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Oakland thinks a ‘living wage’ is $13.45/hr, but is unwilling to have it apply to anyone but Port Workers (and then some of their subcontractors violate the law and don’t pay it!)
The President just called for an increase in the national ‘minimum wage’ … to a shitty $9.00/hr. That’s completely ridiculous, but it means the issue is in the air now.
Let’s talk about what we can take to get a real livable wage for all workers in Oakland. Come join us – the Occupy Oakland Labor Solidarity Committee – as together we all plan a course of action to make this happen.
Mic check – @Kaymee: Next up on #OpThunderBird Action Agenda: #OpValentine! Then #FTP w/@OccupyTheMob and #oo #osf in March @OccupyToronto 😀 <3
Hello people of the world. It is time that people come and march as a bloc. Let’s keep it fun and cool , we have a set of rules to keep every safe so we can all march in peace.
FUCK THE POLICE MARCH
FTP2.0 – FUCK THE POLICETake our pigs for a walk. They need the exercise. And it only costs the city $50K a week!
*** This event is being called by the Occupy Oakland Tactical Action Committee. It might continue weekly.
The Tactical Action Committee was approved by Occupy Oakland’s GA to perform autonomous actions at their discretion. In that sense it is not an “official” Occupy Oakland event, in the sense that it was not directly, but indirectly, approved through the GA.***
IMPORTANT NOTE: NV folks are welcome, this is a peaceful protest — whatever that means.
FTP March, Iteration 2.0 March,1, 2013 – Tactical Parameters
Due to the fact that most of our internal issues on each march and action to date have come from a lack of information on what the tactical parameters of a particular action are expected to be, TAC will be calling for tactical parameters on this and all future FTP marches that may change as we learn and practice our skills in the streets.
Note that these are the wishes by the callers of the march. In the interests of solidarity please respect these parameters. These are being called for this march only. This goes both ways — please be respectful enough of the event to not pursue certain actions at this time if they are being put on the “please don’t” list; likewise, if you are uncomfortable with someone performing an action that is acceptable within the march parameters DO NOT INTERFERE with them. This is respect for diversity of tactics, and also proper solidarity in the face of our common enemy. There will come a day that this practice, discipline and restraint will serve us well as a unit.
If you cannot follow the parameters DO NOT ATTEND. They will be read before the march during the rally. People will be given the opportunity to back out if they feel they cannot respect the tactics, with no loss of face.
So, for this march, TAC is asking for the following:
SHIELDS: If you have the capability and the will to march in the front line, make a shield to carry for this Saturday’s action.
NO DAMAGE TO PRIVATE PROPERTY of any kind — people’s cars, any Oakland businesses (especially small businesses – but the Starbucks that was hit last time actually gives free coffee and food to our vigil so we prefer to leave all of them out at this time).
PROPERTY THAT IS FAIR GAME IF YOU ARE SO INCLINED – police vehicles and equipment. The police are not our friends, never have been, and never will be.
NO FRONTAL ASSAULTS ON THE POLICE – i.e., no bottle throwing. Defensive actions are fully accepted and encouraged. Shields, unarresting, disarming cops that are beating comrades, etc. MAKE THE POLICE STRIKE THE FIRST BLOW.
SPLIT-OFF MARCHES AND AUTONOMOUS ACTIONS ARE NOT DISCOURAGED. If you do decide to go your own route, please respect the above parameters. Large banks, huge international corporations that run this city with their money, political organization HQ such as the Democrat campaign office or the chamber of commerce are not considered private property for the purposes of the parameters. If you decide to split off, do your autonomous actions away from the main march, not right next to it.
We are not encouraging anyone to attack any property whatsoever, but some property is more acceptable than others if you really must risk your freedom by doing something of that nature.
FIRE CAN BE FUN – if you want to burn a usa flag in the street (that isn’t somebody’s car) then more power to you. If someone is burning a flag in the street then DO NOT INTERFERE.
BLOC UP: If you hear the shout, “Bloc up!” Or “Tighten up!” It is in your best interest to clump together with the main group in tight formation. Be aware of distance and do not string out along the march route. Do not give the police an opportunity to snatch you and plant evidence on you to conflate charges with.
