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.
