technology work. Members are expected to participate in NTC projects via the subcommittees and their groups.
Subcommittees are as follows:
Formations Services Subcommittee
- Responsible for projects to support chapters and national bodies
Member Services Subcommittee
- Responsible for projects to support DSA members
Engagement Subcommittee
- Responsible for communication and projects to support the NTC
Section 2. Code of Conduct and Resolutions Procedure.
Members of the NTC shall comply with the DSA Harassment Policy. This includes any and all communication on digital channels, such as chat, email, and meetings. Membership may be suspended and access to restricted channels revoked by
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Majority vote of the Steering Committee with the consent of the Chair
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As part of a transparent and consistently-applied process of removing inactive members
In extreme situations (including but not limited to immediate risks concerning security and access to credentials) the Steering Committee may temporarily suspend membership with only a majority vote with final removal depending on consent of the Chair.
Members removed due to inactivity may rejoin through the standard mobilization process.
ARTICLE IV. Leadership.
The National Tech Committee is led by a Steering Committee (SC) made up of one (1) NPC Chair, three (3) officers (namely Vice Chair, Tools Coordinator, and Secretary), three (3) subcommittee liaisons, and one (1) at-large member,, in addition to one DSA staff member as an ex officio SC member. The SC determines where resources are allocated, ensures the NTC’s direction remains aligned with DSA, and facilitates the effective operation of the committee. The SC is expected to meet at least twice per month and publish minutes of said meetings within 7 days. Meetings are open to NTC membership, except during executive sessions that may be initiated by a majority of the SC to handle business regarding organizational security or otherwise sensitive information.
The SC is appointed per the NPC’s standards regarding open applications. Following the appointments by the NPC, the selected six SC members will internally determine their officer roles, with the NPC chair being automatically selected and having final say on other officer roles if consensus cannot be achieved.
SC members may be removed from their positions for malfeasance or nonfeasance. Removal requires a majority vote of the remaining SC.
SC terms will begin on October 1st and end on the following September 30th to align SC terms with the annual DSA national budgeting schedule.
The positions of the Steering Committee are:
Chair (NPC member) and Vice Chair
The chair and vice chair’s primary roles are to interface between the Steering Committee, NPC and DSA national staff. Their duties include:
- Organizing and chairing Steering Committee meetings
- Preparing reports and documents for the NPC
- Submitting a yearly budget and monitoring NTC spending
Tools Coordinator
The Tools Coordinator’s primary role is to interface with apps used by the NTC. Their duties include:
- Managing access to critical infrastructure, as defined by the Steering Committee
- Ensuring system access policies are documented
- Documenting and enforcing best security practices
- Documenting and standardizing usage of internal tools
- Managing committee handbook
Secretary
The Secretary’s primary role is to maintain documents and information. Their duties include:
- Tracks progress of subcommittees, any groups that have fallen out of communication, etc
- Prepares and records minutes
- Keeping meeting minutes accessible to NTC membership and secure
Three (3) Subcommittee Liaisons
The Subcommittee Liaison’s primary role is to lead and organize work within each subcommittee. Their duties include:
- Updates SC on status of subcommittees, communicates needs and relevant information
- Serves as leadership for their subcommittee
- Organizes regular subcommittee meetings and communicates with subcommittee members
- Keeps work going within their subcommittee
Two (2) at-large members
At-large members will be expected to participate in NTC decision-making within the SC and be prepared to fill gaps. Their duties include:
- Helping make NTC decisions
- Being prepared to step into absences in the case of officers leaving
- DSA staff will hold an ex officio position to ensure a productive relationship between staff and the NTC.
ARTICLE V. Relationship to DSA Membership.
The NTC ultimately exists to serve the needs of national DSA, answering directly to the NPC. The NTC recruits and solicits assistance from DSA membership at every level of the organization. The NTC acts as a consultant for technical decisions that impact national DSA, providing expertise and leadership.
NTC membership should continually be assessed to ensure that membership reflects the working class that makes up DSA, including geographical, gender, racial, and technical experience diversity. The NTC SC is responsible for correcting imbalance.
ARTICLE VI. Member Data and Privacy.
As technology policies and projects may involve member data, the NTC will develop policies and procedures to provide reasonable protection from unwanted and unattended DSA member information exposure, including unnecessary access to DSA membership Personally Identifying Information. NTC members will be asked to sign a data usage agreement before being given any access to projects in which they may encounter member data.
ARTICLE VII. Amendments to Bylaws.
These bylaws may be amended by a ⅔ vote of the Steering Committee.