General
Strike Shuts Port of Oakland and
Downtown Banks
occupyoakland.org,
November 2, 2011
Huge,
enthusiastic, crowds swarmed through downtown Oakland with half a dozen major
marches on banks and corporations that shut down Wells Fargo, Chase, Citibank,
Bank of America and many others. Police stayed clear of the strikers who
ranged freely, from Broadway to Grand Avenue and around the Lake. By late
afternoon the crowds had swelled to over 10,000. Waves of feeder marches
continued to pour into the Oscar Grant Plaza, including 800 children, parents,
and teachers who had gathered at the Oakland Main Library.
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Main Wells Fargo Branch Foreclosed by Protest
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The
evening march to the Port stretched from downtown to the freeway overcrossing
in West Oakland and thousands more protestors kept arriving as the third
convergence of the day reached its peak. Over 20,000 people joined the march
which made its way to the main entrance of the port and shut it down
completely. Port officials confirmed that the workforce was sent home.
Back
at Oscar Grant Plaza a festive atmosphere continued as the Alameda Labor
Council and dozens of representatives from a cross-section of unions served
barbecue to thousands. Day of the dead altars, a 99% story telling tent,
string sculptures, and hundreds of posters surrounded the encampment of the
occupiers. Speeches, impromptu music jam sessions, and rock and roll echoed
off the office towers as Oaklanders and Bay Area workers celebrated a hard won
victory of the 99%.
As of
8 pm the police remained hidden out of sight.
Seize the Time!
How YOU
can Participate
in the General Strike?
occupyoakland.org,
November 1, 2011
Ways to Participate on
November 2 General Strike & Day of Action, called for by Occupy Oakland
Occupy
Oakland is calling for no work and no school on November 2 as part of the
general strike. We are asking that all workers go on strike, call in sick,
take a vacation day or simply walk off the job with their co-workers. We are
also asking that all students walk out of school and join workers and
community members in downtown Oakland. All banks and large corporations must
close down for the day or demonstrators will march on them.
The
Occupy Oakland Strike Assembly has vowed to picket and or occupy any business
or school which disciplines employees or students in any way for participating
in the Nov 2 General Strike. Please email
OccupyOaklandLaborSolidarity@gmail.com if you are the subject of any
disciplinary action.
Occupy
Oakland recognizes that not all workers, students and community members will
feel able to strike all day long on November 2, and we welcome any form of
participation which they feel is appropriate. We urge them to join us before
or after work or during their lunch hours.
Below
are some action ideas for strike participants to consider:
•
Gather in Downtown Oakland to help Shut Down the City
Join
the Mass Gatherings at 14th & Broadway 9:00am, 12:00pm, 5:00pm. Strike
Rallies will be held at these times with political speakers as well as time
for open mic so that everyone can make their voices heard. There will also be
action announcements made from the stage on this intersection for those who
are interested in participating in pickets and shut downs of banks and large
corporations.
Lead a
march from your neighborhood, workplace, school, community center, place of
worship etc into downtown Oakland to join one of these three mass gatherings.
Have fun and be loud along the way to let people know why you are marching
downtown!
Form a
mobile blockade or flying picket that can take over important intersections in
downtown with street parties and other creative ways to make our voices heard
and shut the city down.
There
will be numerous pickets and actions at banks and corporations across downtown
but we need more! Get a group of friends, family members, co-workers or fellow
students together to form an affinity group and make your voice heard and your
presence felt at any of these locations in downtown. Let the stage on 14th
& Broadway know about your action so they can announce it to the crowd.
There
are many other autonomous actions planned for the day that will be occurring
throughout downtown. One of them is the anti-capitalist march at 2pm meeting
at the intersection of Telegraph & Broadway and another is the Feminist
& Queer bloc against capitalism that will meet at 4:30 at 14th &
Broadway.
Join
the marches from downtown to shut down the Port of Oakland. These marches will
be leaving at 4pm and another will be leaving at 5pm for the 2 mile march out
to the port to stand in solidarity with the longshore workers and shut down
the evening shift of the port.
Join
the 4pm Critical Mass ride from 14th & Broadway out to the Port to join
the shut down
Best
not to drive into downtown: It is likely that many streets will be blocked to
traffic so please bike or take public transportation if possible. It will also
be useful to have a bicycle to move between actions or to march to the port.
•
Take Action in Your Own Neighborhoods and Communities
Gather
neighbors, co-workers, or fellow students together and organize group walks
and small marches around the neighborhood to have fun, raise awareness and
encourage others to join you in the streets! Bring noise makers, signs,
banners and let your community know why your are participating in the strike.
Stop
at banks, large businesses, chain stores, gas stations, corporate
headquarters, large commercial media outlets, etc. to protest and picket
Gather
in neighborhood centers and on the corners of main intersections to hold speak
outs, BBQs and street parties – make your voice heard and raise awareness by
reclaiming space where fellow community members can join you and talk about
the issues that affect them most and how we can organize together to build a
powerful movement
If you
must shop, only spend money at locally owned stores and as much as possible
purchase locally-produced goods
•
Nonprofit and Community Organizations
Use
your personal and organizational social media accounts (websites, facebook,
linked-in, electronic newsletters, etc) to support the actions and keep your
constituencies updated about what is going on in the streets of Oakland.
In the
event of police violence, use your organization to denounce police repression
and call for the release of all arrested strikers.
Provide
resources for your staff to participate: allow time away to participate in
direct actions; encourage work on projects aligned with general strike and
occupy goals, host sign and banner making parties!
•
Be Prepared
Bring
materials to make signs: Banner material. cardboard, poster paper, markers,
paint, spray paint tape, dowels, etc
Bring
food and water to share!
Bring
noise makers, instruments, sound systems and other ways that we can transform
downtown into a celebration of our collective power
Write
this legal number down on your body in case of arrest: 415.285.1011 The number
will be staffed al day long and will coordinate legal support for those
arrested in the strike.
• Remember these four common
points that the General Strike Assembly has agreed upon:
*
Solidarity with the world-wide Occupy movement!
* End
police attacks on our communities!
*
Defend Oakland schools and libraries!
*
Against an economic system built on colonialism, inequality and corporate
power that perpetuates all forms of oppression and the destruction of the
environment!
• A Few Chants For the
Strike
*
“Strike, Occupy, Shut it Down! Oakland is the People’s Town”
*
“Every Hour, Every Day! The occupation is here to stay!”
*
“Occupy Everything! Liberate Oakland”
*
“Politicians & Bankers, Liars & Thieves, We’re taking it back!
We’re not saying please!”
*
“No more cops, we don’t need ‘em! All we want is total freedom”
*
“Shut Down OPD! Not the Public Library!”
*
“Let’s Go Oakland! Let’s Go!” [clap] [clap]
•
See you in the streets!
•
Make Oakland proud!
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