Calendar

9896
Jul
14
Tue
Speakout against Racial Displacement & Defend the Portapotty @ Driver's Plaza
Jul 14 @ 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

68043
Jul
20
Mon
Climate Activists Show Up for Essential Workers @ Mosswood Park
Jul 20 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Join Sunflower Alliance, the Sunrise Movement, and other climate activists to support workers at the Oakland Telegraph Ave. MacDonald’s, who have been on strike since May demanding PPE, sick pay, hazard pay and social distancing.

The workers report that they were asked to wear dog diapers for PPE,  that they got no sick pay when they were sick and thought they had COVID, and that the store was not enforcing social distancing. Of the 33 workers, 12 ended up getting COVID and 31 of them are now on strike. See news story here

Join Fight for 15 for a short march/rally on July 20, a national day of action for Fight for 15., starting at 11 am at Mosswood Park, then march to the Telegraph McDonald’s (march route here) where there will be a noon rally.

Donate to MacDonald’s workers strike fund here

Register for the action here

68038
Strike for Black Health and Vitality @ Highland Hospital
Jul 20 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Join workers walking out for Black Health and Vitality! Black healthcare workers, patients, and communities are on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before the pandemic, mismanagement of our public hospital system was depriving workers of access to vital resources and proper staffing. Unequal health outcomes for Black patients continue to pose a significant threat to public well being. With lives on the line, health professionals and patients alike are demanding action. Alameda Health System must become accountable to the public and put an end to its racist health inequities.
HOW WE STRIKE
From 12-2pm healthcare workers will walk out from all AHS facilities, while community supporters rally outside Highland Hospital in East Oakland and Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro.
After walking out, we will lie down for 8 minutes and 46 seconds—the time in which George Floyd was suffocating under a police officer’s knee—to honor George Floyd as well as the Black healthcare workers who have died from lack of PPE while fighting Covid-19.
Black frontline healthcare workers, patients and community will speak on the urgency of these issues.
FEATURED SPEAKERS:
Boots Riley
Derrick Boutte
Sheleka Carter
WHY WE STRIKE
The dire situation of our public health system disproportionately affects Black communities.
Under the current unelected, unaccountable administration, Black patients and workers often receive inferior treatment in our AHS facilities, all while management tries to take away the rights, pay, and benefits of the Black unionized workers who are fighting to save lives.
Meanwhile, the county’s lack of solutions for the houselessness pandemic strains the public health system and poses severe threats to the safety of Alameda County’s most vulnerable residents. We call on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to take responsibility for our public health and unequal health outcomes for Black communities!
WHAT WE ARE STRIKING FOR
We demand that the County Board of Supervisors regain control of AHS!
We demand fair contracts for frontline healthcare workers at AHS that recognize the invaluable services to the community!
We demand an increase in funding to AHS to improve the quality of care for our patients, the majority of whom are Black and Brown!
We demand equal treatment and representation within the Alameda Health System!
68045
Jul
25
Sat
Join Berkeley Copwatch! – Training Session @ ONLINE, VIA 'ZOOM'
Jul 25 @ 11:00 am – 1:30 pm

Join Berkeley Copwatch!

Register today for our new Berkeley Copwatch Volunteer Training 2020!
If you’ve been looking for a way to plug into the movement that is happening NOW, this could be what you’re looking for.

Topics Include:
1. Know Your Rights
2. How to Film Police
3. Shift Procedures
4. Overview of Berkeley Municipal Codes
5. De-Escalation Techniques
and much more!


Think globally, ACT LOCALLY!
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcuceysrj0uGNaFx1Bb7m9SXbOVALR6vFrl
DONATE NOW!

68054
Jul
27
Mon
Tax the Rich to Fund Schools and Services: Three Parts @ ONLINE, VIA 'ZOOM'
Jul 27 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Zoom connection link

 

EBDSA members have the opportunity to help pass the largest tax increase in history on California’s wealthiest commercial property owners, raising $10-12 billion per year for public education and social services. With the Movement for Black Lives uprising deepening into the call for defunding the police, it will be necessary to expand revenues required to build alternative, sustainable public services, and practices. Progressive taxation—especially taxing the rich—is an essential path to accomplish that goal. “Schools and Communities First” (SCF), on the November 3 ballot, is backed by labor and opposed by the most reactionary sectors of capital.

