General Assembly Resolutions (Oct 10 – Nov 16 Summary)

Categories: GA Resolutions, General Assembly

-Begin Occupy Oakland

 

-Occupy Frank H. Ogawa Plaza beginning on October 10, 2011

 

-Rename Frank H. Ogawa Plaza to Oscar Grant Plaza

 

-Formation of the Following Committees: Logistics, Media and Communications

 

-Dealing with Police Trying to Enter the Occupation
We are not to allow police within the perimeters of the camp. If police try to enter, they are first asked politely to leave. If they do not leave, campers are called to come out and form a large group in front of the police officers and yell, “Go home! Go home!”

 

-Encouragement of Autonomous Actions
In order to keep the General Assembly from being bogged down with discussion regarding each action,  and in order to allow for diversity of tactics, the General Assembly allows the announcement of any autonomous action rather than requiring a proposal to be brought forth to be voted on.

 

-Diversity of Tactics


Occupy Oakland encourages diversity of tactics for actions that occur outside the camp. For example:

-When confronted by police, some people may want to attempt to have calm    conversations with them, urging them to be non-violent.

-Some people may want to sit down in front of lines of police.

-Some people may want to express their anger by yelling at the police.

-Some people may want to attempt to remove police barriers.

-Some people may want to disrupt traffic or banks.

-Some people may prefer to remain on the sidewalk

We should be tolerant of any approach and respect different forms of protest, while being aware of our privilege or lack of it, especially when engaging with the police.

 

-Political Parties and Politicians
Occupy Oakland does not endorse any political party or politician, and does not seek the endorsement of any party or politician. We do not recognize the authority of politicians. Therefore if a politician wants to address Occupy Oakland, they must join stack like the rest of the community.

 

-Media Policy

To All Media Covering Occupy Oakland:

We agree with Occupy Wall Street that corporations “purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.”

The mainstream media’s inextricable ties to corporate interests drive them to lie to protect profits. This undermines the discourse we have begun in occupations across the country and the world.

Due to this conflict of interest, we have set the following guidelines for all media.

  • All media and those with professional recording equipment will check in at the Media Tent, located in the Southeast corner of Oscar Grant Plaza.
  • Do not photograph or film people who are sleeping, receiving medical treatment, or have requested that you refrain from recording them.
  • Do not enter the kitchen, kid zone, or medic spaces as this disrupts their function.
  • Do not recording personal conversations and meetings without the express permission of those involved.
  • We encourage you to document the General Assembly, the primary stage for public gathering and discourse, held daily at 7pm in the amphitheater.
  • Make an effort to report on a diversity of voices and opinions; the media team is happy to help.

 

-Solidarity Statement with Workers and Students on Strike
From this point forward, we offer our support for all strikes taking place in the Bay Area and specifically within Oakland.

We commit to offer practical and creative support to those who walk out from union or non-union work places, with or without union leadership.

This statement also applies to student strikes.

By issuing this statement, we wish to send a message to everyone in this city, that if you are fighting back, then we have your back. Talk to your co-workers and fellow students. Every grievance against this system is worthy of a collective response.

We encourage everyone, ourselves included, to no longer let our discontent boil beneath the surface. We believe the time to act is now.

-Solidarity with the Prisoners on a Hunger Strike at Pelican Bay and Elsewhere and with the Strikers Demands
passed by the General Assembly on 10.26.2011
A Letter to the prisoners on hunger strike in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) of Pelican Bay State Prison and those in other units joining them.

We, as members of Occupy Oakland, send our support for your strike against the cruel and inhumane conditions of imprisonment.

We honor you as defenders of human and civil rights, and stand in solidarity with your demands in the struggle over prison conditions. Our community at Oscar Grant Plaza has the opportunity to incorporate great lessons from your strike; the challenge will be to match your courage and to effectively advocate for all of your demands to be immediately met.

Your daily struggle, as victims of the prison-industrial complex, is a critical component of our ongoing occupation of public space.  The systematic nature of the prison system exploits difference and promotes divisions in an effort to divert attention from the actual problem –the criminal justice system itself.

Our solidarity extends beyond your strike against inhumane conditions within prison walls.  We also stand in resistance to all forms of oppression that unjustly channel many of our fellow brothers and sisters into the penal system.

Your bravery and dedication fills our hearts.  We pledge to raise awareness to your cause and do everything in our power to make sure your demands are met.

