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Oakland General Strike - #J20 and Beyond!

sm_j20-general-strike-oakland.jpg
Date:
Friday, January 20, 2017
Time:
7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Event Type:
Protest
Organizer/Author:
May Day Shut It Down
Location Details:
Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building
1301 Clay Street, Oakland, California 94612

The Oakland General Strike - #J20 and Beyond!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1862566130646162/

Please Invite all of your friends, share with groups, text blast, and email friends to outreach for the organizing. Feel free to copy and paste the details of this event.


– 7AM – The Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building (1301 Clay Street) will be shut down with a Mass Picket Line disrupting all ICE and Federal Operations. We will be providing Breakfast for the working class and poor at the Picket Line. / Cerraremos el Edificio Federal Ronald V. Dellums (1301 Clay Street) con un Piquete Masivo para interrumpir operaciones federales y de la migra (ICE). Proveeremos Desayuno para personas pobres y de la clase obrera.

– 9 AM – Oscar Grant Plaza (14th and Broadway) We will be hosting an All Day Mutual Aid Fair with Teach-Ins/Workshops, Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner, A Free Store, Speakers, and Music. / En Oscar Grant Plaza (14th y Broadway), llevaremos a cabo una Feria de Ayuda Mutua todo el día, con Talleres, Charlas, Comidas (Desayuno/Almuerzo/Cena), Una Tienda Gratis, Oradores, y Música.

– 12PM – March of the United Working Class – Organized and Unrepresented workers will gather in unity at Latham Square on Broadway and Telegraph (site of the 1946 General Strike) – Endorsed by Labor Rising Against Trump / Marcha de la Clase Obrera Unida – Obreros (tanto organizados como no sindicalizados) se reunirán en Latham Square (Broadway y Telegraph – sitio de la histórica Huelga General de 1946) – Respaldada por Labor Rising Against Trump.

– 5 PM – Open Mic / Speak Out – Oscar Grant Plaza – 14th and Broadway / Micrófono abierto / testimonios del público – Oscar Grant Plaza (14th y Broadway)


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To submit proposals, events, flyers, art, speakers performers, marches and direct actions for the assembly or to endorse the Oakland General Strike - #J20 and Beyond - email us (text only or including pics/files below 400kb) below at: OaklandSolidarityAssembly [at] lists.riseup.net
For large files email oaklandgeneralstrike [at] gmail.com

Para entregar propuestas de volantes, música, oradores, y/o acciones; o para respaldar la Huelga General de Oakland, llene el formulario abajo o enviar un correo a: OaklandSolidarityAssembly [at] lists.riseup.net (con solo texto o imágenes/archivos de menos de 400kb) o: Oaklandgeneralstrike [at] gmail.com

--------------------------------

The election of Donald Trump is dangerous for all working people, especially immigrants, people of color, women, and LGBTQI people.

A Trump administration, coupled with Republican control of the House and Senate, raises the very real possibility of:

– National “Right-to-Work” and other anti-union legislation, repeal of overtime pay for millions of workers, and an employer-friendly National Labor Relations Board, Department of Labor, and Supreme Court.

– The deportation of millions of immigrants and refugees.

– The exclusion, surveillance, profiling and incarceration of Muslims.

– Increased sexual assaults, and restrictions on women’s reproductive rights.

– The return of anti-LGBTIQ laws.

– Increased harassment, brutalization, and incarceration of Black and Brown people by the police.

– Increased intimidation and assaults on vulnerable community members by racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, and xenophobic predators.

– The privatization of Social Security and elimination of social services that seniors and people with disabilities depend on for healthcare, housing, and survival.

– Less access to affordable housing, and increased red-tagging and closures of community spaces.

– Climate, environmental, and energy policies that would devastate the environment and do nothing to improve the lives of working people.

Solidarity and a united front of all who are threatened by the policies of the Trump administration will be needed to defend each other.

We Must Show Trump And His Forces If They Attack Any, They Have To Deal With The Many!


