Occupy Everywhere - Sept 17th - Day of Rage Against Wall Street and what it stands for!

[Keith Millea]

There's not enough bodies out there. They are under the suburban CNN radar as far as getting attention for their cause. This was just some lefties and street people running in the streets and getting arrested. Victory for the cops and cons. They're going to need a bigger revolution...

I agree Albert.What I saw last night were people just marching around town trying not to get kettled,but of course,they ended up kettled,and arrested.Better luck next time........

[Keith Millea]

Here's a better roundup of events from last night.The protesters were going to occupy the vacant Henry Kaiser building.Weep.....Saw a half dozen Grateful Dead New Years shows in that building.

Published on Sunday, January 29, 2012 by Common Dreams

Police Use Teargas on Occupy Oakland; 300 Arrested

- Common Dreams staff

Police fired tear gas and used flash-grenades to disperse hundreds of people after Saturday's peaceful 'Occupy Oakland' demonstration.



Members of the Oakland Police department form a line during a confrontation with Occupy Oakland demonstrators near the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland, California January 28, 2012. Police fired tear gas at hundreds of Occupy Oakland protesters who tried to occupy a shuttered convention center on Saturday, arresting 19 people in the latest clash between anti-Wall Street activists and authorities in the California city. REUTERS/Stephen Lam Protesters gathered at a central plaza and then over 2,000 marched through the city streets planning to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser convention center. Occupy Oakland said last week that they planned to move into the building and turn it into a social center and political hub.

Allegedly, when the protesters started tearing down sections of the fence surrounding the vacant convention center, police issued a warning to disperse, and when protesters failed to do so, police officers went on to disperse them by force.

Late Saturday night, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last autumn, called on the Occupy movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."

* * *

UPDATE: This morning Occupy Oakland issued the following statement:
[B]Oakland Police Violate Their Own Policies[/B]

Oakland, CA Yesterday, the Oakland Police deployed hundreds of officers in riot gear so as to prevent Occupy Oakland from putting a vacant building to better use. This is a building which has sat vacant for 6 years, and the city has no current plans for it. The Occupy Oakland GA passed a proposal calling for the space to be turned into a social center, convergence center and headquarters of the Occupy Oakland movement.

With all the problems in our city, should preventing activists from putting a vacant building to better use be their highest priority? Was it worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars they spent?The police actions tonight cost the city of Oakland hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they repeatedly violated their own crowd control guidelines and protester's civil rights.
With all the problems in our city, should preventing activists from putting a vacant building to better use be their highest priority? Was it worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars they spent?

The OPD is facing receivership based on actions by police in the past, and they have apparently learned nothing since October. On October 25, Occupiers rushed to the aid of Scott Olsen who was shot in the head by police, and the good Samaritans who rushed to his aid had a grenade thrown at them by police. At 3:30pm this afternoon, OO medics yet again ran to the aid of injured protesters lying on the ground. Other occupiers ran forward and used shields to protect the medic and injured man. The police then repeatedly fired less lethal rounds at these people trying to protect and help an injured man.

Around the same time, officers #419, #327, and others were swinging batons at protesters in a violation of OPD crowd control policy, which allows for pushing or jabbing with batons, but not the swinging of them.

In the evening, police illegally kettled and arrested hundreds of protesters. Police can give notices to disperse, if a group is engaged in illegal activity. However, if the group disperses and reassembles somewhere else, they are required to give another notice to disperse.

Tonight, they kettled a march in progress, and arrested hundreds for refusing to disperse. Contrary to their own policy, the OPD gave no option of leaving or instruction on how to depart. These arrests are completely illegal, and this will probably result in another class action lawsuit against the OPD, who have already cost Oakland $58 million in lawsuits over the past 10 years.

OPD Crowd Control Policy: "If after a crowd disperses pursuant to a declaration of unlawful assembly and subsequently participants assemble at a different geographic location where the participants are engaged in non-violent and lawful First Amendment activity, such an assembly cannot be dispersed unless it has been determined that it is an unlawful assembly and the required official declaration has been adequately given."

"The announcements shall also specify adequate egress or escape routes. Whenever possible, a minimum of two escape/egress routes shall be identified and announced."
"When the only violation present is unlawful assembly, the crowd should be given an opportunity to disperse rather than face arrest."

