{"id":671,"date":"2026-08-31T19:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T19:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=671"},"modified":"2026-08-31T19:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T19:46:08","slug":"nyc-dsa-approves-95k-leader-salaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=671","title":{"rendered":"NYC-DSA approves $95k leader salaries"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

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.<\/p>\n

Read more Despite early promises of transparency, Hochul has dragged her feet in releasing her detailed public schedules<\/a><\/p>\n

The resolution, titled \u201cFull-Time Paid Leadership Pilot: Organizing a Socialist Agenda through Mayoral and Electoral Coordination,\u201d 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 \u2013 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.)<\/p>\n

As full-time co-chairs, according to the proposal, Gordillo and Mausser will be expected to: \u201cRepresent NYC-DSA before government officials, including but not limited to the Mayor\u2019s Office and Department leadership;\u201d \u201cBuild and support the political relationships with our City Council, State Assembly, State Senate, and Congressional elected officials;\u201d \u201cJointly plan communication, endorsement, and event strategy with the elected official slate;\u201d and \u201cEnsure legal compliance of NYC-DSA operations and program activities.\u201d DSA has grown in size and prominence with Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s win, and both Mausser and Gordillo have been making frequent media appearances.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs 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,\u201d NYC-DSA Secretary Julie\u00a0Swoope said in a statement. \u201cThis is a full-time job, and by making these positions paid, we\u2019re ensuring that working people can continue to lead our organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

City & State\u2019s Heard Around Town newsletter first broke the news about the proposal to pay NYC-DSA\u2019s co-chairs last month. Since then, the New York Post reported that Gordillo \u2013 who described himself as a working-class union electrician \u2013 had a more privileged background than many had realized. His father bought Gordillo\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

While Gordillo previously worked as an electrician, Mausser\u2019s day job is at a nonprofit.<\/p>\n

Read more The 2026 Labor Power 100<\/a><\/p>\n

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 \u2013 and even got Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to renew her dues after a seven-year lapse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to a budget document presented to DSA members alongside the resolution, NYC-DSA\u2019s monthly revenue is about $84,700. Most of that comes from dues \u2013 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\u00a0 $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 \u2013 bringing NYC-DSA\u2019s total monthly expenses to about $65,000.<\/p>\n

Over the past week, members of each of NYC-DSA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, NYC-DSA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Read more John Samuelsen and the art of strategic petrol bomb-throwing<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The socialist organization\u2019s co-chairs hadn\u2019t been getting paid \u2013 but the decision comes at an awkward time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,20],"tags":[79,21],"class_list":["post-671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dsa","category-new-york-city","tag-dsa","tag-new-york-city"],"yoast_head":"\nNYC-DSA approves $95k leader salaries - Business Relocation Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=671\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NYC-DSA approves $95k leader salaries - Business Relocation Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The socialist organization\u2019s co-chairs hadn\u2019t been getting paid \u2013 but the decision comes at an awkward time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=671\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Business Relocation Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-31T19:46:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=671#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=671\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0\"},\"headline\":\"NYC-DSA approves $95k leader salaries\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-31T19:46:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=671\"},\"wordCount\":706,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=671#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2f37d813838f868033bd26ec9a5ee32e.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"DSA\",\"New York City\"],\"articleSection\":[\"DSA\",\"New York City\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=671#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=671\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=671\",\"name\":\"NYC-DSA approves $95k leader salaries - 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