A three-part education series will provide background for EBDSA participation in the campaign. Part I reviews the story of austerity politics and increasing inequality in California with Prop 13—which SCF proposes to reform—from 1978 to the present. Part II looks at the history of public-sector unionism and how a left-wing labor-community coalition won Prop 30, a ‘tax the rich’ ballot measure, in 2012. Part III will supply an overview of the SCF campaign, and explore how EBDSA members can plug in effectively. Biweekly on ZOOM, beginning Monday, June 29, presented by labor historian Fred Glass for EBDSA Labor Committee.

 

Where: Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81851574731?pwd=Y1RITkRZQjZPSFRvQmxoMENXeXpGUT09

67984
Aug
1
Sat
Caravan for Amazon Workers & All Essential Workers
Aug 1 @ 7:00 am – 12:00 pm

Join Bay Area Amazonians, Tesla workers, Gig Workers Collective, People’s Strike Bay Area, Workers United Against COVID-19, & other essential workers on a creative caravan for worker safety, workers’ rights, & worker solidarity.

RSVP: https://bayareaamazonians.org/petition-delivery-action

Or just show up!

Meet very early in the morning this Saturday outside the Amazon San Leandro warehouse,  at the nearby Walmart parking lot.

Amazon is putting workers’ lives at risk. Drivers don’t have access to COVID data from the warehouse workers and vice versa, even though they interact daily. Amazon is even delaying release of information about infections because they’re required to pay people to quarantine at home, so sometimes they wait until after the quarantine period is over before they tell people they might have been exposed!

We will deliver signatures on this petition demanding that Amazon shut down the warehouse for 14 days of deep cleaning: https://www.coworker.org/petitions/close-dsf4-for-deep-cleaning-and-pay-workers-for-the-time-off-work

68074
All Power to the People Rally @ West Oakland Bart
Aug 1 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

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68066
Aug
2
Sun
San Quentin Prison Protest: No State Execution by COVID-19 @ Larkspur Ferry Terminal Parking Lot
Aug 2 @ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Over 2,000 prisoners at San Quentin are infected with COVID-19. This pandemic should not be a death sentence. We will be holding a rally and protest at the West Gate of San Quentin State Prison on Sunday, August 2. We will start at 12 noon from the Larkspur Ferry Terminal Parking Lot and march and caravan to the West Gate to demand:

Our demands:
* Mass Releases Now!
* Stop transfers between prisons
* Provide COVID testing to 100% of the prison population and employees
* Limit staff movement in prisons
* Expand credit-earning opportunities
* Provide hygiene supplies
* Provide free televisiting and unlimited stamps
* Provide free phone calls
⠀Help spread the word. Join us!

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68068
Aug
3
Mon
National Day of Resistance in Oakland #EquityOrElse
Aug 3 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
National Day of Resistance
We demand safe, healthy, equitable schools.
Rally and Car Caravan
4pm – meet at La Escuelita 1050 2nd Ave, Oakland, CA
4:30pm – Rally
5:00pm – Car Caravan leaves for the superintendent’s house
This event will practice social distancing.
The rally and speakers will be broadcast on FM radio.
If/when you leave your car please wear a mask.
Demands:
No reopening until the scientific data supports it
Police-free schools
All schools must be supported to function as community schools with adequate numbers of counselors and nurses and community/parent outreach workers
Safe conditions including lower class sizes, PPE, cleaning, testing, and other key protocols
Equitable access to online learning
Support for our communities and families, including moratorium on evictions/foreclosures, cancel rent and mortgages, providing direct cash assistance to those not able to work or who are unemployed, and other critical social needs
Moratorium on new charter or voucher programs and standardized testing
Massive infusion of federal money to support the reopening funded by taxing the billionaires and Wall Street
Endorsed by:
OPEN
Journey for Justice
OEA
East Bay DSA
California Educators United
68078
Aug
6
Thu
Protest San Leandro Police Killing
Aug 6 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

