NYC-DSA approves $95k leader salaries

The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America approved a resolution on Saturday to begin paying full-time salaries to its elected co-chairs Grace Mausser and Gustavo Gordillo, the socialist organization confirmed to City & State.

The resolution, titled “Full-Time Paid Leadership Pilot: Organizing a Socialist Agenda through Mayoral and Electoral Coordination,” calls for Gordillo and Mausser, who are currently volunteers, to receive annual salaries of $95,000 plus benefits. The pay is meant to professionalize the leadership and compensate Gordillo and Mausser for leading NYC-DSA full-time – for at least as long as they continue winning reelection to their current positions. (The next co-chair elections are in November, and both Mausser and Gordillo are running for reelection.)

As full-time co-chairs, according to the proposal, Gordillo and Mausser will be expected to: “Represent NYC-DSA before government officials, including but not limited to the Mayor’s Office and Department leadership;” “Build and support the political relationships with our City Council, State Assembly, State Senate, and Congressional elected officials;” “Jointly plan communication, endorsement, and event strategy with the elected official slate;” and “Ensure legal compliance of NYC-DSA operations and program activities.” DSA has grown in size and prominence with Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s win, and both Mausser and Gordillo have been making frequent media appearances.

“As our organization grows, our co-chairs are now responsible for coordinating with the mayoral administration and our many elected Socialists in Office, representing democratic socialism to an audience of millions, and coordinating campaigns and initiatives to engage and empower thousands of members,” NYC-DSA Secretary Julia Swoope said in a statement. “This is a full-time job, and by making these positions paid, we’re ensuring that working people can continue to lead our organization.”

City & State’s Heard Around Town newsletter first broke the news about the proposal to pay NYC-DSA’s co-chairs last month. Since then, the New York Post reported that Gordillo – who described himself as a working-class union electrician – had a more privileged background than many had realized. His father bought Gordillo’s house in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn for nearly $1 million in 2019, and Gordillo was kicked out of IBEW Local 3 for failing to pay dues, making the prospect of NYC-DSA paying him close to six figures a bit more awkward.

While Gordillo previously worked as an electrician, Mausser’s day job is at a nonprofit.

But NYC-DSA can afford it. The socialist group has embarked on a successful drive to get many of its more than 15,000 members to pay more monthly dues – and even got Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to renew her dues after a seven-year lapse. 

According to a budget document presented to DSA members alongside the resolution, NYC-DSA’s monthly revenue is about $84,700. Most of that comes from dues – with more than $27,000 coming from national DSA (as a share of the monthly national dues paid by New York City-based DSA members) and over $45,000 coming from optional dues that NYC-DSA members pay directly to the local chapter. Other sources of revenue include $7,500 per month from merch sales and  $50,000 per year from an anonymous donor. (A spokesperson for NYC-DSA declined to name the philanthropist.) Full-time salaries and benefits for both co-chairs will cost about $20,000 per month – bringing NYC-DSA’s total monthly expenses to about $65,000.

Over the past week, members of each of NYC-DSA’s geographic branches discussed and voted on the resolution. In every case, it passed overwhelmingly. While the New York Post reported that some DSA members in the South Brooklyn branch objected to the idea of paying Gordillo, members of that branch still voted 81%-19% in favor of the resolution, according to results shared with City & State. It also passed with 87% of the vote in the Lower Manhattan branch, 83% in Queens, 80% in North Brooklyn, 82% in Central Brooklyn, 75% in Flatbush and 67% in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan.

On Saturday, NYC-DSA’s highest leadership body, the Citywide Leadership Committee, passed the resolution by a vote of 51 to 10. Gordillo and Mausser are expected to receive their first salary payments in mid- to late September.