Calendar
There will be protests, in Andy’s name, as a collaboration with countless organizations around the nation, with groups protesting in their own respective cities…
Facebook page, more info & RSVP.
Come Tell Your Story.
Guest Speakers & Open Mic. Music, Snacks, Information Tables.
Say NO to Veolia/City Union Busting!
Hands off the Boston School Bus Union 5
– Vice President Steven Gillis (fired 11/1/13),
– Grievance Chair and Local founder Stevan Kirschbaum (fired 11/1/13),
– Recording Secretary and Charlestown Chief Steward Andre Francois,
– Steward and Local founder Richard Lynch and Steward
– 3 term former President Garry Murchison.
The latter three suspended and threatened with firing.
Every day, USW Local 8751 members in Boston are experiencing more and increasing disrespect from Veolia management, including constant suspensions and threats based on bogus allegations and constant harassment. This includes an illegal lockout that occurred on October 8 that was substantiated and witnessed by local union officials and community leaders, which followed a constitutionally protected free speech protest and discussion by the workers of Veolia’s contract violations and disrespect.
eolia is an international conglomerate that has an extensive history of union busting, and relentless attacks on communities of color. Veolia is an International Tea Party patriot with links to the Koch brothers and the 1%. Their crimes of greed are worldwide, from the profits garnered from running segregated buses and a “settlers only” garbage dump in Israeli occupied Palestine.
Facebook page, More info & RSVP.
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
***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!
Join the Port Truckers as they make noise at city hall while some are inside meeting with California Air Resources Board. This is the body that is able to grant some of the demands of the Truckers, including an extension on truck upgrades and grant funding to compensate the cost of upgrades. They had refused to meet with the truckers until the port action in October.
While a few if them are in the meeting with CARB, port and city officials, the truckers want to let them know that there is LOTS of support for them outside!!
Protest Against the Indictment of Palestinian Activist, Rasmea Odeh
The United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and Rasmea’s supporters and legal team have called for the 13th of this month to be NATIONAL DAYS of ACTION to support Rasmea and demand dropping of the charges now!
If convicted, Rasmea faces up to 10 years in prison, being stripped of her U.S. citizenship, and probable deportation. We cannot allow this to happen. The charges against her are a political attack on her as an individual and on Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities across the U.S. as a whole. The U.S. government is attacking Rasmea just as they attacked the Holy Land Foundation, the 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists in 2010, Chicano leader, Carlos Montes, and many others who have fought for justice and dignity.
Endorsed by: USPCN, Palestinian Youth Movement, Arab Resource and Organizing Center, International Jewish Anti-zionist Network, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Bay Area Committee to Stop Political Repression, National Lawyer’s Guild-San Francisco, Freedom Archives, Critical Resistance, All Of Us Or None
Take Action!
Sign the petition to drop the charges against Rasmea: http://www.iacenter.org/rasmeaodehpetition/
Call and send photos of support for Rasmea!
Join the Facebook page: Drop The Charges Against Rasmea Now!
Mobilize to support Rasmea at her next hearing in Detroit on November 13th.
Have your organization sign or write a solidarity statement (email to: stopfbi@gmail.com)
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.
Prime Minister Lamothe & Sean Penn do NOT Speak for the Haitian Majority
Protest the Lies about Haiti in SF
On Tuesday, November 19 in San Francisco, Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe and actor Sean Penn (named “Ambassador at Large for Haiti”by Michel Martelly), will spread the false message of the fraudulent Martelly government. Join Haiti Action Committee to protest against these lies, as well the corruption and repression of the Martelly/Lamothe government.
The people of Haiti are still in the midst of an occupation instigated by the United States and United Nations in 2004. As supporters of the Martelly government, which is in the process of bringing back dictatorship to Haiti, Prime Minister Lamothe and actor Sean Penn DO NOT speak in the interests of the Haitian majority.
Come stand in solidarity with the Haitian grassroots, who will be demonstrating the day before in Haiti, on the 210th anniversary of the Battle of Vertières (one of the last battles that sealed the victory of the Haitian Revolution).
Come stand in solidarity, to echo the demands of the Haitian majority:
•To protest the CORRUPTION and ILLEGALITY of the Martelly/Lamothe government.
•To protest the government’s widespread repression of the poor.
•To protest the INJUSTICE of the nearly 10-year-old US/UN occupation and the suffering it inflicts on the Haitian people.
•To support the right of the Haitian majority to fully participate in the running of their country, FREE from repression and terror.
•To support the right of Haitian children, women, and men, to have free access to education, food, jobs, housing, and healthcare.
Much valuable background information is available in Ten Steps to Dictatorship: Why the Grassroots Movement is Taking to the Streets Against President Michel Martelly by Charlie Hinton
*This shameful event is part of the Dreamforce Conference, an annual event of the cloud computing company Salesforce.com.
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
There will be gathering at the Valencia Gardens entrance for a march to the 17th Valencia police station for a press conference demanding the release of both individuals, demanding all charges dropped & demanding the undercover Narcotics officer that beat DJ & 3 other individuals be fired. Please join us!