We call on all community members, including labor unions, school, faith and community groups, to join us in planning and mobilizing to take action against the incoming Trump administration on Inauguration Day, January 20, in Oakland.

We feel Women, LGBTQI People, Muslims, Disabled people, Immigrants, Refugees, Black, Brown, and Indigenous must unite as a working class to demand:

– Full rights and respect for all workers, regardless of ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, sexual preference, and religion.

– An End to Police Violence

– Good and Living wage jobs

– A fair National Labor Relations Board that protects Unions and their workers and their right to organize

– Affordable housing

– Quality healthcare for all

– Green Jobs and Energy for all

– Full sanctuary for immigrants and refugees

– A moratorium on evictions including the red-tagging of DIY spaces


Donald Trump is one person who may have billions, but we are millions.

The State policies that oppress us in many different ways are all enforced by the ruling class to divide and conquer but together we have the power to collectively withhold our labor to stop their corrupt agenda and run the society as we see fit.

We should unite our Family, Friends, Neighbors, and Coworkers to defend our communities! With the policies ahead of us it is a greater risk to do nothing. So join us to organize and take direct action in your workplace, school, and community to fight and build a future for the greater good of all.

An Injury to One is an Injury to All!

To submit proposals for the assembly or to endorse the Oakland General Strike – #J20 and Beyond – email us (text only or including pics/files below 400kb) below at:

OaklandSolidarityAssembly [at] lists.riseup.net

***We are a part of the APTP Spokescouncil for the 120 Hours of Direct Action that has been endorsed by the Alameda Labor Council***

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Puntos de Unidad

La elección de Donald Trump es peligrosa para todas las personas obreras, especialmente inmigrantes; personas negras y morenas, musulmanes; y personas LGBTQI.

Una administración Trump, junto con el control de la Cámara de Representantes y el Senado por el partido republicano, lleva la posibilidad, muy real, de:

-- La aprobación de legislación anti-obrero y anti-sindicato, como las llamadas leyes “Right-to-Work”; la revocación de pago por horas extraordinarias de millones de trabajadores; y la imposición de una Junta Nacional de Relaciones del Trabajo (JNRT), Departamento de Labor y Corte Suprema que favorecen a los empresarios/empleadores.

-- la deportación de millones de migrantes y personas refugiadas.

– La exclusión, vigilancia y encarcelación de musulmanes.

-- un aumento en los asaltos sexuales y las restricciones en los derechos reproductivos de mujeres.

-- un regreso a las leyes anti-LGBTIQ.

-- un incremento en el acoso, deshumanización, brutalidad y encarcelación de personas negras y morenas por la policía.

-- un incremento en la intimidación y los asaltos a miembros vulnerables de la comunidad por predadores racistas, sexistas, homofóbicos y xenofóbicos.

-- la privatización del Seguro Social y la eliminación de servicios sociales de los que dependen las personas de la tercera edad y las personas discapacitadas para su salud, vivienda y sobrevivencia.

-- menos acceso a la vivienda económica, y más clausuras de los espacios comunitarios.

-- la aprobación de políticas climáticas, medioambientales y energéticas que devastarían al medioambiente y no harían nada para mejorar las vidas de personas obreras.

Serán necesarios la solidaridad y un frente unido entre todas las personas amenazadas por las políticas de la administración Trump para defendernos.

Tenemos que mostrar a Trump y sus fuerzas: ¡si atacan a unx, tendrían que enfrentar a todxs nosotrxs!

Hacemos un llamado a todos los miembros de la comunidad, incluyendo los sindicatos, escuelas, gru


(More Events and Proposals will be updated as the assemblies continue)

To submit proposals for the assembly or to endorse the Oakland General Strike - #J20 and Beyond - email us (text only or including pics/files below 400kb) below at: OaklandSolidarityAssembly [at] lists.riseup.net

***We are a part of the APTP Spokescouncil for the 120 Hours of Direct Action that has been endorsed by the Alameda Labor Council*** - https://www.facebook.com/events/249876528763451

An injury to one is an injury to all!

