My local branch was just a kind of book club when I met with them. They knew what they were talking about, but had no real action going on. At best we'd hand out newspapers and stuff. Haven't talked with them in a few years though. Heard some kind of very serious sexual assault case from another branch, plus I don't know, everyone just seemed kind of depressed and aimless, but really concerned and they wanted some way of organizing more effectively.

They seemed ok, but this is definitely going to vary from branch to branch. Joining is a pretty intense process though. It involves taking classes and going through lots of checks. They're constantly worried about infiltration by cops and feds. Also this isn't brough up much, but they enforce dues to be a party member. You owe them one paycheck per year if you have a job.