And to repeat:
NO INTERFERING IN OTHER PEOPLE’S ACTIONS EVEN IF YOU DO NOT PERSONALLY AGREE WITH THEM. Do not yell stop. Do not grab your comrades. If you feel unsafe, move away. The parameters listed above are for our own use so that we can hold one another accountable afterwards for things that may not have gone according to plan. But in the face of the enemy WE SHOW FULL SOLIDARITY. Afterwards we can argue about stuff. Not during the action.
We are all adults. We are all comrades. We have a common enemy and we will have to learn to work as a unit. Following the action parameters on each FTP march should mitigate the fighting and problems we have consistently had after every action to date.
Thank you for your cooperation.
***
The Oakland Police Department has harassed and brutalized Occupy Oakland and participants in the vigil. Camps and liberated foreclosed buildings have been raided and shut down. OOers at the vigil have been arrested for as little as standing nearby when the police decide to raid, all the way up to the ridiculous charge of lynching. People have been physically assaulted by those supposed to protect and serve, but only do so in the interests of the 1%.
With dozens of our comrades having been arrested in the past couple of weeks, and culminating in the city’s revocation of the vigil’s permit and the immediate threat of another police raid to clear the plaza, the time has come to rise up and let them know what we think of them and that we will no longer meekly accept their violations of our civil and human rights.
Spread the word, send the invite, join us as we march in solidarity against police repression.
Wear blackBring shields if you are able and willing
Rally at 7:00 pmMarch on OPD HQ at 9:00 pm
THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING OCCUPY OAKLANDSOLIDARITY
We are Anonymous,
We are legion,
We never forgive,
We never forget,
we are 3 months
Late but still
you should have
Expected us.
Commander Jonathan Bellusa of the Oakland School Police Department has blown the whistle on his department. Against Hired Guns has published his legally sworn testimony which claims that protocols were not followed the night Raheim Brown, Jr. was killed, and exposes several other cover ups and unethical behavior in the department.
Check out the full write up and analysis, as well as context of policing in Oakland and organizing against it, at:
Against Hired Guns.
Against Hired Guns is not interested in defining the character of public outcry, but we also want to support concrete wins. Because of this, we will be facilitating a public meeting on Friday, March 8th at Uptown Studios (1738 Telegraph Ave in Oakland) from 6-8pm to support sustained and strategic campaigns against policing in our communities. We hope that a myriad of people and organizations concerned with keeping our communities safe from the harms of policing will be there.
The Foreclosure Defense Group presents its second event in the “Welcome to Class Warfare” series
Gentrification, foreclosures, “urban redevelopment”…. all are facets of the same brute force we feel acutely in our daily lives : Displacement, the uprooting and shifting of communities serving the demands of speculative capital and white supremacy. We offer this forum to hear voices from different struggles, to deepen understanding of the powers at play, and to strategize for popular self defense.
Speakers Include:
James Bealum, former Fillmore resident and organizer, will speak on the community organizing against displacment in the Fillmore of the mid-1960s
Darwin Bond-Graham, Oakland journalist and sociologist, will present on his recent work detailing the local “foreclosure-to-rental mill”. on the further impositions of precarity on the working class and communities of color.
Tony Marks-Block, an organizer with the Stop the Injunctions Coalition will speak to the deployment of gang injunctions effecting displacement
Brooke Terpstra, FDG organizer, will present on different models of present organizing and their underlying values and limitations.
Community members…. You! Each segment is intended not only as a presentation but as provocation! As starting points for discussion, the inclusion of all our voices. Each portion will have ample time and space for any questions and discussion.
Hope to see you Friday!
Wheelchair accessible.
Childcare provided (please rsvp)
A Cityscape by Geremy George
We will divide up into groups that will look something like this:
- Study & Research Groups (people interested in tackling specific research questions, reading books together, etc.)
- Outreach & Education (people interested in getting our message out – to community groups, churches, etc.)
- Direct Action (people interested in organizing Wells Fargo and other actions)
- Debtors’ Union (tactical work for collective organizing against private and public debt)
- Alternative Institutions (Alternative currencies, public banking, communal living, and more!)
Each group will begin to figure out how they want to organize: set up email lists; set meeting times; brainstorm further ideas, etc. Everyone is welcome at this meeting and we encourage you to bring friends!
From the expanding porn industry to the escalating attacks on abortion rights… In a world like this, there is no “neutral.” If you are not fighting the oppression of women, you are saying it’s okay!
The contract for Paratransit in Oakland is held by a company called Veolia, who also holds the contract for segregated, settler only bus lines that run inside the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We will march to Paratransit not with the intention of shutting them down or disrupting services for the day, but more to air their dirty laundry and pressure them to pull out of the West Bank.
