We believe:

• organizing all of society is an essential component of organizing the working class.
• one important way of doing this is getting people together outside of the political sphere and entirely within the social sphere.
• simply building connections between people who might not otherwise know each other or interact can lead to strengthening the ties between sections of the working class who might be separated from each other.
• doing this through activities that people are inclined to engage in anyway within our isolated, consumerist, gratification-centered society is a powerful tool for creating new kinds of consciousness out of existing social norms.
• the struggle for socialism is multifaceted and composed of a huge variety of activities. The interpersonal and social aspect of it has been neglected in favor of more traditional worker, party, and state-oriented activities.

We are not building a political party. We are not building political institutions. We are not building unions or fighting organizations. We are trying to provide the ground on which these products of the working class can take root and grow. We are not a political organization, but a social one.

Socialist Social Club is a place for socialists, communists, Marxists, anarchists, fellow travelers, and those curious about organizing society and the working class. We get together to hang out, teach and learn, discuss and debate, have fun, and build connections.

Our goal is to replace your non-political social life with a politically-conscious one. Instead of going to a movie alone, go with comrades. Instead of joining a fantasy league online, join one with fellow socialists. Instead of watching a documentary on Netflix at home, recommend it for a social club event.

We are strictly non-sectarian, but encourage people of all generally liberatory political persuasions to participate. You don't have to have any particular politics to join us, but do have to agree with the organizational principles and code of conduct.

1. No Private Events: Socialist Social Club is a place to bring people into the movement through low-stakes, low-commitment, fun and rewarding social activities where they can meet other socialists and activists.
   1. SSC events are public events, open to the public (barring exceptions listed below), and advertised publicly.
   2. Events may require registration and have limited attendance, but should be open to everyone on a first-come-first-served basis (not counting organizers/guests of honor).
   3. This does not pertain to club planning meetings or special occasions such as club-internal appreciation events or retreats.
2. No Voluntocracy: All people participating in organizing an event (or organizing club-internal matters) must be able to have an equal and democratic voice in the organizing of the event (or the club as a whole). This applies to all permanent organizers, temporary organizers, and (to the extent possible) people who incidentally end up assisting with events.
   1. Voluntocracy (when people with the most free time and energy make most of the decisions) and fiat should be avoided where feasible, but there's no need to make every decision by committee where a choice is arbitrary or time-sensitive.
   2. That said, where a single person or designated group has set the goals and intentions of an event, those goals and intentions should be respected and worked towards; that is, people should only volunteer to help organize that event if they agree with the goals and intentions presented for it, or are willing to go along with them. This is true of the spirit of SSC more generally as well.
3. No Recruiting: SSC events are not places for outside organizations (whether political, religious, or otherwise) to recruit people. Recruiting means actively engaging people in conversation meant to get them to join a specific organization or community.
   1. SSC may provide a location at events to leave zines, flyers, and literature for people to browse at will.
   2. Recruiting may be allowed only at events where recruiting is an explicitly stated goal of the event.
4. No Cops: All people who are not publicly known abusers, cops, or fascists are welcome at SSC events, the same way they would be at a bar or a sports game; we want to bring people into the movement, not gatekeep them out. At the same time, all organizers and attendees of SSC events are obligated to treat all people involved with respect and courtesy; harassment and intentionally harmful behavior are not to be tolerated by club or event organizers.
   1. An abuser is someone who regularly and intentionally causes harm to people, on an ongoing basis, for their own material, social, or emotional gain. A cop is someone who is publicly known to work for any local, state, or federal law enforcement or intelligence agency. A fascist is someone who holds extreme right-wing, authoritarian, and bigoted views, and advocates direct violence and/or the seizure of the means of institutional state violence to put those views into effect.
   2. People with right-wing views who earnestly want to learn more about socialism should be cautiously welcomed to events, but monitored to make sure they are not there to harass people or otherwise act in bad faith. Event attendees should be judged on their behavior, not their beliefs.
   3. No one has a right to be at an SSC event. They are social events and bad actors can be asked to leave or removed by security if necessary. Removal from an event does not necessarily imply a judgement as to the character of the person, merely a decision that the social milieu would be disrupted by their presence. That said, this does not mean that people who are merely disagreeable should be kicked out. SSC is a public, social space.
   4. Organizers and event attendees should be encouraged to talk to their friends if they have experienced harassment or other problematic behavior, and to either deal with it directly as a group or report it to club/event organizers.
   5. Events should have a designated organizer who is prepared to field complaints and ask people to leave or alert security if necessary.

