Calendar
SUNRISE PICKET!
“As a housekeeper, I work very hard so that Homewood guests can have clean rooms and a good experience at the hotel, but the pressure of having to clean so many checkouts in one day gives me so much stress that I don’t have any energy for my kids when I come home at the end of the day. That’s why I am fighting for the same workload protections, fair raises and affordable health insurance for my family, that other union hotel housekeepers in Oakland have.” – Consuelo Andrade, Homewood Suites Room Attendant
Housekeeping staff at the Homewood Suites are paid at Oakland’s minimum wage. The health insurance offered to employees is unaffordable for the majority of Homewood workers, so that some have to depend on public benefits. And many housekeepers complain of chronic body pain from cleaning too many rooms under time pressure. Homewood Suites workers are standing up for living wages, safe workloads, and affordable health care!
Join them on the picket line – and experience a gorgeous sunrise and good coffee while you fight for justice!
In solidarity,
UNITE HERE Local 2850
UNITE HERE Local 2850, 1440 Broadway, Suite 208, Oakland, CA 94612 | www.unitehere2850.org
Our next meeting will be on Thursday at SEIU local 1020 at 6 pm. Enter at 350 Rhode Island . Enter on Kansas Street side between 16 th and 17th street side.
Saturday January 30, 2016 is the grand opening of Mayor Lee’s Super Bowl City. He has spent all of his energy pushing out the homeless, disabling bus lines and creating traffic jams so that his precious Super Bowl City can inconvenience the city of San Francisco for two weeks.
This is energy he could have spent apologizing to Mario Woods’ family, seeking justice and acting like he actually cares about the black and brown community in San Francisco.
We have promised him no peace until we get justice.
We will bring it to his precious Super Bowl City at it’s Grand Opening this Saturday.
We will meet at Union Square and march to the main entrance on Market at Main.
Please wear black and bring a sign .
Please help spread the word and remember as you spread it through social media to use these hashtags:
#justice4mariowoods
#mariowoods
#firechiefsuhr
#nojusticenosuperbowl
#blacklivesmatter
Justice 4 Mario Woods Coalition
Twitter: @Justice4MWNow
Instagram: @Justice4MarioWoodsNow
–COME SUPPORT OUR TENANT PICKET! —
Bring music and noisemakers!
–ALSO–
Please call and/or email Happy Homes and ask them to relocate the Morales family NOW!!
-info.hhpartners@gmail.com
-510.655.3253 (Bing Udinsky, owner)
-510.204.9922, and/or 510.599.2015 (office lines)
Don’t worry–they won’t answer the phone, so just leave a voicemail
–HAPPY HOMES AND 475 ALCATRAZ—-
The living conditions at 475 Alcatraz Avenue in Oakland—a property owned & managed by Happy Homes Partners, also known as Bing & Jerald Udinsky—are both dangerous and appalling. Multiple units have MOLD, WATER LEAKS, EXPOSED WALLS AND CONCRETE FLOORS, CARBON MONOXIDE/GAS LEAKS, and more. Happy Homes has consistently ignored tenant requests to repair units and clean common areas, knowingly exposing their tenants to unsafe conditions.
Despite this state of ill-repair, Happy Homes has continued to HIKE RENTS annually, as well as EVICT existing tenants and replace them with higher-income individuals who are willing to pay exorbitantly high rents—until the problems in their units start, after which they are essentially “forced out” of the unit by the bad conditions. Happy Homes then comes in and performs purely cosmetic interior repairs, and re-rents the apartment at new (even higher) “market rates.” The next tenant comes in, and the cycle starts all over again. This is Happy Homes’ business model!
–MORALES FAMILY STORY–
The Morales family, tenants of 475 Alcatraz since 2011, have faced particularly deplorable conditions; there is peeling paint, WATER LEAKS & MOLD throughout their apartment, they currently have NO WORKING HEATER, and they are UNABLE TO USE THEIR BEDROOMS because the flooring & wall was stripped down due to water flooding, so they sleep in their living room. They recently discovered that their oven was leaking massive amounts of CARBON MONOXIDE. They have been THREATENED WITH EVICTION for standing up for fair housing!
Two months ago, Happy Homes agreed to pay the Morales family a small sum for their suffering over the last 4 years if they move out of their apartment by February 15th. The Morales family plans to use the settlement money to relocate to a safe, clean apartment; however, Happy Homes’ insurance company says it may take up to another 6 weeks to pay the settlement. In the meantime, the Morales family are TRAPPED IN SUB-STANDARD & HAZARDOUS HOUSING, FACING if they don’t leave on February 15th, despite the fact that they have not received their compensation!!