This march is part of a larger day of happenings beginning at 4pm and going till about 9 that we are calling “A Feast to the Global Resistance” where we will gather at Oscar Grant Plaza for food, films, community, etc. The day marks the 4th anniversary of the shooting of Oakland activist TRISTAN ANDERSON by Israeli Border Police. Tristan survived (he was shot in the head with a tear gas grenade during a protest in Palestine in 2009) and will be leading the march from his wheelchair.
**We hope that others from the disability community will support the day’s events and join Tristan in the march on the anniversary of his shooting.**
This march is being called by Justice 4 Tristan, a small loose group of friends of Tristan, who are also folks from Occupy Oakland. We do not expect any kind of confrontation or problems. Our intentions are towards a positive, community gathering type of vibe for the day. Also, we are definitely activists who don’t take out permits and don’t march on the sidewalk.
For more info, check out the facebook event page
https://www.facebook.com/events/491728237558697/
Wed March 13
4:00- Feast and Gather [at Oscar Grant Plaza]
5:30- March
6:30- 9:00- Film Clips and Skype Calls
from Resistance Movements around the World [back at Oscar Grant Plaza]
Also, for more on the international campaign against Veolia, check out
http://wedivest.org/2013/01/why-target-veolia/
Come support the SHU prisoners’ class action lawsuit against solitary confinement! CDCR has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and on February 14th a federal judge will decide whether to allow the case to go to trial or dismiss it.
JOIN US for a RALLY outside the courthouse to put pressure on the court to hear our case!
After the rally, PACK THE COURTHOUSE! Bring your state ID and join us in the courtroom to show our solidarity with those inside, and show the judge and CDCR that we hold them accountable!
Finally, stick around for a PRESS CONFERENCE to raise awareness about this issue. We need to amplify the voices of the thousands of men and women inside the SHU who are silenced!
The March 14 action is placing three demands on SF elected representatives:
1) Use the power of your office to ensure that Prop A funds be used as the voters intended: to reverse cuts to classes, services, staff, and faculty.
2) Commit to filling any budget gap by advancing funds to CCSF. Call on Sacramento to reverse spending priorities. (California is currently 49th in public education spending and 1st in prison spending.)
3) Call on the Department of Education to take immediate action to stop the ACCJC’s unjustified show cause sanction against CCSF.
Endorsers of Rally (partial list):
Save CCSF; Associated Students Mission Campus; AFT 2121; United Educators of SF; SF Labor Council; Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring of Northern CA; Arab Resource and Organizing Center; Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club; Poor Magazine/Prensa Pobre; Socialist Organizer; Gray Panthers of SF; Senior Disability Action; California Alliance for Retired Americans; The Potrero Hill Democratic Club; Veterans for Peace SF Bay Area Chapter; CFT Local 4681 of San Mateo Adult School; Save The Berkeley Post Office; Friends of Deir Ibz’a; SF for Democracy; Marc Krizack; Federation of Retired Union Members; SF Older Women’s League;Answer Coalition; Bay Area Latin American Solidarity Coalition; International Brother of Teamsters 2010; The Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club; Freedom Socialist Party; Radical Women; Ann Wettrich Consulting
DEFEND OUR COLLEGE! CITY HALL MUST TAKE ACTION TO SAVE CCSF!
City College of San Francisco (CCSF) is widely acknowledged to be one of the best community colleges in the country. The current crisis is largely the joint creation of two groups: the accreditation commission (ACCJC), an unaccountable rogue body that has ties to for-profit colleges and the student loan industry; second, interim administrators who have no long-term commitment to the school. Both are abusing the accreditation process to impose an agenda to downsize the college, funneling students into private and online schools that will saddle them with crushing debt. This is an attack on tens of thousands of Bay Area residents, particularly from low-income, people of color, and immigrant communities.
We, the people of San Francisco, want to save our school and reverse the cuts to classes, programs, staff, and teachers. Join us on March 14 to call on the city’s elected officials to take immediate action. City Hall must ensure that Prop A funds are used for education — as the voters intended. It must fill any extra budget gap by advancing the funds to the college . And it must call on the Department of Education to stop the ACCJC’s unjustified “show cause” sanction against CCSF. Education is a right, not a privilege. Through united action we can stop the corporatization of City College and protect public education for all.
