Calendar
***PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE BELOW!
The Bay Area Battle in Transport: Workers Face Employer Onslaught
No More Defeats Like Wisconsin!
Business Unionism vs.
Class Struggle Unionism
Meeting:
November 10 (Sunday) 2:00 PM
At: Black Repertory Theater
3201 Adeline Street, Berkeley
Although BART workers marched through downtown Oakland in August and October chanting “Strike, strike, strike!”, union officials shackled them with a concessionary contract.
Why did BART workers settle for a concessionary contract after fighting for four months — striking twice, staging militant mass rallies in downtown Oakland, and inspiring AC Transit bus drivers and mechanics to twice vote down concessionary contracts — each time overwhelmingly?
Why did BART workers vote so resoundingly to approve the concessionary contract (more than 85% of those voting voted “Yes”)? Was this the best they could do? How could they have won a better contract?
Why didn’t BART union leaders mobilize the rank and file (for example, through democratically elected strike committees?) Why wasn’t there a joint strike committee of the BART unions (ATU 1555, SEIU 1021, and AFSCME 3993) and the AC Transit union (ATU 192)? Why did ATU 192 president Yvonne Williams denounce a joint strike of AC Transit workers and BART workers as “Armageddon”?
Why did BART and AC Transit union officials put their faith in Democratic politicians rather than reaching out aggressively to labor and the community? Why did ATU 1555 leaders call on Jerry Brown to invoke a 60-day cooling-off period to suspend the right to strike? How can we defend the right to strike for transit workers, when Democratic state politicians are drafting legislation to make such strikes illegal?
Why did ILWU officials turn their backs on their union’s militant history and direct their members to cross a picket line of port truckers and community supporters? How can ILWU members reclaim the solidarity their union badly needs. Longshoremen are locked out at two northwest ports. Scabs are doing their work. And negotiations for the ILWU’s master contract for all West Coast ports is just around the bend.
Has the labor movement lost its class struggle moorings? In its heyday unions fought for the unemployed and underemployed, for immigrant workers and youth, against racism and home foreclosures. What can be done to ignite such struggle today, forge real solidarity, and beat the bosses’ barrage of union busting?
Come hear speakers involved in these worker struggles:
George Figueroa– Strike Coordinator of the successful July BART strike for ATULocal 1555*, now being victimized by BART.
Clarence Thomas– Co-Chair of the Million Worker March, Executive Board member of ILWU 10*
A Member ATU Local 192* (AC Transit worker)
Yemane Seium, Frank Adams– Organziers, Oakland Port Truckers’ Association*
Jack Heyman– Chair of TWSC and an organizer of the 1984 longshore anti-apartheid ship boycott, the May Day 2008 anti-war West Coast port shutdown and the 2010 Bay Area ports protest for justice for Oscar Grant
(*for identification purposes only)
This forum is organized by the Transport Workers Solidarity Comittee (www.transportworkers.org)
The Post Office has put the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!
Five weeks ago we learned that perfidious Post Office Executives, who only the week before had sent a letter to the Berkeley City Council offering to negotiate until at least November 12th, had had CBRE (Richard Blum’s company) list the downtown Berkeley Post Office for sale.
Last week the Planning Commission passed on to the Berkeley City a proposed Zoning Ordinance that would make the Post Office property less desirable to potential purchasers of the capitalist variety.
Come and help plan our next actions in defense of our post office and against privatization.
Check out the video of Peter Byrne’s talk at our recent Save the Post Office Rally!
Less than 2 months ago, Occupy Wall Street’s Alternative Banking Group published a brand new 100-page book entitled, “Occupy Finance”! The entire book is available free online.
Strike Debt Bay Area’s “Politics of Debt” book discussion group will get together in downtown Oakland next Wednesday evening, November 13th, to discuss the first half of the book, including the following chapters:
Introduction: Fighting Our Way Out of the Financial Maze
Section 1. The Real Life Impact of Financialization on the 99%
Chapter 1. Heads They Win, Tails We Lose
Chapter 2. The Bailout: It Didn’t Work, It’s Still Going On, and It’s Making Things Worse
Section 2. How We Got Here
Chapter 3. How Banks Create Money … and Keep Itt
Chapter 4. A Little History to Explain a Lot of Tragedy
Chapter 5. The Dirty Dozen Legal Outrages
Join us for lively and informative discussion of this important Occupy achievement!
All are welcome!
#WalmartStrikers are #HellaOURWalmart and we are here to tell Walmart we’re here to stay and not backing down. Join us for a community planning meeting this Saturday for Black Friday 2013 in the Bay.
Near 12th St BART in downtown Oakland.
Northern California Our Walmart Facebook.
And Twitter @ForRespectNoCal and @HellaOURWalmart
Fighting the proposed curfew in Oakland. Protesting in Sacramento on O22. Demanding that Kamala Harris investigate the death of Alan Blueford and all other victims of police violence here in California. Speaking out against the militarization of police.
Join as as we review our recent actions and plan future ones!
The DAC is being debated at the City Council meeting this Tuesday. Come help organize for the meeting, for the rally, and in general against Orwell’s nightmare.
THE ENTRANCE TO THE SUDO ROOM IS ON 22ND ST!!!
Our weekly open meeting for members and supporters to discuss the weeks tasks and projects. Come get plugged into ongoing housing defense work! We have abundant and varied work for all folks in any number of meaningful projects.