At least 4 journalists were arrested in this kettling. They include Susie Cagle, Kristen Hanes, Vivian Ho who were arrested and then released, and Gavin Aronsen who was taken to jail.
One woman was in terrible pain from the cuffs. Dozens of fellow arrestees shouted at the OPD to check her cuffs. But, contrary to their own policy, the OPD refused and simply threw her in a paddy wagon.

OPD Crowd Control Policy: "Officers should be cognizant that flex-cuffs may tighten when arrestees' hands swell or move … When arrestees complain of pain from overly tight flex cuffs, members shall examine the cuffs to ensure proper fit"

"Through everything that has happened since September, from Occupy to the acceleration of "Bills" NDAA, SOPA, PIPA, ACTA never have I felt so helpless and enraged as I do tonight. These kids are heroes" -- Cathy Jones, attorney, National Lawyers GuildNumerous protesters were injured: some shot with "less lethal" rounds, some affected by tear gas, and some beaten by police batons. There are no totals yet for the numbers of protesters injured. One 19 year old woman was taken to the hospital with internal bleeding after she was beaten by Officer #119.

Cathy Jones, an attorney with the NLG gave the following statement to Occupy Oakland's media team: "Through everything that has happened since September, from Occupy to the acceleration of "Bills" NDAA, SOPA, PIPA, ACTA never have I felt so helpless and enraged as I do tonight. These kids are heroes, and the rest of the country needs to open its collective eyes and grab what remains of its civil rights, because they are evaporating, quickly. Do you want to know what a police state looks like? Well, you sure as hell still do not know unless you were watching our citizen journalists."

Today, Occupy Oakland events continue all day with a festival in Oscar Grant (Frank Ogawa) Plaza:
[URL="http://occupyoakland.org/2012/01/occupy-oakland-rise-up-festival-has-been-moved-to-oscar-grant-plaza-tomorrow/"]
http://occupyoakland.org/2012/01/occupy-...-tomorrow/[/URL]

Occupy Oakland is an emerging social movement without leaders or spokespersons. It is in solidarity with occupations currently occurring around the world in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Oakland Media is a committee of Occupy Oakland, established by the Occupy Oakland General Assembly.

CONTACT:
Occupy Oakland Media Committee
(510) 473-6250
media@occupyoakland.org
http://hellaoccupyoakland.org

[Albert Doyle]

The Occupy movement should drop the petty rules game because it makes it look trivial. They should realize they are dealing with a government that openly commits war crimes and torture as well as destroying the Constitution with the NDAA. For them to concentrate on petty handling rules makes them look like they don't understand the bigger scope.

[Peter Lemkin]

OAKLAND'S DIRTY WAR: An Analysis of Repression at the Plaza
January 25, 2012 at 11:26 pm.
Posted by Liberate Oakland

Excerpt from Oscar Grant Plaza Gazette Day 107 PDF: ogpg107
…n Oakland more than anywhere else, friendly weather and sustained militancy have given rise to a different [law enforcement] approach, one similarly premised on chipping away at the movement through attrition and fatigue but doing so in a far more repressive manner. One key ingredient to this peculiar constellation of forces is the empty vessel perched atop the city government: Mayor Jean Quan. Quan was discredited long ago and from all sides, hated by the left for unleashing the near fatal attacks on Occupy Oakland in October, and by the right (represented by OPD and the City Council) for not taking a harder line. Now, having opted to vacillate rather than stand on the side of history, she will simply be hoping to serve out her term and avoid an embarrassing recall campaign.

This vacillation has been nowhere clearer than on the question of the epic Port Shutdowns on November 2nd and December 12th, the first of which catapulted Occupy Oakland to the forefront of the national movement, and the second of which demonstrated a capacity for coordinated militancy not seen in this country for decades at least. Since it was Quan who took the heat for the unrestrained actions of police in October, one could hardly blame the Mayor for hesitating to unleash OPD and other forces against those blocking the port. ..[F]or now at least, OPD's hands are at least partially tied, and the full-on assaults of many an officer's dream go unfulfilled for now.
Blocked from engaging in a brutal war of maneuver, OPD's strategy has been a different one, and what remains of Occupy Oakland's presence in Oscar Grant Plaza has seen small raids with a handful of arrests several times a week. While some interpret this half-heartedness by the forces of order as a sign of impotence, the frequency, the timing, and the serious charges incurred in the raids speak to a more sinister strategy.
"Shit's Gonna Pop"

