Author Archives: laborsolidaritycommittee

For almost four years now Occupy the Farm protesters have been fighting to save the Gill Tract, a large parcel of prime urban farmland at the corner of Marin and San Pablo in Albany, CA, from development. The latest fight has been part of the acreage where a new Sprouts, a parking lot and a high-end senior assisted living facility are to be constructed. Five meditators took their seats early this morning so as to halt, or at least delay, construction crews. Three were ultimately arrested. 3 meditators arrested; one … Continued

One year after the execution of Yuvette Henderson on the streets of Oakland by Emeryville Police, nothing has changed. No officers have been charged, Emeryville’s police still carry AR-15’s, and the Emeryville City Council has taken no action. The carnage, nationwide, continues. Group in front of Home Depot- Showing up for racial Justice #justice4Yuvette pic.twitter.com/HI3iU8Fffb — Alyssa (@alyssa011968) February 4, 2016 One year to the day after the execution of Yuvette Henderson, some one hundred people gathered in front of the Home Depot in Emeryville from which she exited only … Continued

The Alameda City Council was at it again, debating rent control, eviction restrictions and whether mom and pop landlords deserve a break even though the rents they charge go up as much as the rents neither mom nor pop landlords can charge. And again doing it at 2:00 in the morning as Tuesday, February 2nd turned into Wednesday, February 3rd. It’s not clear what, if anything, they decided, and no votes were taken. That will happen on February 16th. The agenda item on Tuesday was for further discussion – and … Continued

The Occupy Oakland Foreclosure Defense Group was formed in late January / early February of 2012, just about four years ago now. It was able to undertake a number of campaigns, some very successful, some less so, to stop foreclosures and keep people in their houses.  Numerous articles about the group’s activities can be found on this website (e.g., here, or here) Its most intensive campaign was to keep Morgan Stanley from foreclosing on Jodie Randolph (pictured on her porch, 2nd from right, with oofdg members). She was a woman … Continued

The Oakland City Council voted 6-0-1 in closed session to settle for $450K the case of the late Hernan Jaramillo, a mentally disturbed man who was dragged by OPD from his apartment “20-feet on his back to the sidewalk.” This settlement adds to the ever-growing total of police execution and brutality payments paid out by the taxpayers of Oakland, with more sure to come as four men have been killed by Oakland police in 2015, and a fifth died under suspicious circumstances while being chased by OPD. Hernan Jaramillo is … Continued

Just minutes before 4:00 PM on Martin Luther King Jr. Day DaveyD broke the news. Breaking News: folks have locked themselves on the Bay Bridge…,traffic at a massive stand still — Davey D (@mrdaveyd) January 18, 2016 Five cars moving in tandem westward on the Bay Bridge halted side by side before Treasure Island and people came out, cabling themselves and the cars together. CHP acted quite quickly. About thirty minutes after the first reports of what happened were tweeted news flashed that the protesters had been cut from their … Continued

Saturday morning, January 16th, activists participating in the #ReclaimMLK #96Hours actions arrived at Mayor Libby Schaaf’s house with symbolic coffins representing those killed by police in Oakland in 2015, SOLD signs, representing the massive gentrification that is happening and the attempted illegal sale of the 12th St. Parcel, and an eviction notice. Later, others travelled out to Brentwood, CA (near Antioch) where Oakland Police Chief Whent lives (over 90% of Oakland’s police force does not live in Oakland) with a similar, but slightly different message. Tweetpics from these events. The … Continued

More than two hundred people gathered at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater in the late afternoon of January 15th for “Can You See Me?” at the call of the Interfaith Committee in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter Bay Area. It was the beginning of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and the first large action of the second annual #96Hours #ReclaimMLK set of events organized by the Anti Police-Terror Project et al. A number of white coffins were laid out in memory of those killed by local police this year. Songs were song, … Continued

On Tuesday, January 5th, 2016 the Oakland City Council unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance which will establish a Privacy Commission. The ordinance will become law after the second reading, which is scheduled to happen on January 19th. The Commission’s first task will be to draft and submit to the Council a Surveillance Equipment Ordinance which will deal generally with policies and procedures if and when new surveillance tech becomes available and City agencies, especially OPD, wish to acquire it. The Commission will also have the responsibility to … Continued

Mike Zint was an organizer at Liberty City, the Old Berkeley City Hall Occupation established in November in protest of proposed anti-homeless laws that were ultimately enacted by the Berkeley City Council on December 1st.  The Occupation was raided on December 4th.  He continues to fight for the homeless at the Downtown Berkeley Post Office Occupation, established in November, 2014, and still there after more than thirteen months. December 27, 2015 This email spells it out. Liberty City worked. Unfortunately, the city didn’t care. An open letter to the city council: The … Continued