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68089
Aug
7
Fri
Protest Sheriff’s Money Grab Budget Increase
Aug 7 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

68090
Justice 4 Steven Taylor @ O'Malley's Office
Aug 7 @ 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm

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68088
Aug
15
Sat
Strike Debt Bay Area Book Group @ ONLINE, VIA 'ZOOM'
Aug 15 @ 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

***>> EMAIL STRIKE.DEBT.BAY.AREA@GMAIL.COM FOR ZOOM INFO A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE MEETING. <<***

Strike Debt Bay Area hosts a non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included Doughnut EconomicsLimitsBanking on the PeopleCapital and Its Discontents, and How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century.

For our July, August and September discussions we will be reading  ‘The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy’ by Stephanie Kelton. (Find it at your local bookstore or through this site.)

For July, we will have read the first two chapters.

For August, we will have read chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6,

For September, chapters 7 and 8.

The book is easy reading, and it would be easy to catch up.  Join us – all are welcome!

Stephanie Kelton’s brilliant exploration of modern monetary theory (MMT) dramatically changes our understanding of how we can best deal with crucial issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating jobs, expanding health care coverage, climate change, and building resilient infrastructure. Any ambitious proposal, however, inevitably runs into the buzz saw of how to find the money to pay for it, rooted in myths about deficits that are hobbling us as a country.

Kelton was chief economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee (minority staff) and an advisor to the Bernie2016 presidential campaign. Kelton is a regular commentator on national radio and television and speaks across the world at large gatherings of people interested in global finance, political economy and public policy. She has superb connections in all areas of print and broadcast national media. Her op-eds have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg.

For July, we will also have read two shorter pieces, following up on themes we have taken up in previous readings:

67970
Aug
19
Wed
Let’s Own PG&E Campaign @ ONLINE, VIA 'ZOOM'
Aug 19 @ 6:45 pm – 8:30 pm

Learn about why a for-profit PG&E will never work for the people or the planet and be a part of winning a Community-owned, Community-controlled PG&E.

Where: Zoom: RSVP for link for 8/19

Zoom: RSVP for 9/16
 

68049
Aug
29
Sat
Decarcerate Now! @ Lakeview Elementary
Aug 29 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

The nightmare situation of Covid-19 in US jails and prisons, and its disproportionate impact on Black people and POC confined there, has made the call for decarceration more urgent than ever. In recognition of Black August, we feel the need and desire to respond as SURJ and make a space where our broader community can show up together.

The SURJ Mobilization Committee is planning a physically distanced Human Billboard and Car Caravan: We hope you can join us!

In solidarity with those incarcerated in jails, prisons, youth detention, and ICE concentration camps, we will be amplifying the messages of our partners and demanding an end to these inhumane conditions and immediate decarceration. We will also have a small car caravan in support of the Human Billboard for those of us who, due to Covid-19, are not able to be part of the HB.

Our last Human Billboard was a great success and we plan the same for this one!

68117
Socialist Day School @ Online
Aug 29 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

The Political Education Committee is proud to invite you to East Bay DSA’s Socialist Day School on Saturday and Sunday, August 29-30!

A lot has happened this year, from Bernie failing to win the nomination, to the economic and health disasters triggered by coronavirus, to the mass mobilization against the structural racism perpetuated by police violence. Discussion and debate of our strategies and tactics are crucial–now more than ever! The moment demands that we seriously engage with strategic debates and that we look critically at the theory which guides us.

We have designed a weekend-long event to ensure that we have the tools to do so. The weekend will focus on two topics: Electoral Politics and Mass Movements in America, and Socialist Anti-Racism & Mass Uprisings. Attendees will engage in free-form discussion on a set of readings that cover key debates, sharing and comparing their thoughts in an effort to develop a more solid understanding of strategy and theory, both as individuals and as a chapter.

It is evident that we now face a situation that requires rigorous analysis and critical understanding. So join us as we rise to the occasion!

Find the readings here: https://tinyurl.com/DaySchoolReadings

To register for this event please fill out this registration form.

