Bay Area Regional Jail Fight Meeting – Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco

Local sheriffs are currently attempting to expand and renovate jails in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties. These expansions are all coming out of similar statewide offensives to build more cages on a local level following orders to reduce state prison populations. Let’s work together to strengthen our efforts!

Please join us to build strategy and share resources between the three campaigns to stop jail expansion. In the meeting we will share updates between the jailfights, determine points of common resistance, discuss mounting stronger opposition on a regional and statewide level, and distribute and assess reports, toolkits, or other resources that could be used cross-county.

This meeting is geared towards those already active in the campaigns, however we also welcome new people who would like to join our fights!

Coffee and lunch will be provided. Please email lily@criticalresistance.org with any dietary needs and to let us know you’re coming.

We will be providing some materials and resources. Please email links or documents that you would like shared in the meeting.

**The venue is wheelchair accessible. There is a free parking lot and street parking (validated by store). Ashby BART is approx 12 minute walk. Please contact us with other accessibility needs or questions.

DSA East Bay has experienced a huge surge in membership since the election and our local chapter is getting busy!

People are coming together to build power locally and fight for everything from Single Payer healthcare in California to a living wage for all workers, homes for all, equal rights for people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people and women and ultimately, a society run to satisfy human need, not corporate profit.

Come out on the first Saturday of May to learn how DSA is organizing locally, what our plans are for the future and how you can get involved!

This meeting is open to members and non-members alike who are interested in DSA. It is open to the public and you do not need to be a member to attend.

If you are not yet a member and want to join you can sign up at: https://dsausa.nationbuilder.com/join

Join us May 6th to gather over food as we plan next steps towards building respectful, non-police crisis supports in Berkeley.

This event is a follow up to Berkeley Copwatch/Justice 4 Kayla Moore’s 4/8 forum on Responding to Mental Health Crises without BPD:A Community Forum, but all are welcome whether or not you were at the forum.

Details to come – save the date and share any ideas in the discussion for now!

Come out to ARC’s monthly General Meeting! This month, we’re welcoming Councilmember Jim Oddie to our meeting to discuss improvements to the rent ordinance and answer questions. Cities across the Bay are passing greater tenant protections. Let’s make Alameda next!

TODAY: General Meeting from 2-4pm: @thealamedapoint 677 W Ranger Ave w/guest CM @jhoddie777 #Alameda #JustCause https://t.co/O7P5NxoIji pic.twitter.com/tF2cw1FhRU

— Alameda Renters (@Alameda_Renters) May 6, 2017

Annie Danger, Mike Esmailzadeh and Heather will lead a two hour workshop on the basics of intervening in public as a bystander. They will cover the basics of stance, assertiveness, and situational awareness as well as go into depth about different potential scenarios, legality of bystander intervention, physical and social skills and tactics for successful intervention, de-escalation, police involvement, knowing your place, and aftercare.

This workshop cannot cover all possibilities of intervention, but will provide a baseline for reducing harm and acting in effective solidarity with people being harassed or assaulted.

If you have any physical disabilities or differences in ability organizers should know about, please email basebuilding@surjbayarea.org.

Tickets are sliding scale $10 – $20. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Anti Lab is a kind of clubhouse for creative resistance, a meeting place for people who want to transform their frustration with the current political climate into action. Anti Lab’s calendar features everything from a tenants’ rights workshop presented by the East Bay Community Law Center to weekly screen-printing hours and a trans photo booth. All for free.

It will be open every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 11am-8pm (ish). With workshops/events on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, plus Saturday afternoons.
​

In the mood for resistance? Read our profile on Anti Lab & join them tonight at 6pm for Hot Fresh Dissent: https://t.co/1vZpSDX7xJ

— East Bay Express (@EastBayExpress) May 4, 2017

Health Care for All – Contra Costa County Chapter and Indivisible Central Contra Costa County will sponsor a showing of a powerful new documentary, Now Is The Time Healthcare for Everybody.

With the future of the Affordable Care Act in serious doubt, millions may lose their health insurance. Medicare and Medi-Cal are under attack. This documentary explains what single payer healthcare is and how it saves money. It shows what behind-the-scenes heroes are doing to clear the fog of misperceptions that has kept us from moving forward.

Q&A and Discussion about newly-introduced State Senate Bill 562,The Healthy California Act (Lara/Atkins).

RSVP here: https://goo.gl/forms/shmW9eipJ1ZFxEjn2

This is a key moment in the fight for single-payer health care. On April 26, the CA Senate Health Committee approved SB-562, a single-payer bill that will make healthcare free for all California residents. No more co-pays, no more expensive premiums. We have been calling our senators relentlessly to urge them to support the bill – now we need to develop more people power to usher SB-562 through the Senate appropriations committee, and through the CA legislature!