I arrived at Oscar Grant Plaza in the immediate aftermath of one such raid on Friday, December 30th, where rebels circulated through the plaza denouncing the most recent skirmish. Some still carried their belongings in the familiar plastic bags, souvenirs from a recent trip to Santa Rita County Jail. The rage is palpable and growing, with many pronouncing that "shit's gonna pop" in somber tones, and another occupier angrily insisting that "they'll see me in hell before they see me in jail."
Just an hour earlier, a small OPD contingent had swept into the plaza and snatched a selected few who were gathered there. Those targeted included Brian Glasscock, an Occupy Oakland organizer well-known to Oakland Police as the sound operator for many Occupy events. It was for this reason, rather than any illegal activity, that Glasscock was identified by Lieutenant Hamilton, who had targeted him previously over sound system issues, and arrested for inciting a riot. "I think their strategy is to target those they know have been around doing things and throw them in jail hoping that something will stick," Glasscock explained to me.
This strategy was perhaps clearest in the case of Tiffany Tran, a young occupier who faced felony charges under California's Lynching Law. Just as police have recently begun to arrest Copwatchers who record their activities under felony wiretapping laws originally intended to control the police themselves, so too is this so-called "lynching" a case of inverting a law's original intention. Originally designed to prevent Black Americans from being seized from the hands of police by lynch mobs, this law has been deployed recently to criminalize the practice of "de-arresting" those in police custody…
Requiescat in Pace, Habeas Corpus

While the charges thrown at protesters have been consistently ridiculous and few have stood up in court, Glasscock insists that "if nothing sticks then they've at least fucked with that person's week." And in this case, the police strategy was to hold those arrested for almost an entire week: strategically arresting protesters on a Friday, and before a holiday weekend no less, meant that the habeas corpus guidelines requiring that arrestees be charged within 48 hours of arrest were flexible at best. Since this refers to 48 business hours, neither the weekend nor the Monday holiday were included, and anger mounted outside the courtroom late Tuesday afternoon as it became increasingly clear that the authorities would wait until the last possible minute to drop the charges.

Walter Riley, lawyer for those arrested and father of rapper Boots Riley, who has played a key role in the Occupy organizing around the port shutdowns, complained loudly that the actions of the police and the District Attorney constituted a transparent attack on habeas corpus, and that more direct pressure needs to be brought to bear to make it clear that we won't accept such strategies. But given the national offensive against habeas corpus embodied in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), local authorities might rightly sense that no federal authority will leap to defend the occupiers. It was little surprise when, despite this extended display of punitive power, the charges against all those arrested were later dropped after some had spent nearly 5 days behind bars.

But there would be little time for celebration when those arrested were released on Wednesday, as OPD again swept into the plaza later that evening in a repeat performance of the prior week. Again, there were a handful of arrests. Again, these were highly targeted, with eyewitnesses recounting how police broke off to arrest occupiers who had crossed the street to avoid a conflict. The vocal and militant Tactical Action Committee seemed to be the primary target, with some of the previous arrestees overhearing guards talking about how they wanted to get one member in particular. And again, the charges would have been laughable were they not a part of a broader and overarching strategy of containment.
Targeted Terror

One occupier known as Ali had become a clear target for repression due to his visibility, and even those arrested on the 30th had overheard officers discussing how the hoped to get their hands on him. On Wednesday the 4th, OPD seemed determined to do just that, chasing Ali across the street to arrest him. When they did so, he explained to me, officer Phan reached into his back pocket before feigning surprise and insisting that he was "going away for a long time" because they had found him to be in possession of ecstasy. Some in the Anti-Repression Committee believe that it was only the presence of the Livestream camera, and the fact that Ali immediately began to shout about the attempt to plant drugs, that prevented the charges from being successfully fabricated. Ali was later charged with misdemeanor obstruction.

A member of the recently-formed Anti-Repression and Solidarity Committee (ARC) of Occupy Oakland explained to me that the movement has seen in recent weeks a broad arc of repression, beginning on December 28th with the clearing of a small camp established in West Oakland by the Tactical Action Committee, followed the next day by the raid and arrests at an occupied house on Mandela Parkway. The most recent raids were but an upping of the stakes, she explained, adding that "I think the idea is that if they can bog us down in as many legal battles as possible, we won't be able to restart this movement… Why would they come and raid the plaza when it's just an info table and a food tent? They're afraid if they don't get rid of it it will just get bigger."
Laleh, also a member of the ARC, feels that beyond merely the organizational toll taken by the targeting of key committee members, the police strategy is one of terror. "The fact that they have been chasing particular people and ignoring others has had a psychological effect, instilling a terror in people that wasn't there before." If these were isolated cases they could be accidental, she argues, but the fact that groups have been repeatedly arrested, slapped with charges, and held for days only to see the charges dismissed "makes the strategy clear." The District Attorney needs to step in and restrain the OPD, she insists.