In solidarity,
Occupy Oakland

The 5 Core Demands:

1. Eliminate group punishments.
Instead, practice individual accountability. When an individual prisoner breaks a rule, the prison often punishes a whole group of prisoners of the same race. This policy has been applied to keep prisoners in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) indefinitely and to make conditions increasingly harsh.

2. Abolish the debriefing policy and modify active/inactive gang status criteria. Prisoners are accused of being active or inactive participants of prison gangs using false or highly dubious evidence, and are then sent to long-term isolation (SHU). They can escape these tortuous conditions only if they “debrief,” that is, provide information on gang activity. Debriefing produces false information (wrongly landing other prisoners in SHU, in an endless cycle) and can endanger the lives of debriefing prisoners and their families.

3. Comply with the recommendations of the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in Prisons (2006) regarding an end to long-term solitary confinement.
This bipartisan commission specifically recommended to “make segregation a last resort” and “end conditions of isolation.” Yet as of May 18, 2011, California kept 3,259 prisoners in SHUs and hundreds more in Administrative Segregation waiting for a SHU cell to open up. Some prisoners have been kept in isolation for more than thirty years.

4. Provide adequate and nutritious food.
Prisoners report unsanitary conditions and small quantities of food that do not conform to prison regulations. There is no accountability or independent quality control of meals.

5. Expand and provide constructive programs and privileges for indefinite SHU inmates.
The hunger strikers are pressing for opportunities “to engage in self-help treatment, education, religious and other productive activities…” Currently these opportunities are routinely denied, even if the prisoners want to pay for correspondence courses themselves. Examples of privileges the prisoners want are: one phone call per week, and permission to have sweatsuits and watch caps. (Often warm clothing is denied, though the cells and exercise cage can be bitterly cold.) All of the privileges mentioned in the demands are already allowed at other Super-Max prisons (in the federal prison system and other states).

 

 

-Letter Condemning New York Police Department Crackdown on Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Oakland denounces the violent police repression of protesters on Wall Street. Several of these protesters were brutally beaten and arrested, and one legal observer from National Lawyers Guild was run over by a police motorcycle and had his leg broken.

We here in Oakland say, “Shame on the New York Police Department and Mayor Bloomberg,” and demand that all the protesters be freed and all have their charges dropped.

We demand that Occupy Wall Street be allowed to continue without police repression.

Occupy Oakland stands in solidarity with the occupation movement that is growing in this country and across the world. We call on all the occupations to support each other against state repression.

In solidarity,
Occupy Oakland

 

 

-Occupy Oakland Receives Fiscal Sponsorship from the Long Haul, for up to Thirty Days, During the Interim Period
What this means is that we would be able to receive donations from people who want to give to the movement via check or web based on payments.

To facilitate accepting donations, the Long Haul organization has offered Occupy Oakland a means to do so.

The agreement with Long Haul can always be terminated or changed to another organization by Occupy Oakland’s General Assembly.

Within thirty days we will review other organizations who could also serve this purpose. If one of them is preferable to Long Haul we can switch.

We must choose members of an Occupy Oakland Committee to monitor, collect and disperse funds. Occupy Oakland chooses from the following committees, one from each, to handle the said tasks:
1. Supply
2. Food
3. Finance
4. Medical
5. Communications/Media/Tech/Web

Each committee is to choose its member to serve this.

There are restrictions on the money because Long Haul is a non-profit. They can only accept and disperse funds to:
1. Conduct public outreach programs and education
2. Food and medical supplies

If Occupy Oakland ceases to exist, unspent funds are given to the following tax-exempt charities:
National Lawyers Guild, ACLU, Food Not Bombs

 

 

-Occupation and Community Solidarity  
Occupy Oakland, in solidarity with the Occupy movement and with the local community, has established the principle of claiming for open use the open space that has been kept from us. We are committed to helping this practice continue and grow. Here in Oakland, thousands of buildings owned by city, banks, and corporations stand idle and abandoned. At the same time social services such as child and health-care, education, libraries and community spaces are being defended and eliminated.

Occupy Oakland supports the efforts of people in all Oakland neighborhoods to reclaim abandoned properties for use to meet their own immediate needs. Such spaces are already being occupied and squatted unofficially by the dispossessed, the marginalized, by many of the very people who have joined together here in Oscar Grant Plaza to make this a powerful and diverse movement.

We commit to providing political and material support to neighborhood reclamations, and supporting them in the face of eviction threats or police harassment. In solidarity with the global occupation movement, we encourage the transformation of abandoned spaces into resource centers toward meeting urgent community needs that the current economic system cannot and will not provide.