Since our February canvassing kick-off, we’ve had 250 volunteer canvassers sign up 1,260 East Bay residents to stay informed and support the fight. Learn more about one of our past big canvassing events here:http://www.eastbaydsa.org/single_payer_campaign_kickoff_building_power_to_win_big

Anyone who comes will receive education on single payer and be trained on how to talk to your neighbors and friends about the issue. First-time canvassers will be paired with experienced organizers and canvassers to go spread the word about single payer, sign people up to be supporters, and recruit new members to DSA. We want all hands on deck for this exciting day! No prior experience necessary!

Please RSVP to let us know if you need childcare, what kind of transportation you will bring, etc
https://goo.gl/forms/shmW9eipJ1ZFxEjn2

BAY AREA: Stand up to attacks on healthcare & join our fight for #SinglePayer in California. Canvass with us on Sunday, May 7 ️ pic.twitter.com/cHJlsUMezr

— DSA East Bay (@DSAEastBay) May 4, 2017

The As Salaam Mosque has invited the East Bay community to show solidarity against harassment and discrimination, share cultural experiences, and celebrate diversity this Sunday from two to four thirty at 975 7th Street. There will be speakers, refreshments, and time to network with neighbors and local leaders.

Imam Muhammed and Pastor Jim Hopkins of the Lakeshore Baptist Church will lead the event in prayer. Speakers include Assembly Member Rob Bonta, leader in the State Sanctuary movement, Assembly Member Tony Thurmond,  Council Members Lynette Gibson McElhany and  Noel Gallo, Jose Hernandez of Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office, School Board Trustee Jumoke Hodge, and former Mayor Jean Quan.  Sundiata Rashid of the Lighthouse Mosque and Reverend Ken Chambers of the West Oakland Baptist Church will also address the gathering.

Jehan Hakim of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, organizer of the event along with Jean Quan, stated, “In these times of bigotry and harassment, it’s important for us as residents of the East Bay and beyond to spend the day with our Muslim neighbors learning what it means to create a real sanctuary in our community.”

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 3 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall.  If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph.  If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 3:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland.  (Note: we meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months,  once Daylight Savings Time springs forward we tend to assemble at 4 PM).

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 2 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over five years! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.

At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.

General Assembly Standard Agenda

1. Welcome & Introductions
2. Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
3. Announcements
4. (Optional) Discussion Topic

Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.

Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area

San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv

Have you ever wondered:

• What do police really spend their time doing?
• How much do they make, and why do they get paid so much?
• Could we shrink OPD and make Oakland an even safer, better place to live?

The process of allocating Oakland’s 2.6 billion dollar budget for 2017-2019 has begun.  We believe that the scandal-ridden and dysfunctional Oakland Police Department consumes far too many of our city’s resources.  It’s time to audit police spending and performance, and redirect wasted funds to community-building, constructive strategies for making Oakland a safer and better place to live.

Our Demands:

• INDEPENDENT AND THOROUGH COST SAVINGS AND PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
• DEFUND OPD BY 50%

PLEASE COME OUT TO YOUR LOCAL BUDGET FORUM:

Monday May 8, 6:30-8:30 pm, Councilmember Abel Guillen
St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave

Wednesday May 10, 6:30-8:30 pm, Councilmember Annie Campbell
Bret Harte Middle School, 3700 Coolidge Ave

Saturday May 13, 10am-12pm, Councilmembers Lynette McElhaney & Dan Kalb
Beebe Memorial Church, 3900 Telegraph Ave

Wednesday May 17, 6:30-8:30 pm, Councilmembers Larry Reid & Rebecca Kaplan
Oakland Zoo- Snow Building, 9777 Golf Links Road

Thursday May 18, 6-8pm, Councilmember Desley Brooks
Eastmont Police Dept. Substation, 2651 73rd Ave

Monday May 22, 6-8pm, Councilmember Lynette McElhaney
West Oakland Senior Center, 1724 Adeline St

Thursday May 25, 6:30-8:30 pm, Councilmember Abel Guillen
Lincoln Rec Center, 261 11th St. (cantonese interpretation)

Defund OPD will be at each of these budget meetings with information about the police budget, questions to ask, and our demands!  Please show up 15 minutes early if possible.  More information is available at defundopd.org.

#DefundOPD
In the last few weeks we’ve built a ton of momentum and had some significant successes:

-With incredible and wide-ranging community support, we’ve succeeded in making sure that the city’s outrageous and unaccountable spending on police is the #1 topic of discussion at every single city council member budget forum.
-We’ve already gotten the mayor to stand down from her effort to increase the police force to 800 officers, and now the discussion is turning to maintaining the current staffing levels (near 750) instead of the fully budgeted levels (792).
-We’ve gotten almost every council member to commit, on the record, to supporting an independent, thorough audit of police spending, and the city auditor’s office is on board.
-We’ve built a huge amount of synergy and mutual support with dozens of organizations who are calling for various budget priorities that will ACTUALLY make Oakland a safer and more just city — and many of them are now making explicit connections between the bloated police budget and the lack of funding for these crucial measures to support housing affordability, education, homeless services, youth programs and employment, and cultural initiatives.

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.

The Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality & State Repression (OGC) is a grassroots democratic organization that was formed as a conscious united front for justice against police brutality. The OGC is involved in the struggle for police accountability and is committed to stopping police brutality.

Press event to ReFund and ReInvest in Oakland & Release of our Community-Labor Budget Platform

We are inviting you to join renters, residents of affordable housing developments, city workers, seniors, artists, immigrants and low wage workers to call on City Leaders to ReFund our communities and support a Community Budget that ensures a healthy, livable and sustainable Oakland for EVERYONE!

In the wake of the Administration’s release of their proposed Bait & Switch Budget that prioritizes displacement and criminalization over the needs of our communities, the ReFund Oakland Community-Labor Coalition will be unveiling the community and worker’s vision for ReFunding & ReInvesting in our city and its most impacted neighborhoods.   It’s time to prioritize public services, housing our residents and protecting our workers and artists who make Oakland the soul of the Bay.

We will be demanding the Administration stand on the side of long-term residents, youth, seniors and workers and NOT wealthy developers who have helped to shape a Bait and Switch Budget that prioritizes displacement!

Please RSVP by responding directly to this email!

Background:

Oakland is in the midst of possibly the worst housing crisis in its 165 year old history.  Thousands of mostly Black and Brown families have been pushed out of the city, homeless encampments have proliferated, wages are still stagnant for low wage workers and our youth and long term, residents of color do not have access to the higher paying jobs that are attracting wealthier newcomers to the city.

In November, 2016, voters took to the polls in hopes of addressing many of these concerns, voting overwhelmingly to authorize ballot measures including Measure KK, Measure HH and others that they thought would alleviate the housing crisis and increase health amongst young people.  However this past Tuesday, Oakland’s current Administration released a Bait and Switch Budget that misallocates and redirects these funds. It continues to prioritize large developers and displacement, placing renters, youth, our city workers and first responders, low wage, immigrant workers, homeless folx and families on the back burner.  At a time of record displacement, nearly weekly fires at homeless encampments and a national administration that has waged war on poor, communities of color, we must demand that Oakland ReFund and ReInvest in our long-term communities and the thousands who have been forced out of their homes and onto the streets.  Additionally, there was no concrete plans in the Mayor’s budget to implement Measure JJ, the renter protection act, to ensure we are protecting tenants at a time of increased displacement.

The ReFund coalition includes ACCE Action, EBHO, SEIU 1021, Street Level Health Project (SLHP), Causa Justa::Just Cause, IFPTE Local 21, Oakland Tenants Union (OTU), CURYJ, Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) and many others!

Anti Lab is a kind of clubhouse for creative resistance, a meeting place for people who want to transform their frustration with the current political climate into action. Anti Lab’s calendar features everything from a tenants’ rights workshop presented by the East Bay Community Law Center to weekly screen-printing hours and a trans photo booth. All for free.

It will be open every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 11am-8pm (ish). With workshops/events on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, plus Saturday afternoons.
​

In the mood for resistance? Read our profile on Anti Lab & join them tonight at 6pm for Hot Fresh Dissent: https://t.co/1vZpSDX7xJ

— East Bay Express (@EastBayExpress) May 4, 2017

Tell the City Council to pass the Privacy Commission’s version. No weakening. No watering down. Real change. 

Subject: Surveillance And Community Safety Ordinance

From: Office Of The City Administrator

Recommendation: Adopt A Surveillance And Community Safety Ordinance Which Prescribes The Rules For The Acquisition And Use Of Surveillance Equipment And Technology, Establishes Oversight, Auditing And Reporting Requirements, And Imposes Penalties For Violations

Facebook Event

It’s been a little over three years since we came together to stop the DAC – the surveillance octopus orwellingly named the Domain Awareness Center.

Out of that effort came the establishment of the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission by the Oakland City Council. One of its mandates was to propose an ordinance to regulate all use of surveillance equipment by the City of Oakland, including and especially by OPD.

The ordinance the Commission has crafted, approved unanimously in January, is now up for consideration by the Oakland City Council. It will first be taken up by the Council’s Public Safety Committee on May 9, 2017. This is a crucial hearing.

We need and would very much like you to send a simple letter of support for the ordinance to City Council members. Here’s a brief summary of what the ordinance will do:

• Public hearings on every new gadget and computer program that can be used for surveillance or monitoring
• Approval or denial by vote of the Council on such equipment and software acquisition.
• Approval or denial by vote of the Council on any proposed information sharing with Federal agencies (e.g. ICE).
• Evaluation of civil rights concerns, and a cost/benefit analysis, BEFORE approval.
• Putting in place a privacy and use policy before any equipment or software can be deployed, specifying what it may – and may not – be used for, and how long any data it may gather may be kept.
• A public report every year on how and when the equipment or software has been used. 
• Imposes penalties for violations of the ordinance or a use policy.

Send Them An Email: Tell the City Council NOW to pass the Privacy Commission’s version. No weakening. No watering down. Real change.