1pm Walkouts on each campus
2pm March from the Mission Campus (22nd and Valencia)
4-6pm Rally at SF City Hall (Civic Center)
Invite your friends to the Facebook event
Please spread the word!
Get involved: saveccsf.org – info@saveccsf.org – #saveccsfnow – facebook.com/saveccsf
Since June 2012, non-union food service workers at the Oakland Airport have been demanding a fair process to decide whether to form a union. They have since called for a boycott of airport shops, and participated in multiple rallies over the past seven months to highlight injustices and retaliatory firings.
Come stand with workers as they continue their fight for justice! We will be inside the terminals near baggage claim, as well as outside Terminal 2.
If you haven’t already, be sure to sign the boycott pledge.
For more information, visit our website.
UNITE HERE Local 2850, 1440 Broadway, Suite 208, Oakland, CA 94612, Tel. 510-893-3181, Fax 510-893-5362
RALLY TO DEFEND ILWU !
International Day Of Action
Stop Mitsui Union Busting and Concessionary Contracts
Fight the Lockout of ILWU by United Grain
in the Port of Vancouver, Washington
Friday March 15, 2013 – 4:30PM
1 Montgomery/Market Sts., SF
On March 15, 2013 there will be international actions and protests against the union busting lockout of ILWU Local 4 members by the Mitsui-owned company United Grain in the Port Of Vancouver, Washington.
Since the concessionary contract at EGT in Longview, Washington, other grain handlers have imposed a similar contract in NW grain ports after longshore workers voted 94% to reject it. The contract eliminated the union hiring hall, imposed a 12 hour day and allowed the replacement of union members if they stopped work for health and safety reasons. The other anti-union grain monopoly Cargill/Temco signed a separate agreement which includes many of these draconian measures which is being heralded by union officials as a “victory” because, they say, Cargill is American-owned. Longshore workers in Portland, the West Coast’s largest grain port, voted that concessionary contract down.
Already there have been fires and dangerous accidents working under these contracts.
Mitsui-owned United Grain locked out the ILWU members and have brought in scabs who have been training for many months to bust the ILWU. This attack on the union hiring hall, a key victory of the 1934 West Coast Maritime strike, is a major defeat for members of the ILWU and all workers whether in unions or not. This also whets the appetite of all maritime bosses who are want to impose EGT-type concessions in 2014 when the West Coast longshore contract expires.
The ILWU International leadership, using racist, flag-waving nationalism, is attacking Japanese capitalist bosses like they did during the lockout of ILWU Local 30 miners who were locked out in Boron, California by British-based Rio Tinto. This is a reactionary diversion. Only international labor solidarity actions can beat these union busters. Many companies are global. Whether British-owned company, Japanese-owned or American-owned, these companies are intent on destroying union labor here and around the world.
The ILWU Local 8 Executive Board in Portland and Japanese Doro-Chiba railway union have taken the initiative to call for action against Mitsui in solidarity with ILWU grain workers. The Transport Workers Solidarity Committee (TWSC) is supporting this International Day of Action.
Join us on Friday March 15th at 4:30 PM at 1 Montgomery Street in San Francisco at the headquarters of Mitsui in California. Let them know: Union busting is disgusting!
For more information go to www.transportworkers.org Or call 510-501-7080
Oakland based civil rights attorney James Chanin will discuss the
federalization of Oakland police and the recent movement to hire William
Bratton, the champion of “Stop and Frisk” policing. With over 40 years in the
struggle for police accountability, from the establishment of the Berkeley
Police Review Commission to the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA) that
guides Oakland’s police, James Chanin is a leading voice in the fight to stop
police abuse.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
ANTI-FLAG 20th Anniversary Tour! Two Nights in Oakland (Occupy Expressly Welcome!)
March Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st, 2013 (8PM)
Oakland Metro Operahouse – http://www.oaklandmetro.org
(Downtown Oakland – Jack London Square Station)
630 3rd Street – Oakland, California 94607 – (510) 763-1146
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The well-known punk band Anti-Flag has positively responded to a request made by members of Occupy Oakland to have a presence at their two performances happening in Oakland this week. “We would be honored to have [Occupy Oakland] table and speak at the show.” Anti-Flag will be performing on Wednesday, March 20th and Thursday, March 21st, 8PM at the Oakland Metro Opera house located in Jack London Square. Any Occupy member that has a powerful, succinct message to communicate may very well have the opportunity to deliver it live, on the mic, center stage. This is a call out to members of Occupy Oakland committees to bring your flyers, PR and recruiting skills, energy and passion to this tabling effort. Come one, come all! Bring your literature! Bring your message! Committee members and general troops will meet at the front entrance between 6:45-7:00PM and set up inside soon then after. Hope to see you there!