 

 

-Response to General City Correspondence
The purpose of this resolution is to craft a message in response to the City’s attempts to communicate with Occupy Oakland.

Until we here have a more cohesive culture and community, we refrain from making direct responses purporting to represent the Occupation as a whole.

The statement proposed will inform City representatives that the proper channel for dialog with Occupy Oakland is through the General Assembly. The City shall be informed that they will be given no special treatment, and that individuals representing the City may address the General Assembly as any other community member can.

Any communication to our Occupation will only be acknowledged according to our process and following proper procedure.

Proposals from the City must be submitted in the same manner as any other proposal.

General announcements will remain open to any individual.

City representatives are welcome, in their role as a community member, to come to camp meetings to air grievances as announcements. Please keep in mind that as this may create a difficulty due to strategy and logistics conversations in the morning meeting – though currently anyone (plain clothes) can sit in on a camp meeting.

We propose formulating a committee to draft a response, and anyone interested in joining can meet with the presenters after the General Assembly. We would like to get a representative from each committee ideally to endorse any response before taking it to the General Assembly for a vote.

This resolution is meant to facilitate a dialog between the General Assembly and the city without having any one discourse framing our Occupation or giving credibility to the system with which we reject.

Occupy Oakland speaks for itself. Anyone who wishes to address our Occupation must do so on our terms.

All ideas of the members of the General Assembly will be given equal time no matter what the source. We seek to ask that City Officials come to the General Assembly not as “City Officials” but as community members.

By approving this resolution we refuse to acknowledge the City’s rule of law. By adopting this resolution we are taking a stand against their process. By approving this resolution we are giving the city a fair voice, something denied to many Occupiers by the City’s process. By adopting this resolution we avoid indirect decision making. By approving this resolution we reject the tyranny of representation.

While at some point in the future it may become necessary to open a particular dialog with the city on different terms – we recommend this resolution as a way for us to develop our culture and process without allowing particular documents to frame our Occupation at this stage.

Additionally, this resolution may be dissolved and revoked in full or in part at any further meeting of the General Assembly.

This may also be an opportunity to keep any co-opting of the voice of Occupy Oakland or confusion about who is responsible for Occupy Oakland. The voice of Occupy Oakland is the collective voice of us all – the voice of all the Occupiers! This is an open space and common for all!

Please remember this resolution may be amended, changed or dissolved by the General Assembly at any time in the future. This resolution is meant to encourage the City to air grievances in the only forums acceptable to us – ours and ours alone as human beings. We will not respond to them on their terms – we will only respond to the city on our terms!

 

-Solidarity with Indigenous People’s

Whereas, those participating in “Occupy Oakland” acknowledge that the United States of America is a colonial (and imperial) nation, and that non-indigenous people are guests upon stolen indigenous land; and

Whereas, those participating in “Occupy Oakland” acknowledge that Oakland is already occupied land; Oakland being the historical territory of the Chochenyo Ohlone people; and

Whereas, those participating in “Occupy Oakland” acknowledge that indigenous peoples here and around the world continue to resist the violent oppression and exploitation of colonizing nations like the United States, and as a result have a great amount of experience that could strengthen the “Occupy Wall Street” movement; and

Whereas, those participating in “Occupy Oakland” acknowledge that after centuries of disregard for the welfare of future generations, and the consistent disrespect and exploitation of the Earth, we all find ourselves on a polluted and disturbed planet, lacking the wisdom to live sustainably at peace with the community of Life; therefore be it

Resolved, that those participating in “Occupy Oakland” seek the genuine and respectful involvement of indigenous peoples in the rebuilding of a new society on their ancestral lands; and

As a signal to the national “Occupy Wall Street” movement and the indigenous peoples here and there who have felt excluded by the colonialist language of occupation used to name this movement, it shall be declared that “Occupy Oakland” aspires to “Decolonize  Oakland” – to “Decolonize Wall Street” – with the guidance and participation of indigenous peoples; and

Extending an open hand of humility and friendship, those participating in “Occupy Oakland” respectfully invite indigenous peoples to join the uprising against corporate greed taking place across this continent. “Occupy Oakland” wishes to further the process of healing and reconciliation and implores indigenous peoples to share their wisdom and guidance, as they see fit, so as to help restore true freedom and democracy in this country, to initiate a new era of peace and cooperation that will work for everyone, including the Earth and the original inhabitants of this land.