As concerned members of the community, we must demand that Happy Homes IMMEDIATELY take the following actions:
• Completely repair ALL the units at 475 Alcatraz, and authentically repair the underlying structural problems
• Stop all evictions, and until the building is repaired, put a moratorium on the annual increases allowed by the city
• Provide the promised payment to the Morales family and return their deposit so that they are able to relocate!

–FOR QUESTIONS & MORE INFO CALL: CAMPAIGN FOR RENTERS RIGHTS (510.457.1846–Leave a VM)–
The Community Democracy Project is your connection to direct democracy in Oakland! Convened out of Occupy Oakland in Fall 2011, we’re gathering steam on a campaign to bring the people back in touch with the city’s resources through participatory budgeting.
Picture this: Across Oakland, Neighborhood Assemblies are regularly held in every community. People come together to tackle the important issues of their neighborhoods and of the city. At these assemblies, people don’t just have discussions–they learn from one another, from city staff, and they make fundamental decisions about how the city should run. They decide the city budget.
Democratic, community budgeting is a powerful step toward building strong communities, real democracy, and economic justice–and it’s being done all over the world.
The budget of the City Oakland totals more than $1 billion per year. Although part of the budget must be used for specific purposes, still over half of the budget–over $500 million per year–consists of general purpose funds paid by the taxes, fees, and fines of the people of Oakland. The Mayor and the City Council decide the city budget, with minimal input from the community.
Working together, we will not only get a seat at the table–we will REBUILD the table itself. Participatory democracy is real democracy–join us to say: Local People, Local Resources, Local Power!
Liberated Lens is a digital filmmaking collective dedicated to social change, based in Oakland, California. We share resources, skills and knowledge to help each other tell stories that might otherwise remain untold. We make films in a spirit of collaboration and solidarity, share a lending library of film equipment for creative projects, and organize free, at cost or donation-based workshops.
Join us for our weekly meeting and a workshop!
We usually meet in our editing suite (2nd floor in the ballroom, to the left of the stage) and then work on projects. It’s open to all!
The Oscar Grant Committee was born from the struggle for justice for Oscar Grant, mudered by BART police on Jan 1, 2009. We organize working class resistance in support of families whose loved ones were murdered by police.
We meet on the first Tuesday of every month.
Mayor Ed Lee told the homeless they “have to leave” for the Super Bowl.
Our response: “Hey Mayor Ed Lee, No Penalties for Poverty”
We, the people of San Francisco, demand that Super Bowl City and Ed Lee pay and invest $5 million right now in housing – we could house 500 people immediately with that money.
We also demand the use of publicly-owned assets, such as the empty Pier 29 or 80, or the land under the Freeway at 101/Cesar Chavez, and create monitored programs that support secure sleep, hygienic toileting, and access to transition/healing services.
Come out in your red & gold Niners colors to #TackleHomelessness. Join the Coalition on Homelessness as we protest the mayor’s unjust plan and demand immediate housing for our city’s unhoused residents.
Meet up is at 4:30 in front of Sinbads on Embacadero next to the Ferry Building. We are going to set up a tent city, with plenty of visuals next to the superbowl city. Bring signs and banners and cardboard cut-outs of houses. And bring tents if you don’t mind them getting confiscated.
In the meantime invite EVERYONE you know. Let’s show Mayor Lee how San Francisco stands up for our neighbors.
Homeless Statistics:
– There’s 1 shelter bed for every 6 homeless
– There’s an 8,000 person long wait for housing
– 3,300 Children make up SF’s homeless
– 61% have disabilities
– 11,000 citations were given to homeless for resting in SF last year
Superbowl-Related Statistics:
– 25% of the costs for Superbowl ads would be enough to end homelessness in SF (Each 30-second Superbowl ad costs 5 million.)
– The $5 million cost to SF to host the Superbowl would house 500 homeless people.
– SFPD is responsible for clearing out homeless people for the Super Bowl by giving them citations which are already up 30% from last year.
Citations are on the increase for sleeping on the streets of San Francisco even though there are not currently viable alternatives for the thousands of unhoused residents in that situation. The Department of Justice released a memo in mid and late 2015 stating that it is ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ for cities to criminalize sleeping on the street when no viable alternatives are available. Currently, we have 1 shelter bed for every 6 people on the street.
We are uniting together to demand the end of criminalization of homelessness and increased investment in real housing solutions to “Tackle Homelessness”.
On Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015 Oakland Resident and mother of two, Yuvette Henderson was killed by Emeryville Police Department in West Oakland. She was 38 years old when her life was stolen. Yuvette leaves behind a 15 year old son and an 11 year old daughter.
