May Day is the traditional holiday of the working class, the oppressed, and the rebellious. It is a day to celebrate our collective power against exploitation, capitalism, and control. This Friday, May 1st, 2015, we want to start the day off the right way.

Oakland is seeing an unprecedented wave of gentrification creeping in from every direction. The rich have begun colonizing North Oakland, West Oakland, and Downtown. Their tech buses, their pricey cafes, and their luxury apartments have begun to appear with alarming frequency. This May Day, we will deliver a simple message to these colonizers during their morning commute.

Starting at 7:30 AM and lasting until 9:30 AM, we call on everyone to converge at the MacArthur BART station to interrupt the morning commute. The tech shuttle buses for Facebook, Google, and Apple all stop outside the BART station on 40th Street, below the freeway. We will converge in front of these buses, on the platforms of the station, and in front of the BART gates to spread our message.

We call on everyone affected by gentrification to make banners, bring megaphones, and prepare words or speeches to deliver to these colonizers. Tell them what you have been thinking, what you have been seeing, what you have been feeling. Let them know that they are not welcome, that their high-priced world is not welcome, and their terrible world of surveillance and alienation must end. Bring all of your creativity, joy, and anger to the streets. Together, we can deliver a clear and undeniable message.

Oakland is a people’s town!

Facebook event.

 Local 10, outraged by the recent escalation in police brutality throughout the US that has resulted in the needless killing of innocent and unarmed minorities, has called for unions and workers to join our march from the port to Oakland City Hall.

WHERE: Port of Oakland, take Adeline St. to portside of overpass.

Rides should be available from the West Oakland BART (see bottom).

The labor force has played an integral part in social justice movements throughout United States history and beyond. ILWU, Local 10 in particular, has been at the forefront of many monumental events including, but not limited to the Big Strike of 1934, the 1984 Anti-Apartheid action against South Africa, and the 2010 Oscar Grant rally and port shut down.

Police terrorism in the United States is out of control. We have witnessed an endless onslaught of police brutality and police killings of innocent and unarmed people. These assaults have been mainly directed towards Black men and Black communities. We as union and non-union workers alike cannot standby and become desensitized to these great injustices.

ILWU, Local 10 is leading a Day of Action on May 1st, 2015 to call national attention in order to STOP POLICE TERROR. There will be no longshoremen working on that day in the Port of Oakland. The port will be SHUT DOWN. Disrupting commerce in this country is one means to find viable solutions to STOP POLICE TERROR. Please join us in this action and stand up against police terror.

We will gather at the ALREADY SHUTDOWN port at 9am for an hour long rally which will be at the APL gate near berth 62 close to the overpass (parking is available along Adeline close to 6th & 7th).

After the rally, WE MARCH! We will march from the port to Oscar Grant Plaza as we demonstrate that AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL!

There will be another rally at noon when we reach OGP.

From The Internationalist:

Working people across the country are outraged. Now key unions have decided they’ve had enough,the time has come to act. In an April 16 statement, the South Carolina AFL-CIO announced it would “reach out to workers around the country to join with us on May 1st in actions to protest the continuing unjustified killings.” The labor federation added, “We want to commend ILWU Local 10 for your courageous actions of solidarity.” The reason? On May 1 the West Coast longshore local will hold a stop-work meeting, shutting down the Port of Oakland and marching on City Hall to demand “Stop Police Killings of Black and Brown People.”

We urge workers across to country to mobilize on May 1 against racist police terror! With rallies, marches and strike action, unions and labor supporters should bring our collective strength to bear,demanding these killings must stop!

nternational Workers Day Regional Festival and March

1:30-3:30 Festival @ Civic Center Plaza
3:30 Regional March to 24th and Mission
5:00-5:30 Closing program @ 24th and Mission

More info, RSVP.

Silicon Valley De-Bug’s Class Conscious Photographers and Studio Grand present the opening night of:

Eyes on the Movement:
Images from Bay Area Activist Photographers

Powered by working class people and captured by photographers embedded in these struggles.

Photography, music, cultural performances, and refreshments. Special digital slideshow photo exhibit from that day’s May 1st marches.

Photographers include Brooke Anderson, David Bacon, Jenny Cain, Charisse Domingo, Elizabeth Gonzalez, Isabel Gonzalez, Najib Joe Hakim, Jean Leasiolagi, Abraham Menor, Antonio Nava, Karen Ng, Ronald Orlando, Leopoldo Pena, Daniel Zapien.