 

 

-March Against School Closures
Occupy Oakland will join the existing rally and march in opposition to the closure of five Oakland schools. On Wednesday, 2011 October 26, Occupy Oakland’s community members will gather at 3:30pm. Then Occupy Oakland shall meet parent groups at Mosswood Park for a rally at 4:15 pm in order to march to Oakland Tech High at 5:00 pm in protest of the proposed school closures.

 

-Declaration of Support for Strikes

From this point forward, we offer our support for all strikes taking place in the Bay Area and specifically within Oakland.We commit to offer practical and creative support to those who walk out from union or non-union work places, with or without union leadership. This statement also applies to student strikes. By issuing this statement, we wish to send a message to everyone in this city, that if you are fighting back, then we got your back. Talk to your co-workers and fellow students. Every grievance against this system is worthy of a collective response. We encourage everyone, ourselves included, to no longer let our discontent boil beneath the surface. We believe the time to act is now.

 

-Schedule Change for General Assembly to Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

 

 

-General Strike

passed by the General Assembly on 10.26.2011

Occupy Oakland is calling on workers and students to join on November 2, 2011 to participate in a general strike.We are asking that all workers go on strike, call in sick, take a vacation day or simply walk off the job with their co-workers. We are also asking that all students walk out of school and join workers and community members in downtown Oakland. All banks and large corporations must close down for the day or demonstrators will march on them.

The Occupy Oakland Strike Assembly has vowed to picket and or occupy any business or school which disciplines employees or students in any way for participating in the November 2, 2011 General Strike. Please email OccupyOaklandLaborSolidarity@gmail.com if you are the subject of any disciplinary action.

Occupy Oakland recognizes that not all workers, students and community members will feel able to strike all day long on November 2, 2011 and we welcome any form of participation which they feel is appropriate. We urge them to join us before or after work or during their lunch hours.

 

-Speak-Out Against Police Brutality on Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 6:00pm
passed by the General Assembly on 10.27.2011

 

-The Kittens Actions: Mass action on Saturday, October 29, 2011
passed by the General Assembly on 10.27.2011
We take the movement to the people and do the “kittens action.” We will converge at Oscar Grant Plaza at 11am, form teams or affinity groups of 3-10 people, do mini-trainings and share supplies, chose neighborhoods, and then fan out around the city, to engage the community in thinking and talking together about the realities we share and the future we want and the movement we’re building. Then we will converge at Oscar Grant Plaza at 4pm to share our stories and insights, and hold a celebration rally.

 

-Deliberate Misrepresentation of Occupy Oakland
passed by the General Assembly on 10.31.2011
As Occupy Oakland’s profile and power have grown, politicians, police, and other established authorities have begun trying to open lines of communication with Occupy Oakland, and wish to identify representatives of our movement with whom they can negotiate demands. Their proposed transaction frames our power as a commodity that we have wrested from established authorities, and we are expected to give it back it to them – to spend it – in return for their meeting certain demands.

The purpose of this resolution is to discourage people and organizations from representing themselves as delegates of or negotiators for Occupy Oakland without the sanction of the General Assembly, and thus to preserve the power Occupy Oakland is building and ensure that it remains within the General Assembly. We know that such meetings have already been happening and this resolution shall serve a warning to would-be opportunists that we will not tolerate usurpation (by supposed allies) of what we are building.

Occupy Oakland hereby asserts that the only line of communication with Occupy Oakland is the General Assembly and our committee meetings. Unless they have the full knowledge and support of the General Assembly, no person or group shall participate in any formal meeting with established authorities intended to shape or inform official policies toward Occupy Oakland. This includes meetings containing significant discussions of Occupy Oakland’s logistics, communications, group dynamics and politics, strategies for managing our activities, or our demands.

If it is demonstrated that any person or organization deliberately entered or participated in such a meeting without the fully informed consent of the General Assembly, Occupy Oakland will issue a public statement and press release containing our evidence and details of their actions, disavowing any connection between that individual (and any groups they were representing) and Occupy Oakland, condemning their unprincipled behavior, and discouraging supporters from future collaboration with individuals and groups involved in the meeting.

Proposals for public statements must be presented to the GA and will be released upon the agreement of 60% of the Assembly.

Community groups shall be encouraged to be a part of Occupy Oakland by joining our the General Assembly, and information on how to participate in the General Assembly shall be made available to instruct them in how to properly and effectively do this. Meetings that have occurred prior to this resolution are exempted. Private or casual conversations are exempted.

