What is Socialists For a Democratic Union?

We are a militant group of members of Communications Workers of America welded together in solidarity and committed to promoting member-led union democracy, international and intersectional solidarity, and the emancipation of working people by the working people themselves. We are democratic socialists, Marxists, democratic communists, and class-struggle unionists, and on Feb. 9, 2025, we began exercising our right as union members to meet and self-organize as a political caucus. Our Points of Unity were ratified Sep. 15, 2025.

As a political caucus we are united by our desire to advance our shared positive political principles, working to improve the tactics, strategy and operational procedures of our union. We chose not to label ourselves a "reform caucus" because we did not wish to begin from an assumption of conflict with the current leadership of our union, which includes many newly elected officers just beginning their first term. Rather, we believe our political principles as class-struggle unionists are fundamentally aligned with the mission and values of our union. We do not seek to tear down or divide, but to build and unite.

Our caucus rejects executive-style governance, but we are "leader-full", not leaderless. We are governed by a collective leadership body, our Central Committee, whose members are recallable and elected to short terms.

We believe all power in our union rests with the general membership, as stated in our union's bylaws.

We believe in multi-tendency democracy. We welcome all democratic socialists, communists, libertarian socialists, and class-struggle unionists.

We believe in carrying on the proud tradition of American socialists educating, agitating and organizing in the labor movement. We take special inspiration from Black communist labor organizers in the Deep South of the 1930s.

Our work includes advancing socialist and radical-democratic principles in our union and in our workplace, electing union officers, providing support to those officers once elected, writing policy proposals to be put before our union's general membership and leadership, fostering mutual aid, hosting political education events, developing interpersonal relationships of solidarity in our union and in our community, and in general promoting the labor movement's growth and development.