Increasingly comprehensive overview of actions taking place in the SF Bay Area on May 1st. Listings of various planned direct actions, union and autonomous strikes, marches, occupations, shutdowns, etc. with the option to add/announce your own. Links to other similar sites : Chicago, Seattle, NYC.
More here: Strike May 1st — Bay Area May Day Clearinghouse.
A discussion with Jasper Bernes (involved with Occupy Oakland) and members of the journal Endnotes
March 11, 3 pm
The Public School @ China Town (951 Chung King Rd., Los Angeles, CA)
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February 20, 2012 is National Occupy Day in Support of Prisoners. It has been called for by prisoners and is sponsored by Occupy Oakland, Occupy Chicago, Occupy Baltimore and others. More information is available here.
As you have heard or seen reported in international news now, Occupy
Oakland experience extreme police repression from several different
agencies yesterday after thousands of Oakland residents attempted to
take over an empty building to build a social center. The majority of
the arrests, however, took place later in the night on a march when
protesters were kettled. The Oakland Commune was teargased, shot by
bean bag and rubber bullets, and many people were severely beaten.
Our situation is the following: we have hundreds of people who have
been arrested and kept in three different sites. Today we had 350
people in Santa Rita jail, with others in Glen Dyer and in North
County. We do not know exactly how many have been arrested but it is
possibly up to 400. There is also an immense range of charges and
some arrestees have multiple chargers.
We also have many cases of comrades in jail who have been injured by
the police, including head injuries, and others who have
vulnerabilities of concern such as medical conditions or trans gender
status.
Some people have already been released but many others are held on
bail until their arraignment. Some people can hold tight and others
simply cannot.
Occupy Oakland has very little money to handle this situation. We need
to bond people out and also make sure people get the medical attention
they deserve and need.
PLEASE PUT OUR DONATION INFORMATION FOR BAIL ON YOUR WEBSITE, BLAST IT
ON THE INTERNET, FACEBOOK, ETC.
HERE IS THE LINK:
https://www.wepay.com/x35uob0/donations/occupy_oakland_bail_fund
via occupyoaklandmoveinday.org
Letter to the Mayor, OPD and City Council on Occupy Oakland’s Move-in Day
Dear Mayor Jean Quan, Oakland Police Department, and Oakland City Council,
As you probably know, Occupy Oakland is planning the occupation of a building on January 28th that will serve as a social center, convergence center, headquarters, free kitchen, and place of housing for Occupy Oakland. Like so many other people, Occupy Oakland is homeless while buildings remain vacant and unused. For Occupy this is in large part because of yourselves, having evicted us twice from public space that was rightfully ours. For others it is because of the housing bubble, predatory lending, the perpetual crises of capitalism, and far reaching histories of imperialism and systemic violence.
Our families, friends, and communities built the buildings that sit empty in post-industrial Oakland. Now these buildings outnumber the homeless and represent the theft of our collective labor as the class of the unpropertied and dispossessed. Allowing this building to remain vacant while so many are in need is injurious theft, injustice; its extralegal occupancy is not.
When Occupy Oakland was first evicted on October 25, we organized a General Strike on November 2nd with only a week to plan. November 2nd proved our strength and relevancy. Conservative estimates said twenty thousand took the streets, but for those of us who marched on the ports it could have been a hundred thousand. November 2nd was an inspiration for the Occupy Movement and public condemnation of your violent repression.
Eventually we reoccupied Oscar Grant Plaza only to suffer a second violent eviction on November 14th. At this time there was a national crackdown on the Occupy movement as evictions were happening in Boston, New York City, Atlanta, Portland OR and elsewhere. It was revealed that you, Jean Quan, had been coordinating with federal agents how to best repress dissent. In response Occupy Oakland was the impetus for a West Coast Port Shut Down, in solidarity with Longview ILWU workers whose union is under attack by EGT. The action escalated to a national and then international action as more occupations signed on. In Oakland alone the shutdown cost some $8.7 million dollars in lost revenue and proved that when civic and economic institutions do not serve us, we can shut them down.
Since the beginning of the Occupy Movement when you have exacted violent repression on us we have proven that we are more powerful and diffuse than you. If you try to evict us again we will make your lives more miserable than you make ours.
This may be in one or more of the following forms:
-Blockading the airport indefinitely
-Occupying City Hall indefinitely
-Shutting down the Oakland ports
-Calling on anonymous for solidarity
It will be in our mutual interest if you respect our occupation by recognizing our residency and imminent domain. We are sure that we all look forward to the needs of Oakland’s people finally being met.
Don’t fuck with the Oakland Commune.
Signed,
Occupy Oakland Move-In Assembly
via cuntrastamu!