 

-March on Wells Fargo
passed by the General Assembly on 11.4.2011
Undocumented immigrants are among the most marginalized people within the 99%, driven here largely by economic conditions in their native countries created by free trade agreements.These are the same free trade agreements that corporations use to send thousands of jobs overseas where they can exploit laborers with less protections.

Wells Fargo is a major shareholder in Geo Group and CCA, two private prison companies that taxpayers pay $5.5 million every day to lock up our migrant brothers, sisters, and gender neutrals in detention camps.The fear that results from being deemed “illegal” and facing imprisonment at any moment, Occupy Oakland now shares this experience that immigrants live with every day.

Wells Fargo received $43 billion in taxpayer-funded bailouts, and at the same time paid lobbyists to create policies that incarcerate more immigrants in Geo and CCA run facilities.Wells Fargo is a major backer of Arizona politicians responsible for the legalized racial profiling law SB 1070.

Occupy Oakland shall join on November 5, 2011 at 10:00am for a march to Wells Fargo Detention Center on Broadway and 12th St. to close accounts, occupy, and demand that Wells Fargo, “Dump  its prison investments!”

 

-Letter Regarding Personal Effects
passed by the General Assembly on 11.6.2011
The property of individuals has been wrongfully confiscated by police and city officials. Much of this property is shared or loaned amongst all. We are not willing to identify ourselves as individuals in order to claim the items because we wish not to have individuals’ names in your database. Return our property and assess damages.

 

-Occupy Education
passed by the General Assembly on 11.6.2011
Following Occupy Oakland’s historic call for a general strike and the subsequest closure of the port in Oakland, Occupy Oakland now stands in solidarity with the student movement against austerity measures and fee hikes.

Occupy Oakland issues a call for mass participation in the planned actions in defense of public education on November 9, 2011 at the University of California, Berkeley campus. We also call for mass participation on November 16, 2011 at the University of California Regents meeting in San Francisco.

We, Occupy Oakland, shall build for these actions in defense of public education.

 

-Poor Magazine March Endorsement
passed by the General Assembly on 11.7.2011
Occupy Oakland endorses a march to “Decolonize the Bay Area.”

Occupy Oakland will march alongside Poor Magazine on November 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm to the Oakland Police station, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement station in San Francisco.

 

-Emergency Finance Proposal
passed by the General Assembly on 11.7.2011
This resolution concerns the 20,000 dollars donated by Occupy Wall Street. This resolution shall finalize the Occupy Oakland bank account. The lawyer, Mr. Timothy Fong, will hold the total monies in a trust fund. This would be accessible by three people on the finance team. This money would be allocated for bail and medical support as our capacity allows.

 

-Egyptian Solidarity
passed by the General Assembly on 11.9.2011
1.a. Egyptian activists from the Tahrir Square movement have put out an international call for solidarity actions with their revolution on November 12, 2011. While Egypt has faded from the spotlight over the past few months, activists have never been in more danger from their on-going military government and police state. Several Egyptian activists have been imprisoned using open-ended sentences: including Alaa Abd El Fattah by the military of Egypt, which is trying to stifle the revolution and has been using repressive tactics to do so.
Given that our Egyptian counterparts marched on the U.S. embassy in solidarity with Occupy Oakland, published a solidarity letter, continuously strive to keep vital connections between Cairo and our Occupy Movement after the tragic day of police violence on the streets of downtown Oakland, it is imperative that we respond in kind, with solidarity, love and support during their difficult and dangerous struggle.This solidarity is best shown, not only by expressing support for their similar goals and movements, but by acknowledging that our very government stands in the way of their goals, just as it often does with ours.

1.b. Letter To Revolutionaries in Egypt,

The January 25th revolution shook the globe. After over 30 years of living under a brutal dictatorship, the Egyptian people erupted in fury. We watched as you occupied Tahrir Square and resisted the government’s ruthless attacks; at the end of those 18 long days, we witnessed the power of a united people as you celebrated the revolution’s success in ousting Mubarak.

But we realize that your struggle is long from over. We watched in tears as the military council took power, protecting the remnants of the old government, and defending the system of economic oppression which continues to exploit and drive your people into poverty. It seems that they did not understand the now infamous chant: The people want the downfall of the regime. As the SCAF (the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) promised to facilitate the transition to democracy, it has continued to kill protesters, viciously remove occupiers from Tahrir, conduct “virginity tests,” and persecute thousands through unjust military trials. Ridding yourselves of Mubarak was the first step, but now it is more evident than ever that the people will only be truly free when the whole system is abolished.