Please join us as we memorialize Yuvette’s murder. We will first gather at Home Depot at 7pm for a short rally, then move to a silent, candlelit march to the corner across the street from where she was killed, where we will stop to listen to close friends and family members speak and commemorate her life.
#Justice4YuvetteHenderson
#SayHerName
Please bring candles and signs for Justice for Yuvette Henderson
The demand for justice is happening and needs you!
If you missed our Welcome to the Bay Event during #96 hours – join us for the REMIX. As thousands stream into the Bay Area for the Superbowl, let’s welcome them to the Bay Area that is killing Black, Brown and poor people with impunity and pushing us out of our native cities.
We are asking you to bring your energy and passion to SFO on a very busy travel day! It is crucial that we continue to raise the realities of Amerikkka – particularly on a weekend where the Bay Area is expecting to make millions while pushing out the homeless and increasing the numbers of cops on the streets.
Please bring signs!
We’ll meet at the International terminal, just below the BART fare gates. Try to be on time, we may move around the airport. Watch this page to find us if you are running late.
BART goes right to the international terminal of the airport, but is relatively expensive. and there is parking if you want to carpool, and also other transit options: http://www.flysfo.com/to-from/public-transit.
- student debt resistance
- organizing for public banking.
- advocating for Postal banking.
- fighting modern day debtors’ prisons and exploitive ticketing and fining schemes
- ongoing study group
- helping out America’s only non-profit check-cashing organization and fighting against usurious for-profit pay-day lenders and their ilk
- our famous Strike Debt radio program
- staging Debtors’ Assemblies
- Working on debarring US Banks that have been convicted of felonies from municipal contracts
- Working on ways to kickstart the drive for basic income
- and much more!
Strike Debt – Principles of Solidarity
Strike Debt is building a debt resistance movement. We believe that most individual debt is illegitimate and unjust. Most of us fall into debt because we are increasingly deprived of the means to acquire the basic necessities of life: health care, education, and housing. Because we are forced to go into debt simply in order to live, we think it is right and moral to resist it.
We also oppose debt because it is an instrument of exploitation and political domination. Debt is used to discipline us, deepen existing inequalities, and reinforce racial, gendered, and other social hierarchies. Every Strike Debt action is designed to weaken the institutions that seek to divide us and benefit from our division. As an alternative to this predatory system, Strike Debt advocates a just and sustainable economy, based on mutual aid, common goods, and public affluence.
Strike Debt is committed to the principles and tactics of political autonomy, direct democracy, direct action, creative openness, a culture of solidarity, and commitment to anti-oppressive language and conduct. We struggle for a world without racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and all forms of oppression.
Strike Debt holds that we are all debtors, whether or not we have personal loan agreements. Through the manipulation of sovereign and municipal debt, the costs of speculator-driven crises are passed on to all of us. Though different kinds of debt can affect the same household, they are all interconnected, and so all household debtors have a common interest in resisting.
Strike Debt engages in public education about the debt-system to counteract the self-serving myth that finance is too complicated for laypersons to understand. In particular, it urges direct action as a way of stopping the damage caused by the creditor class and their enablers among elected government officials. Direct action empowers those who participate in challenging the debt-system.
Strike Debt holds that we owe the financial institutions nothing, whereas, to our friends, families and communities, we owe everything. In pursuing a long-term strategy for national organizing around this principle, we pledge international solidarity with the growing global movement against debt and austerity.
OTU’s Mission
The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.
Monthly Meetings
The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.
If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.
Stop (racist) displacement of 139 Fillmore Families
Action/Rally Wednesday, February 10th 4 – 5pm
Come stand with us to protect SF’s remaining (3%) Black population and to bring the Black Community back to our city.
#blackhomesmatter
#savemidtown
Join us to fight for a livable wage for all Bay Area workers! We collaborate in principled reflection and action on what the Bay Area livable wage would be and where we are at on the right to a livable wage.
The Oakland Livable Wage Assembly builds Community and Power among those who seek higher wages and better work life conditions for area workers.
Our work together encompasses:
(1) The concerns of precarious, care and contingent workers,
(2) Campaigns to improve wages for low wage workers, and
(3) Efforts by unionized workers and unions to improve wages and quality of work life.
We share stories and information in an egalitarian and participatory way to build relationships and build the movement.