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Anti-Flag is an American punk rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, formed in 1988. The band is well known for its left-wing political views, focusing on anti-war activism, imperialism, class struggle, human rights, and various sociopolitical sentiments. The line-up includes singer/guitarist Justin Sane and drummer Pat Thetic, who founded the band; later members are guitarist Chris Head, and singer/bassist Chris Barker (#2) who replaced Jamie “Cock” Towns, who had replaced original bassist Andy Flag in 1997 following his departure one year prior. Anti-Flag is known also for their advocacy of progressive political action groups such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International. Most recently, the band has declared solidarity with the global Occupy Together movement.
Anti-Flag have been involved with activism throughout their musical career. This has included starting the activism groups The Underground Action Alliance, Military Free Zone (a group to protest a clause in the No Child Left Behind Act, which gave military recruiters automatic access to students’ personal details) and The Bright Lights. They have been involved in performing at multiple protests, including two in support of Rage Against The Machine.
They performed outside the Republican National Convention in 2008. They were supposed to be the last band to play, but when officials found out that Rage Against The Machine were going to perform after them, they shut down the stage’s power and Rage Against The Machine performed two songs using megaphones.
Most recently, the band played an acoustic set at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York City on October 8, 2011.
They also regularly support political organizations which include:
– Democracy Now!, the latest headlines from which can be found on the band’s homepage.
– PETA, who were one of the sponsors of their 2010 ‘The Economy Sucks Let’s Party’ tour.
– Amnesty International, to which the band donated money from the sale of The People and the Gun, have supported for a long time and who were one of the sponsors of their 2010 ‘The Economy Sucks Let’s Party Tour’.
– Greenpeace, with whom the band worked in order to persuade world leaders to attend the climate conference in Copenhagen and who were one of the sponsors of their ‘The Economy Sucks Let’s Party Tour’.
– Useless, whom they sold screen-printed limited-edition T-shirts with to raise money The Kandorwahun project, while raising awareness and visibility for Useless.
The band’s song “Die For Your Government” was sung by anti-war protesters who briefly blocked a road to prevent US troops from deploying to Iraq in August 2010.They have appeared in the 2010 music documentary Sounds Like A Revolution, about new protest music in America.
(Anti-Flag Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Flag)
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March 20th and 21st, 2013 (8PM)
Oakland Metro Operahouse – http://www.oaklandmetro.org
(Downtown Oakland – Jack London Square Station)
630 3rd Street – Oakland, California 94607 – (510) 763-1146
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Anti-Flag Web Site: http://www.anti-flag.com
Anti-Flag Oakland Tour Dates Page with Opening Acts and Ticket Links: http://www.anti-flag.com/?page_id=29
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YouTube Music Videos:
Anti-Flag: You’ve Got To Die For Your Government (With Lyrics): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN4m6nWI5XI
Anti-Flag: Fuck Police Brutality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smFVm7UIjbg
Anti-Flag: Anatomy of Your Enemy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzxMvGJ7gwE
Anti-Flag: Fuck the Flag:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx2hEWdivGw
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Other Media Event Announcement Page(s):
East Bay Express Event Page (w/directions link): http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/anti-flag-20-year-anniversary-show-1/Event?oid=3484013
Join Occupy the Farm and student group We Dig the Farm for a merry afternoon celebrating spring!
Featuring
Seed Planting + Seedling giveaways: we’ve got the seeds, dirt and itty bitty pots, you bring your hands and ears and we’ll teach you all about growing your own food and send you home with a head start
T-shirt and poster making: t-shirts and poster materials provided along with paint and artsy stencils
Food!!! compliments Food Not Bombs
Live Music and acclaimed speakers delivering tunes and knowledge throughout the entire event.
12:30-1:30 Wago and Chris of Magnetic Highway
2:00-2:30 Dear Indugu
3:30-4:00 Emily Yates, Ukulele Superstar!
The acclaimed speakers will be interspersed with the music, and they are TBA
Brings friends, family, and a blanket or two sit on. We will provide the rest!!
More info at Occupy The Farm website