Official Resolution from the Alameda Labor Council calling on the Labor movement and working class to mobilize and take direct action on the week leading up to #J20:
"Resolution in Protest of the Inauguration of President Donald Trump

WHEREAS, the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States has sparked fear and anger in our community, especially among those most marginalized, including immigrants, Muslims, people of color, women, the disabled, and LGBTQ populations.

WHEREAS, the President Elect has publicly supported and endorsed anti-union policies including federal Right to Work laws and is considering appointing to his cabinet people with a track record of promoting such policies

WHEREAS, newly appointed Supreme Court Justices will swing the court to be more consistently anti-union WHEREAS, the privatization of Social Security and Medicare is likely to be pushed early in the Trump administration

WHEREAS, the diverse membership of the working class and of our unions includes populations that candidate Trump threatened with bigoted policies and hateful rhetoric

WHEREAS, that hateful rhetoric has already been seen in the form of an increase of hate crimes and violence against marginalized communities which overlap with our membership

WHEREAS, it is the obligation of organized labor to defend our members from attacks and promote an elevated and equal quality of life for all workers

WHEREAS, spontaneous demonstrations have erupted across the country immediately following the election of Donald Trump. Many organizations of students, labor, women, and various communities are continuing to plan massive protests including on Martin Luther King, Jr Day and culminating in action on the day of the inauguration of Donald Trump, January 20, 2017

WHEREAS, the day on which we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr who fought against racism and bigotry and championed the issues of the working class is just four days before the inauguration of Donald Trump.

WHEREAS, the power of organized labor is not reliant upon the occupant of any government office up to and including the office of President of the United States

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Alameda County Labor Council endorses and encourages all members to participate in the nationwide call for protest and actions beginning with those honoring and continuing the struggle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr on his day, Monday, January 16 and culminating in a national day of action and protest and a reassertion of the power of organized labor on Friday January, 20, the day of the Inauguration of President Donald Trump

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Alameda County Labor Council encourages each of its affiliates to use the day of action on Friday, January 20 to display our power, unity and solidarity by planning an action around an existing labor dispute and inviting all of its members to participate as well as support their members who want to participate

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that we urge all affiliates to pass similar resolutions."

No Inauguration! General Strike Against Trump! #GeneralStrike #J20 #OaklandJ20 #ShutItDown #LathamSquare #Ohloneland #Huchiun #noinauguration
To endorse email: OaklandGeneralStrike [at] gmail.com

Types of strikes/workplace action:
Slowdowns
Working to Rule
Whistle Blowing (the Open Mouth)
Selective Strikes
Sick-Ins
"Good Work" Strikes
Sitdown Strikes
Sympathy Strikes
http://www.iww.org/about/solidarityunionism/directaction


IF YOU CAN'T STRIKE TAKE A SICK DAY!


Please read these important articles:

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Call for a bold mobilization against the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2017
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2016/11/11/18793388.php

On Friday, January 20, 2017, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as President of the United States. We call on all people of good conscience to join in disrupting the ceremonies. If Trump is to be inaugurated at all, let it happen behind closed doors, showing the true face of the security state Trump will preside over. It must be made clear to the whole world that the vast majority of people in the United States do not support his presidency or consent to his rule.

Trump stands for tyranny, greed, and misogyny. He is the champion of neo-nazis and white Nationalists, of the police who kill the Black, Brown and poor on a daily basis, of racist border agents and sadistic prison guards, of the FBI and NSA who tap your phone and read your email. He is the harbinger of even more climate catastrophe, deportation, discrimination, and endless war. He continues to deny the existence of climate change, in spite of all the evidence, putting the future of the whole human race at stake. The KKK, Vladimir Putin, Golden Dawn, and the Islamic State all cheered his victory. If we let his inauguration go unchallenged, we are opening the door to the future they envision.