Oakland Livable Wage Assembly meets every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, 6:30-8:00 pm at the SEIU Local 1000 Union Hall, 436 14th Street #200, Oakland, CA
Please love and support one another ~ We have a duty to fight ~ We have a duty to win!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1568668586707336/
Join the Oakland Privacy Working Group to organize against Stingrays being acquired by law enforcement agencies, against Urban Shield, and for various privacy and surveillance regulation ordinances to be passed around the Bay Area, especially by Alameda County and the Oakland City Council. We are also engaged in the fight against Predictive Policing and other “pre-crime” and “thought-crime” abominations, drones, improper use of police body cameras, and against other invasions of privacy by our benighted City, County, State and Federal Governments.
OPWG originally came together to fight against the Domain Awareness Center (DAC), Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub. OPWG was instrumental in stopping the DAC from becoming a city-wide spying network, and its members helped draft the Privacy Policy that puts further restrictions on the now Port-restricted DAC.
We were also the lead in having Alameda County pass the most comprehensive privacy and usage policy in the country for deployment of “Stingray” technology (cell phone interceptors).
Stop by and learn how you can help guard Oakland’s right not to be spied on by the government & if you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy Working Group email listserv, send an email to:
oaklandprivacyworkinggroup-subscribe AT lists.riseup.net
For more information on the DAC check out
Chinatown Community & Workers Hold Lunar New Year Rally Against New Project by Lawbreaking Employer
Balaji Enterprises, owner/operator of the Holiday Inn Express Oakland Airport, violated the Oakland minimum wage ordinance, manipulated time-card records, and withheld evidence from City investigators, according to a new report from the City of Oakland.
Meanwhile, the City is poised to give Balaji Enterprises a permit to build a new Hampton Inn on a valuable downtown Oakland parcel – with no public process or community input. On Thursday, Chinatown high school students and hotel workers will hold a Lunar New Year rally at the site of the proposed hotel, calling on the City to deny the permit and ensure transparency and community involvement in planning for the site.
“The City of Oakland is on the verge of making a back-room deal with a hotel company that breaks the law and exploits workers – according to the City’s own report. We should have a voice in deciding what gets built in our community, so we can make sure this project benefits our families and our future.” said Joshua Fisher Lee, Executive Director of AYPAL, a Chinatown-based community organization comprised of students from Asian Pacific Islander immigrant and refugee families living in Oakland.
The City’s report details several violations of Oakland’s minimum wage ordinance affecting 37 workers. Investigators found that Balaji rounded off time-clock records to avoid paying workers for all hours worked; imposed unreasonable rules to prevent workers from using sick leave; reduced workers’ hours, blaming the passage of the minimum wage ordinance; and withheld a notebook tracking employee work hours from investigators.
Chinatown worker and community groups expressed dismay the report’s findings – and at the possibility of the same employer opening a new hotel in their neighborhood.
At Thursday’s rally, youth groups will adorn the fenced-off lot with Lunar New Year decorations and play interactive games to celebrate the Chinatown community and create a positive vision for a project on the site that would benefit youth and low-wage workers.
Participants will include youth leaders from AYPAL; Marriott and Marriott Courtyard Hotel workers and members of UNITE HERE Local 2850; and community allies from East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), Asian Pacific Environmental Network, and Asians 4 Black Lives.
“I’ve watched classmates and even members of my family get pushed out of Oakland – because of rising rents and cost of living, my cousins who also grew up here had to move out of state. Youth in our community are dealing with a lot of problems, like gang violence. This land is empty – we have the chance to create something that would create safe spaces for youth to learn and have access to more opportunities, instead of a hotel that treats its workers poorly,†said Jason Le, a junior at Oakland High School and AYPAL youth leader.
BACKGROUND: For several months, the Oakland Planning Department has been considering approving Balaji Enterprises new Hampton Inn in downtown Oakland with no public hearing process. The decision on whether or not to approve the hotel is delegated solely to Planning Director Rachel Flynn, who came under criticism last fall for asserting that there is no affordable housing crisis in Oakland. Balaji already operates two local hotels, the Hampton Inn Alameda and Holiday Inn Express, where workers have reported low pay, no health benefits, shorting of workers’ pay, and humiliation from managers. The site of the new hotel is only blocks away from the Marriott Courtyard and Marriott Hotels, where union workers worry that the opening of a poverty-wage hotel nearby will make it difficult to maintain the standards and benefits they have fought to win and maintain over the years. Community activists believe the project will exacerbate the East Bay’s crises of inequality and displacement, and that workers at the new hotel will not be able to afford to live in Oakland. Last November, hundreds of hotel workers and community members marched from the lot of the proposed hotel into City Hall, where former workers of the Hampton Inn owners have testified to City Council about not being allowed lunch breaks, earning poverty wages with no benefits, and being fired for getting hurt on the job. The community protest of the proposed Hampton Inn comes on the heels of broad community opposition to the proposed development of market-rate housing at the nearby East 12th Street parcel.
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