1. Organizers
   1. A permanent organizer of SSC is someone who has been approved by 2/3 majority of existing permanent organizers by secret ballot to become a permanent organizer.
      1. Only permanent organizers can vote on club structure, affiliation, membership and discipline, and event approval.
      2. Permanent organizers are invited to participate in the main SSC planning loop on Signal.
      3. Permanent organizers (among others) have access to club documents, information resources, and may formally propose new events.
      4. Permanent organizers are obligated to regularly meet in person (or via video call if necessary) at an interval of no longer than every 2 months.
      5. A permanent organizer may voluntarily give up this role at any time, although they will still be expected to handle any planned or ongoing events they are responsible for until such a time as another permanent organizer can take over for them.
      6. A permanent organizer may be removed from this role by the club if a 2/3 majority of permanent organizers vote by secret ballot to do this. This vote would be initiated by being proposed in the Signal loop or at an in-person meeting by a permanent organizer, and seconded and thirded by two other permanent organizers.
   2. A temporary organizer is someone who has volunteered to help with planning for a specific event, and has either attended at least one SSC event or been invited by a permanent organizer.
      1. Temporary organizers can vote on decisions relating to the specific event they are helping organize.
      2. Temporary organizers do not need to be voted in to participating in event organizing, but they can be voted out by 2/3 of the event organizers.
      3. Someone who has been a temporary organizer is eligible to become a permanent organizer.
         1. They must be proposed as a new permanent organizer by an existing permanent organizer in the main loop.
         2. They must attend an in-person meeting of permanent organizers.
         3. At that meeting, 2/3 of present organizers must vote to approve them becoming a new permanent organizer.
   3. All organizers agree to run events and the club according to this guiding document.
2. Officers
   1. Standing officers will be elected as needed for club roles.
   2. Active positions as of 9/19/2025:
      1. Treasurer
         1. Responsible for disbursal of funds to activities according to budgets approved by the group as below. Also responsible for keeping accurate accounts of revenue and spending and informing the larger group.
         2. Current treasurer: Emily S (Boris S handling money transfers)
      2. IT officer
         1. Responsible for maintaining website backend and newsletter interface.
         2. Current IT officer: Dan C
      3. Communications officer
         1. Responsible for running social media, sending newsletter, and handling email
         2. Current communications officer: Boris S
3. Voting
   1. Voting is done either in person or via Signal message reactions.
      1. In person voting can be done by show of hands/yea or nay, or by secret ballot if agreed to by a simple majority of those voting.
      2. Voting on Signal can be done via simple response or by reacting to a message sent by the person delegated to call the vote. The message will contain set emojis indicating the available choices, and organizers react with the appropriate emoji to indicate their choice.
      3. If a more contentious vote is called for, a more neutral/permanent method can be chosen (such as a google form or online poll maker).
   2. Votes relating to club structure, affiliation, membership and discipline, and new event approval must be done by more than 2/3 majority. If more than 2/3 of organizers eligible to vote agree, the vote passes (e.g. 5 out of 6, 6 out of 8, etc.). If there is substantial debate as to the weight/import of a decision not covered by this document, votes on such permanent/consequential matters must be done by 2/3 majority.
   3. Votes relating to most other matters, such as details of event planning or incidental decisions about club-internal matters (e.g. should the new t-shirts be red or green) are made by a simple majority vote of 50% plus 1 (e.g. 4 out of 6, 5 out of 8, etc.). Anyone involved in event planning can call for a vote if it is not clear that there is a consensus decision.
   4. Organizers can but are not obligated to vote. Organizers may abstain to indicate that they do not have a strong opinion on the matter or are ambivalent. Abstentions are not counted against the number needed to reach a majority (e.g. 4 yes, 6 no, 3 abstentions means the yes vote wins).
   5. Organizers will have 5 days to vote from the time a (not in-person) vote is called. At the end of 5 days anyone who has not voted will be counted as an abstention.
4. Events
   1. Events should have clear intentions, goals, requirements, and plans for success.
      1. Plans should include a list of necessary and available resources, a proposed budget, and a plan for guaranteeing the event is actually held. This includes contingency plans if venues or organizers become unavailable.
      2. Event details and requirements can and will change over time, but any changes to requirements for club resources and budget must be approved by 2/3 majority of permanent organizers.
   2. SSC events will be either individually organized, or collectively organized.