Trump’s success confirms the bankruptcy of representative democracy. Rather than using the democratic process as an alibi for inaction, we must show that no election could legitimize his agenda. Neither the Democrats nor any other political party or politician will save us—they just offer a weaker version of the same thing. If there is going to be positive change in this society, we have to make it ourselves, together, through direct action.

From day one, the Trump presidency will be a disaster. #DisruptJ20 will be the start of the resistance. We must take to the streets and protest, blockade, disrupt, intervene, sit in, walk out, rise up, and make more noise and good trouble than the establishment can bear. The parade must be stopped. We must delegitimize Trump and all he represents. It's time to defend ourselves, our loved ones, and the world that sustains us as if our lives depend on it—because they do.

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***Please read these 4 informative articles about why we must mobilize with all our force:***

1. There have been more than 300 reported hate incidents since Election Day
Full article: https://thinkprogress.org/300-hate-incidents-since-election-day-bf9fd91edbd6#.vb8afjduv

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a non-profit organization that tracks hate groups and hate crimes, more than 300 incidents of “hateful harassment and intimidation” have been reported since Election Day. That is reportedly roughly the amount they usually see in a five to six-month period.
“Since Donald Trump won the election we’ve seen an alarming number of hate-based incidents occur throughout the nation, some of which are no doubt stemming from Trump’s hate-filled campaign,” read a statement from the SPLC sent to ThinkProgress. “We’ve collected more than 315 such incidents since the election — truly a frightening number.”

“We’ve collected more than 315 such incidents since the election — truly a frightening number.”

The 2016 election season had already seen unprecedented spikes in Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-immigrant fervor, but now experts say the period following the election amounts to the worst surge of hateful violence since the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, when Muslim communities across the country were subject to record levels of assault, intimidation, and harassment.

-----------------------------------------

2. Things are about to get really ugly for the us labor movement!

Full Article: http://prospect.org/article/things-are-about-get-really-ugly-labor-movement

Instead, they are staring at the real possibility of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker—whose attacks on his state’s public-sector workers made him a poster child of the right’s anti-union agenda—as Trump’s labor secretary. Walker has reportedly said he’s not interested in the position, but that could change. Other names floated for the position include Victoria Lipnic, who served under George W. Bush Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, and Andrew Pudzner, the CEO of a major fast-food restaurant group. Any appointment is likely to curtail the aggressive employer watchdog apparatus spearheaded by Wage & Hour Administrator Dave Weil, who has been lauded by labor advocates for giving some teeth to labor law enforcement.

If Walker becomes Trump’s top labor advisor, his governorship and his failed presidential run provide an ominous window into what kind of things he’ll be whispering in the president’s ear.

If Walker becomes Trump’s top labor advisor, his governorship and his failed presidential run provide an ominous window into what kind of things he’ll be whispering in the president’s ear. As governor, he decimated public-sector unions’ collective bargaining rights, signed right-to-work policy into law, and has gone after prevailing wage laws for state-funded construction projects. During his short-lived presidential campaign last year, he ran on a draconian platform that called for throwing out the National Labor Relations Board, repealing the federal prevailing wage law, banning unions in the federal government, and making the nation right-to-work. Trump himself has explicitly voiced support for a national right-to-work law. Many congressional Republicans share Walker’s vision.

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3. To Escape Trump’s America, We Need to Bring the Militant Labor Tactics of 1946 Back to the Future!
Full article: https://ecology.iww.org/node/1916

The last general strike in the US was in Oakland in 1946. That year there were 6 city-wide general strikes, plus nationwide strikes in steel, coal, and rail transport. More than 5 million workers struck in the biggest strike wave of US history. So what happened? Why haven’t we ever gone out like that again? Congress amended US labor law in 1947, adding massive penalties for the very tactics that had allowed strikes to spread and be successful – and the business unions accepted the new laws. In fact, they even went beyond them by voluntarily adding “no-strike clauses” to every union contract for the last 70 years, and agreeing that when they do strike in between contracts it will only be for their own wages and working conditions, not to support anybody else or to apply pressure about things happening in the broader society. When we allowed ourselves to lose our most important weapons 70 years ago, we took the first step towards Trump’s America. We’re stuck in the wrong timeline – if we want to get out, we have to bring the militant labor tactics of 1946 back to the future!