Do not stop in your efforts for freedom. You have already inspired thousands all over the world to occupy public spaces, to bring Tahrir Square everywhere. These liberated spaces have provided food, shelter, protection and education in a way that capitalism never can, and never will. But just as government thugs, the military, and the police repeatedly cracked down on Tahrir, police forces everywhere are raiding our occupations with the goal of destroying everything that we create. It has become clear that if we build shelters, develop safe spaces for people of color, women, the poor, trans and queers, if we set up open kitchens, create free schools– if we attempt to imagine a world without capitalism, we will be quashed by the capitalists and their army of police.

And so we stand with you. We are you. This entire generation has come to understand that we have no future in the current state of things. From Oakland to Egypt, there is only one chant: The people want the downfall of the regime.

Oakland has fallen in love with the Egyptian revolutionaries, and from Oscar Grant Plaza, we are standing with you. We are standing with you against all military trials, the repression from the government, and this system, which plagues all of our lives. Continue your resistance, strengthen your revolution, and do not be discouraged. You are the ones, after all, who have shown us all that another world is possible.

This Saturday, Nov 12th, as the Egyptian people call for solidarity from across the globe, rest assured that your comrades in Oscar Grant Plaza will be standing with you. Oakland and Egypt are one hand!

With Love and Solidarity from Occupy Oakland

1.c. A solidarity action-rally is to occur in addition to this letter sent. Occupy Oakland shall march to the Federal Building where people can speak about the U.S. government’s complicity in the repression of Egyptian people and then to the Glenn Dyer detention facility to connect the imprisonment of political prisoners in Egypt to prisoners in the U.S. and everywhere.

 

-Mass Action
passed by the General Assembly on 11.11.2011
Occupy Oakland, SEIU, CNA, HERE, and the Teamsters will mobilize for a mass march on November 19, 2011. This march will target a bank, a foreclosed home, and an elementary school that is to close.

 

-Financial Resource Allocation and Transparency Process
passed by the General Assembly on 11.11.2011

1.a. Financial Procedures
To get started:

  • Working groups register with Finance and General Assembly (use Info Form)
  • Working groups must submit a list of preferably three individuals (point people) who will handle actions with finance. This is to aid in preventing fraud. (use Info Form)
  • Working groups submit Inventory forms for the groups (use Inventory form)

1.b. Working Group request for money under $100* (use Petty Cash form)
-Working Group gets consensus on purchase
-One of the financial point people of the Working Group approaches finance with the request
-Finance checks to make sure the expenditure is legal
-Finance disperses funds
-Working Group point person returns receipts to finance
**If more than $300 is requested in a week, request will be forwarded to the General Assembly

1.c. Working Group request for money over $100* (use Budget form)

-Working Group point person gets proposal form from finance
-Working Group fills out form after budget consensus has been reached
-Finance checks that this is not an existing resource in inventory and that it is legal
-Finance signs proposal
-Working Group rep attends the 12:00 pm facilitation meeting or sends an email to     facilitation@occupyoakland.org, adds their budget item to that night’s General Assembly agenda
-Working Group presents the budget at General Assembly for consensus
-General Assembly passes the proposal and the minutes are put onto the website
-Finance checks the minutes and disperses the funds
-Working Group point person brings back receipts

1.d. The Support and Solidarity Committee may spend funds restricted for bail and medical without General Assembly consensus each time, per the proposal passed 11/7/11, detailing all expenditures to the finance committee.

1.e. Some Important Things to Remember:
*All projects must be approved internally by the requesting working group
*Working groups may submit requests and turn in receipts to finance committee during finance committee meetings (Tues and/or Thurs 6:00PM) or with Finance Committee member in camp (check with the Supply tent for Finance person and for blank forms)
*Funds must be spent w/in working group stated project guidelines and germane mission.
*All expenditures must be accompanied by a receipt
*If no receipts, new point person is appointed and the matter is taken to the General Assembly
*Project spending must be completed w/in 24 hours
*Working groups accepting Occupy Oakland General Fund money must contribute 100% of received donations back into the General Fund.
*Point persons:
-Point-persons can rotate through, but working group must give written notification of change in advance
-Point-persons must have working phone as a point of contact

1.f. Forms (see attached forms)

  • Working Group Info form
  • Working Group Inventory Form
  • Working Group Budget Expenditure Form (over $100)
  • Working Group Petty Cash Request Form (under $100)

**All information and forms available online at the finance page at www.occupyoakland.org ***

1.g. Transparency
Finance Committee will seek external oversight in producing financial statements. The committee will produce monthly financial statements approximately ten days after the 30 day period has ended. The committee will continue to report weekly to the camp meeting on income received and will maintain the funds available balance for use in making GA spending decisions.