      1. Individual events are events which are entirely or overwhelmingly organized by one permanent organizer or a limited group of people which includes at least one permanent organizer. Examples include a book club, a martial arts course, or a guided workout. Starting an individual new event requires the following:
         1. The main organizer writes up a proposal for the event including: a description of the event, the intention behind hosting the event as part of SSC, whether the event is one-off or recurring, a plan for successfully hosting the event, and what resources the organizer would like from SSC to help host the event. This can be modified at a later date as plans/intentions/resources change.
         2. This proposal is approved by 2/3 of permanent organizers. Approval for the first instance for what is planned to become a recurring event constitutes approval for having the event be recurring unless otherwise stated.
         3. The main organizer can always ask for help from other organizers, but understands that they are the bottom-liner for their event until such a time as someone else agrees to take over that role. Any other organizers helping with the individual event are expected to be given democratic input into any aspects of an event which require their help/participation.
      2. Collective events are events which require multiple people to plan and execute, and which the permanent organizers decide to work on together as a collective. (E.g. a public discussion panel, a banquet, a concert.) Planning a new collective event requires the following:
         1. The permanent organizer or organizers proposing the event bring up the idea in the loop to poll interest.
         2. Once the proposal is seconded by a few other permanent organizers, a self-selected committee (which may include temporary organizers) is formed to flesh out the proposal and democratically decide on event plans and details. This more detailed plan is then presented to the main planning loop.
         3. This proposal is approved by 2/3 of permanent organizers. Such an approval thereby commits permanent organizers with the relevant skills and availability to assist in the further planning and execution of the event.
      3. Event details pending approval do not need to be simply voted straight up or down. Permanent organizers can suggest/request changes to the event plans after they are presented and events can be modified on a consensus model until enough people agree to vote yes. For individual events, the main organizer can maintain the prerogative to refuse suggested changes if those changes would violate the original spirit of the event.
   3. All events, whether individual or collective, and whether originating from SSC permanent organizers or from an affiliated group, require at least one permanent organizer to be involved in planning the event, who is responsible to SSC for the event going smoothly and safely.
5. Security & harassment
   1. The club will have processes in place to make sure people are safe and secure while organizing and attending events.
   2. Events organizers must address physical security considerations during event planning.
      1. This can include dedicated security staff, or just event organizers prepared to step into a security role if necessary.
      2. It may be decided by event organizers that some events do not require security, but this should always be a deliberate determination.
      3. Physical spaces where events are hosted should be assessed for security concerns, and a security plan should be discussed as part of event planning.
   3. Organizers should have a plan in place for dealing with social conflicts that arise during events.
      1. At events with limited staff, organizers should try to move the conflict outside the event space to try to resolve it. Resolution could mean one or both parties of the conflict leaving, or them agreeing to stop interacting for the duration of the event.
      2. SSC is not a conflict resolution organization and staff are not obligated to address conflicts beyond them disrupting event proceedings.
      3. If a conflict is brought to an event organizer and there are not enough people available to both address the conflict and continue running the event, organizers should inform both parties that a conflict has been brought to organizers' attention, and that one or both parties may be asked to leave if the conflict disrupts the event. E.g. a person comes to an organizer saying that someone else at the event is an abuser known to them. Since an organizer would have no way of verifying this information while running the event (barring being presented with reliable public information at that moment) they can do no more than tell the accused party that this has been brought to organizers' attention, and ask the accused party to stay away from the accuser for the duration of the event. The accuser should be told that, given the inability of an organizer to verify such information on short notice, this is going to be the course of action, that they are not obligated to stay, that they can reach out to the club organization if they believe that the accused presents a risk them or to others and should be prohibited from attending future events, and that such an accusation will be taken seriously and all aspects of the question will be considered.