Occupy Strike Plans to Shut Down City of Oakland on Wednesday

Last week, over 1,600 people at the Occupy Oakland General Assembly voted to approve a resolution to shut down the city of Oakland with a citywide general strike this Wednesday, November 2nd. The proposed strike intends to close all banks and corporations for the day, while calling on laborers, teachers and students to join mass gatherings at 14th and Broadway at 9 a.m, 12 noon and 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Support for the general strike extends beyond the protesters at Frank Ogawa Plaza, as the strike has also been endorsed by labor union SEIU Local 1021 and the the teachers of the Oakland Educational Association.

In addition to staging a walkout of businesses and schools, the protest intends to shut down the Port of Oakland by forming a picket line before the 7 p.m. night shift.

In the city, Occupy San Francisco has also pledged support, with some members planning to meet at Justin Herman Plaza before taking BART to meet up with protesters in Oakland. There is, of course, the possibility that SFPD or BART officials could shutdown San Francisco BART stations during evening commute hours on Wednesday in order to block a mass movement across the Bay.

Finally, a little bit of history on strikes in Oakland: in 1946, a general strike shut down all stores except pharmacies and food markets. Bars, meanwhile, were allowed to stay open as long as they only served beer and put their jukeboxes out on the sidewalk. Sounds like a blast.

Note: SEIU Local 1021 reached out to SFist, they wanted to make sure it's clear that the union is supporting the strike, but is not officially asking members to strike. Rather, they encourage members to work with their employers to get the day off to participate.

[OccupyOakland]

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By Andrew Dalton in News on October 31, 2011 10:35 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

david

Soviet era art work? Fitting..

spo1

Hey Conservative wackos:
Occupy Wall St/USA, like any other political movements need funding and revenue
****s. Look at your precious Republican Party... biggest bunch of paid
for Ho's history has ever witnessed.
Sal

DID YOU KNOW?

I remember the day the Occupy protest movement started. One of the founders of Conscious Man Consultants made the call we'd been waiting for:

3-30-11, Frank from ABQ call, aired on Randi Rhodes radio show (Nicole Sandler -guest host) .

“I
always hear about the enemies of freedom abroad… what about the FIGHT
against enemies of freedom here at home. I don’t know about you people
but past experiences in my role as a political activist, community
organizer and blue collar worker, it felt like a battle to me.Funny
thing... No Muslim ever called me a Liberal wacko like Rush Limbaugh.
No foreign Dictator threatens my belief system on a daily basis like FOX
News. No Communist ever tried to turn me into a low wage slave like the
Koch Bros and the Republican Party Millionaires. I’ve been saying for
years a few fanatical terrorists who perverted Islam don’t scare me near
as much as those FOOLS who believe Capitalism can survive without
ETHICS, RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY!"
©2011 by FGE

“…if you’re ignorant, you’re scared of ideas…” unidentified young woman at Occupy Wall St, Zuccotti Park, NY, NY. interviewed by Geraldo Rivera at large

jfu222

You guys exaggerate everything just to "prove your point" (on both sides of the argument). No wonder we are in the mess we are in.

Me?

I'm just pissed that Big Pharm, Oil,Weapons, Tobacco, Media, and Big Food corporations are telling the government/us what to do...and they/we are doing it.

I know it's been going on since before I was born, but it's seems pretty clear to me that the population is pretty sedated or just doesn't care anymore about the consequences of having those entities take the helm.

So, there are LAZY IDIOTS on both sides. People that don't want to work hard and contribute to themselves (and society as a whole) and people that refuse move out of their "comfort zone" to see things the way the are.

Fuck both you.

Eyeheartfreedumb

For me, I was sedate for so long because "the machine" seemed so big, and being crushed by it seemed inevitable.
I always wished that We The People would realize the potential of what the founders laid out for us, but it seemed so impossible.
Then one day I got my copy of ADBUSTERS in the mail and inside it talked about the idea of Occupy Wall Street.
Now all we have to do is look out our windows to see that we haven't given it all away just yet.

Guest

"Fuck both you"?

Okay, Frankenstein, we'll do that.

James

can't get to work because Public Transportation is shut down?..here is an Idea..Buy a Bicycle.