1.h. FAQs
How are we accepting donations?
Currently in cash on the ground, checks and online with WePay.  Checks and WePay go to our fiscal sponsor, Long Haul, a 501(3)(c) non-profit.

What is a fiscal sponsor?
It is a non-profit organization that agrees to open a bank account for us, in its own name, to accept donations on our behalf.

Why do we have a fiscal sponsor?
Two reasons.  First, in the beginning it was the only way for us to receive donations by check or online.  Second, it allows donors a tax-deduction for any money they give us.

Yeah, but why couldn’t we receive donations by check or online?
Receiving the donations by check or online requires a bank account, which requires someone to take ownership of the money.  This means that individual will be taxed on the money and may be subject to the unique joy of an IRS audit.

Okay, well then why don’t we make ourselves a non-profit?
Unfortunately, starting a non-profit requires filing complex paperwork with the IRS and certification can take months.  In the meantime we would not be able to accept donations from people who wanted to make tax-deductible donations.

Well why do we care about tax deductible donations?
Because some people will only make tax-deductible donations because they view those as more credible.

Are there any limits attached to the money held by Long Haul in fiscal sponsorship?
Yes, it can only be used for purposes consistent with Long Haul’s purpose: generally speaking, food, education, medical supplies.  It cannot be used for bail.

That makes sense, what about people who want to make unrestricted donations, and can we have unrestricted funds that could be used for bail?
We are in the process of getting a financial institution account.  To do this we had to form an organization which will, legally, take ownership of the funds.

Okay, so who is that?
We have formed an unincorporated association for Occupy Oakland.  We are in process of getting a mailing address and a financial institution account.

How long will that take?
Most likely another week, but could take as long as two weeks, depending on how long it takes for the paperwork to go through for the mailing address.

-Sanctuary for All Immigrants – With and Without Papers!
passed by the General Assembly on 11.13.2011
The General Assembly declares Occupy Oakland a sanctuary for all immigrants – with and without papers. We extend our exclusion of police officers from entering Occupy Oakland to officers of ICE. Occupy Oakland welcomes and will provide protection to all those who wish to join the occupation, with or without papers.

Further, Occupy Oakland declares our solidarity with the immigrants rights movement and our support for the continuation of Oakland as a true Sanctuary City. We stand against Oakland’s participation in the racist and unjust “Secure Communities” program and oppose all ICE raids and deportations.

Occupy Oakland stands for full equality for all people of Oakland and California – with and without immigration papers. The massive immigrant rights marches of 2006 won Sanctuary City status for Oakland and in 2007 the city declared it would not cooperate with deportations and raids by the ICE.

However, over the past year the Oakland Police Department (OPD) has begun participating in Federal “Secure Communities” program in which (as in Arizona) local police racially target and routinely check fingerprint data of Latino/a, Asian people they arrest against ICE’s database. Record numbers of people are then being turned-over to ICE for detention and deportations.

Occupy Oakland already has immigrants who are part of our occupation, and we are dedicated to expanding our occupation and representing the progressive and anti-racist sentiments of the vast majority in this city.  We declare proudly: “With and without papers – we are all Californians – and invite in the Latino/a, Asian, Arab, and other immigrant communities of Oakland to support and join us.

 

-Neighborhood Assemblies
passed by the General Assembly on 11.14.2011
Occupy Oakland stands in a large and diverse community. To this end Occupy Oakland supports the formation of community councils. These councils will make it easier for more people to get involved in the Occupy Movement and help the Occupy Movement get more involved in the community. Occupy Oakland stands in solidarity with these councils but these councils will make their decisions autonomously, just as Occupy Oakland makes its decisions autonomously from Occupy Wall Street.

The neighborhood councils will be able to report back to the Occupy Oakland’s General Assembly but Occupy Oakland’s General Assembly will not dictate to these councils or vice-versa.

We will start with the following three councils: North, West, and East Oakland. We will anticipate they will grow organically from here.

These councils shall begin their meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, though they are subject to change due to the varying preferences of each council.

