On February 24th, New York University’s YDSA chapter canvassed in public housing in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan to mobilize around universal health care —Medicare For All (M4A), on the national level, and our statewide fight for the New York Health Act (NYHA). Despite bad weather, over 20 participants from NYU YDSA, Lower Manhattan DSA, and the NYC DSA Socialist Feminist Working Group turned out to agitate working-class residents around health care and ask them to join in advocating for the NYHA.
The NYHA is a single-payer health care bill for the state of New York; it's essentially a state-wide version of M4A. If the NYHA passes and is implemented in New York, this would be a huge tactical victory for the national M4A campaign. Given regular population movement, it would create serious pressure on neighboring state governments for health care transformation. It would lend credence to a demand that all NY legislators support the national bill. And it would prove to the rest of the country that single-payer can and will succeed in the U.S.
We began with a brief one-hour training from the Socialist Feminist Working Group. In just a short training, canvassers got a comprehensive overview of the bill as well as tips on how to canvass. Because the SocFems have been working on the NYHA campaign for over a year now, their members know the ins and outs of canvassing for this cause. They began by offering a general outline for conversations and covering the details of the bill: where would funding come from, who would save money, what the program would cover, which state senators and corporations are opposing the bill, etc. For the last 15 minutes of the training, canvassers broke up into pairs to practice what they had just learned via a role-playing exercise. The training got canvassers comfortable with speaking to strangers and equipped them with an outline for agitation and resources for answering questions about single-payer and the bill.
To accommodate first-time canvassers, both experienced and beginner canvassers went out in pairs. As the more experienced canvassers led the way with the first few doors, the new ones could watch their example and begin taking the lead themselves.
Once inside the buildings, knocking on doors, canvassers quickly encountered some health care horror stories from residents. One mother complained that her son’s asthma medication cost $300 and another resident said that her epilepsy medicine cost an outrageous $4800 a month! Retired caregivers spoke about the tragedies they’d seen because of inadequate care for the poor. Residents vocalized the massive burden that our for-profit medical system has had on their lives. Canvassers, in turn, shared DSA’s vision for what a truly just health care system might look like. Often, residents shared our basic commitment to a new health care system off the bat, one based around needs not profit. We found that residents appreciated our outreach and did not hesitate to provide signatures, information for future contact, and promises to reach out to their local state senators. They know that DSA is an organization that is fighting for urgent working-class issues.
Danny, an NYU student who had never been to a DSA event before and had heard about the canvas from a classmate, was pleasantly surprised by his experience: “For me, the canvassing event was inspiring. I'm usually somewhat of a pessimist, so I was expecting a lot of slammed doors and people pretending not to be home. Instead, what I got was a handful of people who were tired of the current health care system and were genuinely curious about alternatives that worked for everyone. The fact that people actually cared and that that gives the bill a better chance put a dent in my pessimism and inspired my activism.”
Ashley, who is an NYU medical student, an organizing committee member of Lower Manhattan DSA, and SocFem member, explained the importance of student activism in the fight for single-payer: “It is critically important to mobilize NYU students in grassroots efforts to engage the community in fighting for the NYHA. This canvass was such a success at educating community members about a better vision of health care and for creating activists through direct action!”
After reporting back and gathering petitions, a few canvassers took shelter from the rain by going to the local pub and celebrating with wings, fries, and beer. All-in-all, it was a great day for NYU YDSA!