IndyBay listing

Source and other events for May Day

The war in Viet Nam was one of the most important historical events of the 20th century. It brings to light the heroic struggle of Vietnamese people against foreign aggression, particularly the United States of America.

The Viet Nam Victory Coalition (VNVC), formed in 2014, is hosting a Community Event: “The Spirit of Viet Nam is Stronger than U.S. Bombs” – a day-full of cultural, educational & powerful sharing to mark the 40th anniversary of the US military’s forced departure from Viet Nam and international struggle for self-determination.

PLEASE REGISTER HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intergenerational-teach-in-the-spirit-of-viet-nam-stronger-than-us-bombs-tickets-16383904700

Our purpose:

• Highlight the historical meaning and ongoing significance of people’s struggles for independence and against imperial domination.

• Inform and continue to educate ourselves and all who seek to understand this history, to explore its relevance to the present and future, and to keep abreast of the current strategy of the US empire in Asia and abroad.

• Connect and celebrate our humanity with music, poetry, spoken word, and with dialogues and discussion, panels and workshops, and share our story.

Join us in solidarity with the May Day Rally on May 1st in SF (more details to come). March with us!

The space (rooms, bathrooms, etc.) is fully ADA accessible.

Rally in solidarity with Baltimore and the fight for justice for Freddie Gray. All across the country on Saturday May 2nd folks will be in the streets to demand that the war on black folks must end! Come get in the streets! #blackspring #freddiegray

Facebook RSVP.

Come to a meeting about what we learn from the real history of May Day, the Marxist traditions of working class organizing in America and discuss what we need to do today to continue the fight.

Followed by a social/fundraiser for the Socialism 2015 conference. www.socialismconference.org

Help make art to support the Refinery Corridor Healing Walks!  Come help paint a 24-foot parachute banner with this years Healing Walk image and hand-paint t-shirts (if you got this years Healing Walk t-shirt or patch bring it and paint it–or the feathers on it). Wear clothes you can get paint on.

Here is the Facebook event to RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/982279841804638/

Addressing police violenceand systematic racism through community building and direct action.

Open Circle, first and foremost, is an opportunity to build community with one another. Secondly, it is a space to reflect and collaborate on strategies and actions to bring an end to these egregious crimes.

Please join us for the Potluck at 3:00 pm followed by the Open Circle at 3:45 pm. Please bring a dish or snacks to share!

Open circle will begin with speakers who have lost their loved ones to police violence. Then updates / announcements of upcoming actions followed by reflection and dialogue around the current state and thoughts or approaches on how to effect change.

We will end with working groups to organize and plan next steps in the struggle.

Solidarity is afoot so bring your ideas!

Notes from last meeting:
omnicommons.org/connect

Come support 3 comrades still in custody who were arrested during May Day actions and are facing felony charges.

Share, invite, show up and support! Thousands of people went out to protest this weekend, and there were many arrests, but unsurprisingly, the folks who were held and face serious charges are black and brown. Part of fighting white supremacy is standing in solidarity with those who racist systems try to oppress.

​FIELD TRIP: OccupyForum is co-sponsoring Kathy Kelly this coming Monday
Sponsored by: SF Friends Peace and Social Concerns Committee; Voices for Creative Nonviolence, ECUMENICAL PEACE INSTITUTE/CALC, EMERGENCY, AFSC, Vets for Peace, Occupy Forum, Campaign Nonviolence and Code Pink

​Kathy Kelly
​The Raft and the Shore:
Crossing Borders to Abolish War​

During the war in Vietnam, two venerable peacemakers, Thich Nhat Hanh and Daniel Berrigan, SJ, exchanged ideas about nonviolent resistance to war in a book entitled: The Raft is Not the Shore. Drawing on experiences living alongside people trapped in war zones and in U.S. prisons, (most recently in Afghanistan, and in federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky), Kathy Kelly will discuss what she as learned from people bearing the brunt of what Martin Luther King termed “the triple evils” of racism, militarism, and poverty.

Kathy Kelly will be introduced by Sherri Maurin who has just returned from Afghanistan. Both travel as representatives of Voices for Creative Nonviolence and are hosted in Kabul by the Afghan Peace Volunteers.

​ ​Wheelchair accessible
​ ​
Potluck
​dessert
​:Bring a ​dish

Come learn about continuing developments in the battle save the Berkeley Post Office and the Postal Service from privatization, support our Occupiers and help us plan our next steps in opposition to the theft of our public commons.