The Oakland General Strike began early in the morning of December 3, 1946, when police were trying to break up a picket line of mostly female department store clerks who had been on strike since October 21 (“Back to the Future Day”). A streetcar driver saw it happening and stopped his car. This stopped all the cars behind him. All of the passengers who were no longer going to work began immediately picketing at other businesses in Oakland, calling out those workers, and shutting down the businesses. The strike spread from there. Some important points:

The heroes of this story are the department store clerks who maintained an effective picket for 6 weeks, shutting down the operations of the business, refusing limitations on their ability to picket, and defending their picket when the cops were trying to break it. We need to re-learn how to organize “hard” pickets which actually disrupt commerce, and how to defend those pickets from our enemies. We also need to reject all of the limitations that courts, and the unions, will tell us we have to impose on our pickets.

The streetcar driver who stopped his car when he saw the cops breaking the picket deserves an honorable mention, like Peter Norman (“the white dude” at the Mexico City Olympics). He knew which side he was on, and he didn’t just keep moving. He saw fellow workers under attack and he used his power as a worker to support the right side – despite the fact that the retail workers strike had no immediate tie to his own wages and working conditions. He didn’t ask his union if it was OK. He didn’t wait to go back to his union meeting and ask them to pass a resolution supporting the retail workers. Basically, it doesn’t even matter whether he was a union member. It doesn’t even matter if he abstractly thought that women should be quitting their jobs now that World War 2 was over, or if he abstractly supported Jim Crow – he supported fellow workers against the cops. Since 1947, “secondary strikes” like that have been illegal, and his union could have been attacked by the court – but the union probably would have been training him all along that he can only strike in between contracts, and definitely not for anyone else’s cause. We need to reject any limitation on our ability to strike in support of fellow workers, or to strike about things beyond our own specific workplaces.

The passengers on his streetcar and the ones behind it also deserve credit for immediately forming mass pickets, reinforcing the retail workers’ picket and also spreading throughout the city and pulling other workers out on strike. They didn’t come up with this all in the moment, they learned how to do this over years of tough strikes, including the 1934 general strike in San Francisco that also shut down Oakland. Mass pickets have also been illegal since 1947, and we’ve lost those traditions. We urgently need to relearn them.

The unions didn’t call the Oakland General Strike – but they sure as hell called it off, and left the retail workers alone in the cold. The general strikes that have happened in the US have almost never been called ahead of time by union. They’ve almost always happened by workers semi-spontaneously going on strike in solidarity with other workers, supporting the demands of the first group and adding their own. (I say “semi”-spontaneously because the working class had years of practice and preparation leading into each strike – something that’s been forcibly removed from our culture over the past 70 years.) Yet by the third day of the Oakland General Strike, the local union leadership was already declaring that the strike was over and everyone except the retail workers should go back to work. As the streetcar drivers were told by their union president, “The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is bitterly opposed to any general strike for any cause. I am therefore ordering you and all those associated with you who are members of our International Union to return to work as soon as possible … No general strike has ever yet brought success to the labor movement.” Once the retail workers were left to keep striking alone, it was only a matter of time before they were beaten and had to give up. If we’re serious about reviving strikes, we need to prepare people as much as we can for how quickly the union leadership and the Democratic Party will do everything they can to prevent strikes from the start, and to get workers back to work..