This strategy also includes both fishing for parolees and attempting to provoke prisoners. "Everyone who is coming out is reporting targeting and segregation while in country jail, all kinds of physical abuse, taunting by COs, and even sleep deprivation," Laleh explains, and all this in an effort to get a reaction that can lead to more charges (this seems to have been at play in the case of an occupier named Khali, who is being charged with assaulting an officer after his psychiatric medication was reportedly withheld for days).

Thankfully, though, not everyone is terrified, and an anonymous ARC member sees signs of the breakdown of the strategy of attrition both by occupiers and by the police themselves: at a "Fuck the Police March" called in response to the arrests, OPD officers clearly went beyond what the city had hoped, knocking a woman off her bike and beating her, firing rubber bullets, and allegedly breaking another marcher's arm. More importantly still, the OPD's strategy of low-level warfare "isn't scaring people, it's only making them angrier."

When the Philadelphia Police Department wanted to destroy the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM), they did not feel hindered by legal niceties: police arrested the RAM membership nearly every day on imaginary charges, knowing full well the toll taken on movements by even demonstrating the falseness of the ridiculous. Now, faced with the Occupy Movement, it would seem as though some local police agencies are once again taking a page from the PPD playbook on coercive attrition. Legality and its opposite thus march hand-in-hand, as a movement is harassed with impunity…

[Peter Lemkin]

The Occupy movement should drop the petty rules game because it makes it look trivial. They should realize they are dealing with a government that openly commits war crimes and torture as well as destroying the Constitution with the NDAA. For them to concentrate on petty handling rules makes them look like they don't understand the bigger scope.

If you are [I think you are] referring to Occupy not taking such a non-violent stance, they are committed to non-violence, to make the contrast between that and the way the system acts [Police to Banksters to Military and Government and all in between]. MLK and other protest and rights demand groups HAVE made progress in the past with non-violent civil disobedience. I personally feel it is the moral high ground. Some will choose to take other measures, and as long as they disassociate themselves from Occupy, they are free to. The media and Govt. spin docs will, of course, conflate the two....ipso facto.

[Albert Doyle]

Nope, never said that.

[Peter Lemkin]

Nope, never said that.

OK, Sorry, if I misunderstood. In any case, I think many [not all for sure] Occupy folks see the bigger picture and are not naive about what is going on with TPTB inside or outside the USA. Many are focused, however, on somewhat local issues; while others are planning nationwide and even international days of general strikes etc. Its a very mixed bag and so far seems to be working. Winter has had its effects on the Movement. Let's see what Spring brings. This Spring will make or break the Occupy Movement. I'm personally pinning my almost last hopes on them and what will no doubt be spinoffs from them. IMHO the USA and much of the rest of the Planet are on borrowed time to reverse the HORRIBLE trends in polity and environment and all that is behind that and that these cause. We are in deep, deep pooh and it is getting worse now at asymptotic rates.

[Peter Lemkin]

Topless Occupy protest for Obama party
by: From correspondents in Washington
From: AFP January 29, 2012 3:58PM

PROTESTERS from Occupy DC, facing a clampdown on their encampment, have stripped down for a topless street party outside a black-tie gala for Washington's biggest movers and shakers.

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle topped the guest list for the 99th gathering of the exclusive Alfalfa Club, which convenes once a year in a five-star hotel for a lavish dinner and some witty speech-making.

Outside, up to 200 members of the local offshoot of Occupy Wall Street pogo-danced to Twisted Sister's We're Not Gonna Take It and Public Enemy's Fight the Power as bemused police officers looked on behind barricades.

Leading the revellers were several young women who gleefully bared their breasts, including one who wrote "freedom of expression" on the belly of another. Several men also stripped to the waist despite the winter chill.

But there was a flash of tension as well when some Alfalfa Club invitees passed through the protesters, including one man who found himself in a staring match with a female protester before he was hit with a handful of glitter.

On YouTube, Occupy DC posted a video of Senator Joe Lieberman being hit with glitter as protesters shouted "shame, shame" at him and other well-heeled guests making their way to the soiree.