Rain location: SF Pizza, 1500 Broadway, Oakland
Our weekly open meeting for members and supporters to discuss the week’s tasks and projects. Come get plugged into ongoing housing defense work! We have abundant and varied work for all folks in any number of meaningful projects.
Rain location: SF Pizza, 1500 Broadway, Oakland
The Post Office has put the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!
Six weeks ago we learned that perfidious Post Office Executives, who only the week before had sent a letter to the Berkeley City Council offering to negotiate until at least November 12th, had had CBRE (Richard Blum’s company) list the downtown Berkeley Post Office for sale.
Last week the Planning Commission passed on to the Berkeley City a proposed Zoning Ordinance that would make the Post Office property less desirable to potential purchasers of the capitalist variety. We are still waiting for action on this from the City Council.
Come and help plan our next actions in defense of our post office and against privatization. We want to send a message to CBRE, the Post Office and Berkeley politicians that the sale will not be tolerated!
Check out the video of Peter Byrne’s talk at our latest Save the Post Office Rally!
We’ll meet at Albany City Hall for a rally and then a march. After the march we will all meet to strategize and plan. This is our chance to take the organizing to the next level.
(Also, see the court hearing listing for earlier on this date)
We held our Town Hall meeting to discuss the need to get rid of the Alameda County Sheriff and District Attorney on Tuesday, November 5th.
Now it’s time to talk about the nuts and bolts of such a campaign.
Bring your organizing hat, your ideas, and your friends!
Let’s replace Ahern and O’Malley with real progressives, dedicated to the welfare of all Alameda County residents.
Purpose:
To brainstorm how to implement the principles and practices of Restorative Justice throughout the City of Oakland that will facilitate Oakland becoming a restorative city. To develop a plan of action designed to empower citizens, eradicate violence, and build community and relationships by introducing, utilizing, implementing, and maintaining ongoing restorative justice circle processes in neighborhoods, schools, families, churches, synagogues, government, justice system, hospitals, unions, and workplaces citywide until it becomes a way of life. To have restorative conversations become the cornerstone for addressing conflict and harms, promoting understanding and collaboration, celebrating Oakland’s rich diversity, and changing the culture throughout the City of Oakland and beyond.
Please join us at this initial meeting to indicate your interest, lend your voice and ideas, suggest who else needs to be a part of the discussion, and to strategize about next steps in the development of a plan of action. We will discuss a proposal that this project become a collaborative effort of the Alameda County Restorative Juvenile Justice Task Force.
Judge Gail Brewster Bereola
Alameda County Superior Court of California
Oakland Privacy Working Group Meeting: Saturday, 11/23, 6pm @ Sudo Room
Join us for a meeting of the Oakland Privacy Working Group:
When:
Saturday
November 23, 2013
6pm
Where:
Sudo Room
2141 Broadway
Oakland
Directions
Organize to stop the Oakland Domain Awareness Center!
The City Council meeting may have been a joke (as we expected), but seventy people showed up in the drizzling rain to rally at 5:30 last Tuesday against DAC and then many stayed it out to speak truth to power at midnight!
There is more to do!
Come help us plan our next steps.
Our weekly open meeting for members and supporters to discuss the weeks tasks and projects. Come get plugged into ongoing housing defense work! We have abundant and varied work for all folks in any number of meaningful projects.
Rain location: SF Pizza, 1500 Broadway, Oakland
Our weekly open meeting for members and supporters to discuss the week’s tasks and projects. Come get plugged into ongoing housing defense work! We have abundant and varied work for all folks in any number of meaningful projects.
Rain location: SF Pizza, 1500 Broadway, Oakland
The Postal Service has put the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!
Seven weeks ago we learned that perfidious Post Office Executives, who only the week before had sent a letter to the Berkeley City Council offering to negotiate until at least November 12th, had CBRE (Richard Blum’s company) list the downtown Berkeley Post Office for sale.
A couple of weeks ago the Planning Commission passed on to the Berkeley City a proposed Zoning Ordinance that would make the Post Office property less desirable to potential purchasers of the capitalist variety. We are still waiting for action on this from the City Council.
Help us organize a public meeting on Debember 5th about what’s happening with our Post Office!
Come and help plan our next actions in defense of our post office and against privatization. We want to send a message to CBRE, the Post Office and Berkeley politicians that the sale will not be tolerated!
Check out the video of Peter Byrne’s talk at our latest Save the Post Office Rally!
Oakland is receiving federal money to build a Domain Awareness Center with cameras, audio recording devices and other technologies that will make it possible for the police and other government agents to monitor the movements and affiliations of all residents and visitors to the city.
http://oaklandwiki.org/Domain_Awareness_Center
We are planning to educate people about this process with a presence at the Oakland First Friday event on December 6th with a table, fliers, perhaps our own set of intrusive video cameras and street theater. Join us Tuesday evening to help plan this action. If you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy Working Group email listserv send an email to this address:
oaklandprivacyworkinggroup-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
The meeting will be at the sudoroom, 2141 Broadway, but the entrance is actually on 22nd Street upstairs.
Our weekly open meeting for members and supporters to discuss the weeks tasks and projects. Come get plugged into ongoing housing defense work! We have abundant and varied work for all folks in any number of meaningful projects.
Rain location: SF Pizza, 1500 Broadway, Oakland
Our weekly open meeting for members and supporters to discuss the week’s tasks and projects. Come get plugged into ongoing housing defense work! We have abundant and varied work for all folks in any number of meaningful projects.
Rain location: SF Pizza, 1500 Broadway, Oakland