The 70th anniversary of the Oakland General Strike is coming up in three weeks, on December 3rd. As all of our movements go into overdrive, and we all start networking and holding bigger events than we’re used to, we should consider holding “Spirit of ’46” events across the country on December 3rd to talk about the Oakland General Strike and the relevance of their tactics for today. This is obviously coming up very soon, but it seems do-able, and if it’s presented right, could pull a lot of interest. What else can we start doing to prepare for the kind of labor movement we need – the kind that is ready to stand up to the state and the capitalists? What should we think about the calls that have already started circulating for a general strike to stop Trump’s inauguration?

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4. Trump in the White House: An Interview With Noam Chomsky
Full Article: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/38360-trump-in-the-white-house-an-interview-with-noam-chomsky

On November 8, the most powerful country in world history, which will set its stamp on what comes next, had an election. The outcome placed total control of the government -- executive, Congress, the Supreme Court -- in the hands of the Republican Party, which has become the most dangerous organization in world history.

Apart from the last phrase, all of this is uncontroversial. The last phrase may seem outlandish, even outrageous. But is it? The facts suggest otherwise. The Party is dedicated to racing as rapidly as possible to destruction of organized human life. There is no historical precedent for such a stand.

Is this an exaggeration? Consider what we have just been witnessing.

During the Republican primaries, every candidate denied that what is happening is happening -- with the exception of the sensible moderates, like Jeb Bush, who said it's all uncertain, but we don't have to do anything because we're producing more natural gas, thanks to fracking. Or John Kasich, who agreed that global warming is taking place, but added that "we are going to burn [coal] in Ohio and we are not going to apologize for it."

The winning candidate, now the president-elect, calls for rapid increase in use of fossil fuels, including coal; dismantling of regulations; rejection of help to developing countries that are seeking to move to sustainable energy; and in general, racing to the cliff as fast as possible.
Added to the calendar on Sun, Dec 18, 2016 3:48PM
§January 20: General Strike Against Trump in Oakland
by Oakland Solidarity Assembly
sm_j20generalstrike_nowork-noschool-nofascistusa.jpg
Coincides with National Week of Actions to Resist Fascism and White Supremacy

OAKLAND – Tomorrow, on Inauguration Day, the people of Oakland will go on strike and take to the streets to resist the illegitimate incoming administration of Donald Trump.

The Oakland #J20 General Strike coincides with mass mobilizations in Washington, DC, and around the country to disrupt the inauguration.

A series of actions and events are scheduled throughout the day, including an early morning picket of the federal building, an all-day mutual aid fair at Oscar Grant Plaza, and a noon march of the working class from Latham Square – site of the historic 1946 Oakland General Strike. In the afternoon, students from across the East Bay who are walking out of their classes will join the General Strike.

The Strike is organized by Oakland Solidarity Assembly as part of the Anti Police-Terror Project’s national call for #120hours of direct action to Reclaim MLK’s radical legacy and resist fascism and white supremacy. It has been endorsed by Labor Rising Against Trump and Alameda Labor Council.

Strike organizers join millions across the U.S. who reject Trump and his dangerous agenda – and who believe that Black, Brown, and Indigenous People, Women, LGBTQI People, Muslims, Disabled people, Immigrants and Refugees must unite as a working class to demand, at minimum: full rights for all workers; an end to police terror of black, brown and poor people; good, living-wage jobs; affordable housing for all; quality healthcare for all; green jobs and clean energy; full sanctuary for immigrants and refugees; and a moratorium on evictions including the red-tagging of DIY spaces.

Schedule of Events

7AM – Mass picket line to shut down federal building and disrupt ICE operations. Breakfast provided. Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building (1301 Clay Street).

9 AM – All Day Mutual Aid Fair begins, featuring teach-Ins, workshops, a Free Store, speakers, music and more. Breakfast and Dinner provided. Oscar Grant Plaza (14th and Broadway).

12PM – March of the United Working Class. Latham Square (Broadway and Telegraph).

5 PM – Open Mic / Speak Out. Oscar Grant Plaza (14th and Broadway).
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

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