"Government and corporate elites are in there, colluding against the rest of us," Travis McArthur, a member of Occupy DC's action committee, said. "We hope at least to make them feel ashamed at what they're doing.

"I'd never heard of the Alfalfa Club before," said protester David Varrows, 64, a Washington artist who turned up in tuxedo, a pig's nose and a sign that read "Brother, can you spare a billion?"

"I guess it's how people mess over America - they join these clubs and devour whatever they can... It's about who you know, rather than what you know," he said.

Occupy DC set up camp in McPherson Square, two blocks from the White House in the K Street lobbying district, on October 1 to condemn growing inequality and corporate influence over US politics.

Its future is uncertain after the National Park Service said on Friday it will enforce a ban on overnight camping in the park, which it owns and polices, from Monday, after tolerating the tent village from the outset.

With about 200 members, the Alfalfa Club meets on the last Saturday of every January, ostensibly to mark the birthday of Confederate war hero Robert E. Lee. It didn't admit blacks until 1974 or women until 1994.

It takes its name from a kind of grass - known in Europe as lucerne - commonly used to feed cattle.

Current and past members include billionaire investor Warren Buffett, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

A highlight of the soiree is the mock nomination of a presidential candidate - an honor that, in the case of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, went to a member who actually went on to capture the White House.

Occupy DC - which, according to one activist, tried but failed to book a room in the hotel in a bid to crash the dinner - posted a list of last year's attendees on its website (http://www.occupydc.org).

[Peter Lemkin]

Occupy Wall Street West

San Francisco activists report on a day of action that drew out hundreds of activists in the Bay Area for labor solidarity and anti-foreclosure events.

January 26, 2012

Occupiers march to an immigrant rights protest during the January 20 day of action in San Francisco (Peg Hunter)

ON JANUARY 20, more than 1,000 people participated in Occupy San Francisco's call to "Occupy Wall Street West."

Considered to be the heart of the financial system on the West Coast, the call to Occupy San Francisco's financial sector was made to coincide with the second anniversary of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling that recognized corporations as having all the rights of people.

Dozens of actions were held at various points in the city, an impressive feat that made a precise estimate of the total turnout difficult. But hundreds at least braved the rain and cold for a creative and militant protest that lasted more than 12 hours. The day of action marked a clear step forward for the Occupy movement in San Francisco, demonstrating that organizing has continued and ties to the community have grown stronger.

The day began early with an action at Goldman Sachs led by members of Code Pink. As the morning went on, protests trickled to other bank and financial institutions responsible for the economic crisis and to demonstrate how corporations profit off people.

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) held actions all day at the Bechtel Corp. to highlight how corporations profit off war. Additionally, members of IVAW performed "Operation First Casualty" at various locations throughout the day to highlight how the 99 percent in Iraq and Afghanistan live on a daily basis.

Early morning demonstrators at the banks chained themselves together with lockboxes at the entrances to Wells Fargo's headquarters, leading to a number of arrests.

Around the corner, at the main branch of Bank of America, activists remained chained together throughout the day, forcing the bank to close and drawing attention to a number of anti-foreclosure campaigns in the Bay View and Excelsior neighborhoods of San Francisco, which are comprised primarily of working-class families and people of color. Josephine Tolbert, Geary Brown, Magdalena Diaz, and La Mesha Irizzary--all members of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE)--have been fighting against their foreclosures for months.

While activists blocked entrances in front of the Wells Fargo and Bank of America, members of Occupy SFSU and the San Francisco Tenants Union hosted a "housewarming," where they placed furniture in front of a CitiBank branch to demonstrate what happens when a family is evicted from their home.

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

DOWN THE road, members of Occupy San Francisco shut down the Bank of America branch between Bradley Manning Plaza and 101 Market Street--locations of former Occupy encampments--by opening a food bank called "People's Bank of America." This was not only the central hub for food distribution for the many actions throughout the day, but also a location where people could drop off non-perishable food that was donated to food banks throughout the city.

As morning actions continued, ACCE and Rainforest Action Network (RAN) marched throughout Wall Street West to each Bank of America branch to hold the bank accountable for evictions and foreclosures as well as its funding of projects that are responsible for global warming. The "March of Shame" ended in a rally at the main Bank of America branch where foreclosure and environmental activists supported those blocking the entrance.

Homeowners working with ACCE spoke about their experience with Bank of America and called for negotiations to allow them to stay in their homes. "I'm fighting for other foreclosure fighters that are facing the same crisis," stated Josephine Tolbert. "I am 75-years-old, and I don't know how I'm going to relocate and start my life all over again. We've got to stop Bank of America. We've got power here, but it's going to be a hard fight."