Day 2 Sunday, August 30th: https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1427/2020-08-30-socialist-day-school-day-2/

68097
Life Over Rent Rally @ Alameda County Courthouse
Aug 29 @ 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
LIFE OVER RENT: An end of the month rally — Our needs come before our landlord’s profits.
What we want:
1. Cancel Rent: Demanding rent during the pandemic is cruel and threatens to intensify our homelessness crisis, particularly for Black and brown working class communities.
2. Landlords Must Negotiate: Thousands of tenants have organized collectively to demand rent relief — landlords must negotiate with these tenant councils or face consequences.
3. Services Not Sheriffs: Governments must prohibit evictions and expand unemployment and food stamps for the working-class people hit hardest by our joint economic and health crises.
Any economic crisis is an opportunity for change. The 2008 recession showed this well: the rich became richer while the working class faced higher rents and precarious jobs. We saw this in Oakland, as landlords gobbled up foreclosed homes and then doubled the rents.
In 2020, we face down an even larger recession. Who will come first during this pandemic and economic crisis? Who will benefit, and who will be thrown aside? We must not be thrown aside again.
** Please be sure to wear a mask at all times, and stand at least six feet apart. Let’s keep each other safe! **
68112
Aug
30
Sun
Socialist Day School @ Online
Aug 30 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

The Political Education Committee is proud to invite you to East Bay DSA’s Socialist Day School on Saturday and Sunday, August 29-30!

A lot has happened this year, from Bernie failing to win the nomination, to the economic and health disasters triggered by coronavirus, to the mass mobilization against the structural racism perpetuated by police violence. Discussion and debate of our strategies and tactics are crucial–now more than ever! The moment demands that we seriously engage with strategic debates and that we look critically at the theory which guides us.

We have designed a weekend-long event to ensure that we have the tools to do so. The weekend will focus on two topics: Electoral Politics and Mass Movements in America, and Socialist Anti-Racism & Mass Uprisings. Attendees will engage in free-form discussion on a set of readings that cover key debates, sharing and comparing their thoughts in an effort to develop a more solid understanding of strategy and theory, both as individuals and as a chapter.

It is evident that we now face a situation that requires rigorous analysis and critical understanding. So join us as we rise to the occasion!

Find the readings here: https://tinyurl.com/DaySchoolReadings

To register for this event please fill out this registration form.

Day 2 Sunday, August 30th: https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1427/2020-08-30-socialist-day-school-day-2/

68097
Sep
1
Tue
Homes Not Harm!
Sep 1 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

68133
Sep
5
Sat
Strike Debt Bay Area Book Group @ ONLINE, VIA 'ZOOM'
Sep 5 @ 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

***>> EMAIL STRIKE.DEBT.BAY.AREA@GMAIL.COM FOR ZOOM INFO A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE MEETING. <<***

Strike Debt Bay Area hosts a non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included Doughnut EconomicsLimitsBanking on the PeopleCapital and Its Discontents, and How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century.

For our July, August and September discussions we will be reading  ‘The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy’ by Stephanie Kelton. (Find it at your local bookstore or through this site.)

For July, we will have read the first two chapters.

For August, we will have read chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6,

For September, chapters 7 and 8.

The book is easy reading, and it would be easy to catch up.  Join us – all are welcome!

Stephanie Kelton’s brilliant exploration of modern monetary theory (MMT) dramatically changes our understanding of how we can best deal with crucial issues ranging from poverty and inequality to creating jobs, expanding health care coverage, climate change, and building resilient infrastructure. Any ambitious proposal, however, inevitably runs into the buzz saw of how to find the money to pay for it, rooted in myths about deficits that are hobbling us as a country.

Kelton was chief economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee (minority staff) and an advisor to the Bernie2016 presidential campaign. Kelton is a regular commentator on national radio and television and speaks across the world at large gatherings of people interested in global finance, political economy and public policy. She has superb connections in all areas of print and broadcast national media. Her op-eds have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg.

For July, we will also have read two shorter pieces, following up on themes we have taken up in previous readings:

67970