 

-National Day of Action Against State Repression of the Occupy Movement
passed by the General Assembly on 11.16.2011
The last week has seen a coordinated attack against numerous major occupations in the US– Portland, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Denver, Oakland, San Francisco, New York and other cities across the country.  Several news reports have indicated that these simultaneous attacks were directed by the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with local mayors and police departments. It should be clear to us that this is happening not because we are weak, but because we have become a real threat to the status quo, and the US government fears the new, more forceful direction the Occupy movement has taken in recent weeks. If our adversaries in the government can coordinate a national offensive against the Occupy movement, then we too can coordinate a response that draws upon the considerable depth, breadth and diversity of our occupations. Occupy Wall Street’s national call for a two month birthday celebration on November 17 is an important step in this direction.

To continue this national momentum, we call on all other occupations to join our day of action against state repression on November 19. Oakland has already decided that, after our second eviction from Oscar Grant Plaza early Monday morning, this is the day for us to expand and re-establish our occupation. However, we encourage other occupations to participate whether they have been attacked recently or not. Each occupation is encouraged to interpret this call and respond to it as it sees fit. Through a day of coordinated actions we can demonstrate and build upon the potential that the occupy movement holds in fighting the ruling authorities.

 

-Occupy Oakland to Re-Occupy
passed by the General Assembly on 11.16.2011
During the “Mass Day of Action” on Saturday November 19, Occupy Oakland will set up a new occupation to continue the growth of our movement. Our new occupation will be the public park and empty lot on 19th & Telegraph. Occupy Oakland’s new occupation, in addition to Oscar Grant Plaza and Snow Park, is adjacent to the Fox Theater. This part of Oakland, Uptown and the entertainment district, has experienced rapid gentrification.

The “Mass Day of Action,” planned for November 19, will end at this park. Occupy Oakland will begin setting up a new camp then. All Occupy Oakland committees (food, security, medics, media, facilitation, web, garden, sanitation, legal, entertainment, etc.) should begin making plans and preparations to support this new occupation.

Context for Resolution:
Occupy Oakland believes that this park and the unused plot of land next to it is the best candidate for Occupy Oakland’s future occupation. Our new Occupation is located at 19 st and Telegraph Ave, bordered by the Uptown apartment complex and the Fox Theater.

The following are several strategic and symbolic advantages to our new occupation:
*This park is only three blocks from Oscar Grant Plaza.
*This park is rarely used.
*This park features a raised platform that can be used for large meetings.
*This park features tables and chairs that can be used for for small meetings.
*This park features a “remember them” sculpture with famous social justice and freedom fighter figures including: Coretta Scott King, Mohandas Karamchand
Ghandi, Fredrick Douglass, Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, Harvey Milk, and among others.
*The sculpture at the park was overseen by the Chamber of Commerce – who is a direct opponent of the Occupy Movement.
*This park is only the size of one third of the block while the rest of the block remains unpaved land that has been neglected for two years. Occupying this space nullifies the argument continuously repeated that, “Occupy Oakland is taking up space that others are trying to use.”
*This park sits in the middle of an entertainment district that receives lots of foot traffic and therefore provides many opportunities to interact with community members who are visiting Downtown Oakland.
*This park is overlooked by numerous residential spaces and will provide community protection from State and Oakland Police repression and violence due to hundreds of community onlookers.
*This park is located in Uptown which is an area that the Chamber of Commerce, the Lake Merritt/Uptown District Association and Downtown Oakland Association, major real estate developers, and City Hall are all actively gentrifing. These groups represent the interests of the 1% in Oakland and are also the groups that are attempting to destroy Occupy Oakland. Setting up an occupation here provides a symbolic action to place pressure on said groups while sending a message that these groups only consider the interests of big business and developers – not the needs of the people of Oakland!

 

Freedom Garden at Oscar Grant Plaza
passed by the General Assembly on 11.16.2011
Occupy Oakland will recreate Oscar Grant Plaza into a community garden focused on providing food justice. Food justice represents a transformation of the current food system, including but not limited to eliminating disparities and inequities. And Oakland, especially the area surrounding Oscar Grant Plaza, has experienced the ramifications of the food production system that dominates the United States of America. Occupy Oakland is to move forward in providing an alternative by establishing a community garden at Oscar Grant Plaza.

6459

One Response to “General Assembly Resolutions (Oct 10 – Nov 16 Summary)”

  1. Liberate Oakland

    i added (Oct 10 – Nov 16 Summary) to title and took this out of “minutes” because it made it hard to find the minutes.