Sean

I am becoming more convinced this a socialist, anarchistic movement. Remember people revolutions eat their young. I think you all need to read Orwell's Animal Farm. Attaching viciously as you do all business as if all business is evil is just stupid. A bunch of useful idiots. I am off the internet for a couple weeks. This is all depressing. I am fearful for my two young children. What the hell is happening to my country?

Eyeheartfreedumb

Afraid? Welcome to the 99%.
Lets talk about solutions.

Spysea

Supporters of the tent city;

http://pjmedia.com/zombie/2011...

Miles_Long

Is the 99% the symptom or the disease?

Only 2% of Americans according to the Small Business Adminstration own a business that employs at least one non-relative employee.

2% of Americans employ the other 98%.
If business is the way to gain wealth, then only 2% of the population has the means of production and consequently are in the position to be rewarded for their risk.

In the Greatest Capitalistic Society in the History of Civilization, I would love to see Americans become more entrepreneurial, risk and reap their rewards.

If only an additional 2% of Americans started a business, we would DOUBLE the rates of entrepreneurship! Entrepreneurs are elite. And that sidewalk Lemonade Stand is in rare company next to the Apple Computer and Google Garage. Dream Big.

Complaining about the 2% of business owners is not the solution. Rather OWS protesters should get an inspired idea for a business, commit passionately, risk, work harder than you ever work in before in your life, and become another 2%.

Instead of attacking the 2% of entrepreneurs, we should be joining this needed elite in trying to build and grow an economy in a difficult climate.

Eyeheartfreedumb

Or you could go down to your local Occupy site and start talking about ways to design the system so that a much larger percent has the opportunity to drive their own destiny. Why does it have to be such an elite 2%? And why SO much money at the expense of some others having literally nothing and starving to death, needlessly?
Can we design a system that allows people to take risks without the likely result being failure and bankruptcy? Wouldn't that promote more innovation?
These are the questions (and many more) that are driving many of the occupy discussions.

Mike Tattoo

Miles,

Funny Lemonade Stand analogy.

Not sure if you’re been following these stories or not ….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Midnight Fapper

What are these idiots crying about again?

zippy_monster

You could Google it...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ma...

http://www.slate.com/articles/...

...

Midnight Fapper

So in other words, a bunch of drug addicted kumbayah singing unemployed losers feel capitalism is ,,unfair" and corporations are ,,evil"?

Really?

The alternative is what?

Eggcream

Yeah, it would be nice (for you) if the composition of people supporting as well as showing up to OWS demonstration was mostly as you describe. Cept, it ain't.

Miles_Long

Socialism, but they aren’t willing to quite come out and say that quite yet.

http://socialistparty-usa.org/...

http://www.socialistalternativ...

Shibi_SF

On el dia de los muertos, too!

pchazzz

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics: "In 2010, the union membership rate--the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union--was 11.9 percent, down from 12.3 percent a year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions declined by 612,000 to 14.7 million. In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million union workers."

This is the last gasp of the unions. They are seizing onto the Occupy movement and trying desperately to co-opt it.

Eggcream

Naw, you sympathize with the mission of the bosses yet you're practically a pauper. What's wrong with you, man? The labor movement and OWS have a natural affinity, same fight, same enemy. No co-opting taking place, it's called solidarity.

Miles_Long

The success of every radical movement in American history has occurred when it is co-opted by the forces of reform.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

robert zonkers

occupy mountain view! fuck yeah brah!

oh_jees

I... kinda wish they wouldn't use posters resembling Soviet-era propaganda.

MrEricSir

But Soviet-era propaganda is both ironically hip AND retro!

ertomanse

Just one of many posters...

Spysea

Anyone in my business missing work for this will be looking for work as of Nov 3rd

MrEricSir

Posting braindead comments on the internet all day is a business? How much money do you make?

Spysea

you folks come off as really intelligent ....

zippy_monster

Takes one to know one.... wait. I see what you did there.

MrEricSir

Coming from you, that's a compliment! Thanks.

Spysea

sure think Mr Eric...

Guest

Please do tell us which business this is so we can avoid it; unless of course you're afraid to put the name of said establishment next to your viewpoints.

ows_jason

Please do say which business this is so we can be sure to avoid doing business with you in the future; or are you too afraid to put your business name behind your viewpoints?

ertomanse

Then we on Occupy Oakland will shut yoyr business down.

Brian Mastro

OWS leaderless demandless useless

bawlsdeep

... Oakland? Really? Kind of a lame target for occupation vis-a-vis something like San Fran, Mountain View, etc? Maybe OWS should occupy Newark, Utica, etc?