The postal service wanted to sell the post office to Hudson-Mcdonald, a local developer. The City of Berkeley sued the post office to stop the sale. Hudson-mcdonald backed out of the deal in early December.

 There was a hearing in Federal Court on December 11th. There was another hearing in March 26th. Federal Judge William Alsup decided to dismiss the lawsuit because the Postal Service says it is not currently selling the building.  But we’re not fooled. The Postal Service could “find” a buyer at any moment. Fortunately, the Judge ordered the Postal Service to provide 42 days notice before any sale, so that the lawsuit could be refiled.

Check out our response to the Judge’s order.

Check out the Community Garden at the Post Office.

Also check out our website and the Save the Berkeley Post Office website, and First they Came for the Homeless Facebook for updates.

BPOD is an offshoot of Strike Debt Bay Area, which itself is an offshoot of Occupy Oakland and a chapter of the national Strike Debt movement, which is an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street.

Deep Web, a film about “Silk Road” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_(marketplace), online communications and commerce, is to be screened at SF International Film Festival. Cindy Cohn, legal director of EFF is scheduled to appear at the 9:00 PM, May 4 screening.  More information below and at:  http://www.sffs.org/sfiff58/program/deep-web#.VUQAtqbVmJ0.

-Art

• About the film:
• Director Alex Winter, a well-known actor and a leading advocate for an open internet, lucidly investigates the implications of online technologies and the gray legal areas of anonymous communications and commerce by focusing primarily on the history and demise of online black market website Silk Road. In addition to documenting the federal trial of Silk Road’s purported founder and owner, San Francisco-based Ross Ulbricht, allegedly known to Silk Road’s users as the Dread Pirate Roberts, Winter weaves in the perspectives of futurists, journalists and legal experts. A bastion for privacy advocates and cybercriminals alike, the “deep web” refers to a place on the internet where cutting-edge technologies mask participants’ identities and facilitate secret activities. As such the deep web exposes the contradictory goals and potential conflicts between free speech advocates and government regulators. Winter’s previous documentary, Downloaded deftly detailed the history and impacts that online file sharing has had on culture, the law and music/media industries. With Deep Web, Winter presents a perfect companion piece while telling a true story of espionage, surveillance and activism taking place at the digital frontier. �Sean Uyehara
• Director Alex Winter (May 3, May 4) and presenters John Perry Barlow (May 4), Susie Cagle (May 4) and Cindy Cohn (May 3, May 4) expected to attend.

Congressman Ami Bera still has not taken a position on Fast Track for the TPP, the job-killing ‘trade’ deal that will ship more jobs overseas. SO, LET’S REMIND HIM WHO GOT HIM ELECTED…

Join us as we hold our 2nd ALL DAY Sit-In at Bera’s office: stop by ANYTIME between 10am-6pm! Invite others!!

We’ll also have some Mexican food and snacks for Cinco De Mayo! 🙂

Check out video from KXTV channel 10 from the 1st time we occupied Bera’s office: http://www.news10.net/videos/news/local/elk-grove/2015/04/23/26282929/

Facebook RSVP

This Tuesday the Oakland City Council decides whether or not to sell off the East 12th parcel to private developers. Join us for a rally at City Hall to demand that public land be used for public good, not for private profit!

Background
In the midst of a housing affordability crisis in Oakland, the City is proposing to sell publicly owned land to private developers UDR and Urban Core to create a 24 story, 300 unit luxury high-rise apartment tower right by Lake Merritt, where the median rent will be 3k per month. The development will have no affordable units and no real community benefits. The property is on E12th and 1st Ave street, right by the new pedestrian bridge at the end of Lake Merritt.

Long-time residents are being pushed out of Oakland every day because of skyrocketing housing costs. The city’s number one priority right now should be figuring out how to make it possible for working families to stay in Oakland – not developing luxury high rises for the rich that are just going to raise rents and exacerbate displacement.

May 5th come rally for development without displacement in Oakland now! Stay for the City Council meeting to speak out against gentrification in Oakland and for affordable housing!

These local organizations, representing the people Oakland endorse this fight!

Asians4BlackLives
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Black.Seed
Causa Justa Just Cause
Classroom Struggle
Communities for a Better Environment
Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy
East Bay Housing Organizations
East Bay Solidarity Network
Eastlake United for Justice
Oakland Education Association
Oakland Rising
Oakland Tenants Union
Public Advocates
SEIU 1021
Transform

Thank you all for your support and your work! #SaveE12th