Dead Himmler

The last thing these people should do is anger the 1%.

Samantha Nicholson

Dumbasses.

jackterrier

P.S. this guy wrote you a personal note about OWS.

http://www.capecodtoday.com/bl...

Samantha Nicholson

I like that you Googled me.

Miles_Long

The thing that gets me is that the premise that these radicals are basing their occupation encampments on is that somehow that the system we have is causing an unfair distribution of wealth, which is wrong. What system do that want?

From that article “Revolution is simply the only alternative. A society which is efficient for a few but grossly inequitable for many is simply not sustainable forever, unless the powerful intend to rule over the rest of us by brute force.” This is really how they feel, and it’s simply not true. They want a revolution. I just wish they had the balls to come out and admit that they want a SOCIALIST revolution.

First off, historically economic inequality is going down and the quality of life is getting better for the greatest number of people. Here watch what every Occupy Camper should see. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

jackterrier

Uppity twat.

Isn't namecalling fun?

Edited: for misogyny

sfist_tips

Will you rephrase that, please. Seriously.

Guest

Not really, bitch.

threechordme

If they are all representatives of the under/unemployed how can they go on a general strike???

withak30

So if you are out of work, Wednesday or Thursday looks to be a good day to try looking for openings.

ertomanse

Scab...

culture_drone

I'm still baffled why all of this stuff is going down in Oakland. I can't really think of any better example of the 99% vs. the 1% than Oakland vs. SF off the top of my head. Ed Lee, the SF Chamber of Commerce and all the restaurants and hotels are no doubt overjoyed that this stuff is happening across the bay far from it having any visible effect on their business. Same with the OccupySF folks talking about moving to City Hall. What's at City Hall? There's no brokerage firms or banks there. If I was slightly more paranoid I'd suggest that the big interests of San Francisco have the ear of some of the Occupy folks.

I don't particularly want people rioting or crazy police actions in San Francisco (or anywhere else for that matter) but having these protests far away from the centers of power seems ridiculous.

anonbosch

That's easy. Oakland is a poorer city than SF, with shady politicians looking to profit and/or avoid the blame and suffering. Your centers of power are closer to home than some skyscraper across the bay.

Mike Tattoo

“I'm still baffled why all of this stuff is going down in
Oakland.”

Well, apparently the Port of Oakland is a matter of national
security.... which makes me wonder how many tons of narcotics the government has going through there on a daily basis

http://www.socialistviewpoint....

... Last June, in an unprecedented act of government
intimidation of unions, Homeland Security Chief Ridge and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld made phone calls to ILWU President Spinosa warning that dock actions during longshore contract negotiations would threaten “national security.”

**

And remember that poor girl that the cops shot in the face with wooden pellets.

http://coalitionforworldpeace....

Damn! I seem to recall the cops even fucked up some dock workers who weren’t even protesting, but just got caught up in the cross fire as they were trying to make their way to work.

culture_drone

They're not protesting anywhere near the port though. This is kind of similar to when all the Oscar Grant protests happened, 14th & Broadway got all fucked up and BART HQ didn't get touched.

Guest

What? It says: "In addition to staging a walkout of businesses and schools, the protest intends to shut down the Port of Oakland by forming a picket line before the 7 p.m. night shift."

ertomanse

Yes, the port-workers endorse and support this.

Mark 2000

pchazz, Funny how people resent blue collar workers for making good money but not people in suits and ties who make ridiculous amounts more. Misplaced rage, perhaps?

pchazzz

Port workers pull down a cool six figures, and they'll strike at the drop of a hat. Now if only someone could figure out how to automate their jobs, and put them all out of work...

Guest

So they're targeting the Port because they know it will provoke a police response, aka "the usual."

I love #occupy because they put forth so many affirmative solutions to America's ills. MORE GREAT WORK BROS!

Haggie

Don't you have to have a job before you can go on strike?

Samantha Nicholson

hahahaha

jackterrier

Taking my first sick day of the year on Wednesday!

Matt Rooney

Im kinda not sure how this is going to work - those of us who have jobs have been thoroughly scared into not doing anything to jeopardize them.

pchazzz

The only ones who will walk out are public employees who can't be fired for anything less than child molestation or embezzeling millions of dollars.