At each of the bank actions, activists demanded a moratorium on all foreclosures and evictions for profit. Though police gathered in the area from time to time, they were followed by swarms of protesters who had been alerted by a text-message system organized by the Occupy SF Communications Working Group.

Residents of the Bernal Heights neighborhood recently formed Occupy Bernal, which has focused on fighting evictions and foreclosures. In the morning, as many as 40 Occupy Bernal supporters picketed at local neighborhood branches of Bank of America and Wells Fargo, with several foreclosure fighters speaking about their battles with Wells Fargo.

At Bank of America, as protesters tried to deliver a letter calling for a stop to foreclosures and evictions for profit, the bank closed its doors. At Wells Fargo, the bank manager came out to talk to the group, went inside, and faxed the letter to corporate headquarters. Protesters vowed to come back until neighborhood residents had received, at the very least, loan modifications.

The highlight of the day for Occupy Bernal activists was learning that the auction of a member's home had been postponed. Maria Davila and her husband Washington are tenants on the 4200 block of Folsom Street, and their landlord, who lives in another state, is facing foreclosure. According to the Ellis Act, the Davilas can be evicted if an owner-occupant comes to own the house.

Occupy Bernal, alongside the Davilas, had decided to disrupt the auction in order to save the home, and had been mobilizing support for the action from Occupy San Francisco, ACCE, and others. When Occupy Bernal activists learned that the auction of the Davilas' home had been postponed, they burst into celebration. A rally on city hall steps that had been called to disrupt the auction instead became a celebration, while speeches by foreclosure fighters reminded everyone that the fight is far from over.

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

IN THE afternoon, a sizable and diverse march, organized by a few groups including Just Cause and Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USSW), and augmented by a contingent from Occupy Oakland marched to Fannie Mae, Wells Fargo and Immigration Customs Enforcement, chanting "We are the 99 percent! Somos el noventa y nueve!"

Marchers exposed the fact that Wells Fargo invests in immigrant detention facilities, further terrorizing immigrant communities that are already hard hit by the housing crisis. Additionally, the march highlighted the role of the federal government and its economic and immigration policies in tearing families apart.

Later in the afternoon, protesters circled a high-rise office building that houses the offices of Fortress Investments, which is responsible for a controversial redevelopment project at the Parkmerced housing complex. Activists from the Tenants' Union, Eviction Defense Collaborative and Housing Rights Committee of Occupy SF spoke about the plans to demolish 1,500 rent-controlled units and replace them with nearly 9,000 new units with a rent-control status that would no longer be protected by law, but instead through a contested agreement between developers and the city.

The demonstration also took up the cause of a number of labor struggles. Members of UNITE-HERE Local 2 who work at the Hyatt at Union Square have been on the picket lines, demanding that the company sign a contract that defends working conditions of hotel employees. Dozens of union activists, including members of United Educators of San Francisco, showed up to support the picket line on the day of action.

The numbers on the picket swelled even more when a contingent from Occupy Oakland came to support the workers. After a speakout at the State Building, students converged on the spirited picket line, bringing the numbers to almost 200 people.

Fred Higashihara, a worker from Local 2, explained that the workers were protesting because "Hyatt has the highest injury rate in the industry, maids have to clean 30 rooms a day." He added, "The Occupy movement can help labor. We will be stronger if we work together."

Occupy activists also picketed a Ralph Lauren store in support of port truck drivers. Ralph Lauren is one of the biggest customers of Toll Group, an Australia-based logistics company that is responsible for sweatshop working conditions for its port truck drivers and fired a group of truckers at the Long Beach port for attempting to organize with the Teamsters. Around two dozen activists attended, handing out fliers and chanting, "What's disgusting? Union busting!"

Matt Bello, a member of the Occupy SF Labor Solidarity Working Group and a teacher in San Francisco explained, "We are here to show support for port truck drivers' right to form a union. By working with Toll Group, Ralph Lauren is responsible for sweatshop working conditions at ports on the West Coast."

Activists also organized a last-minute action in support of the International Longshore Workers Union (ILWU), which has been waging a protracted struggle against international conglomerate EGT in Longview, Wash. Protesters demanded to speak with the manager at the San Francisco office of Oilseed International, a subsidiary of Itochu, one of the owners of EGT. When the manager refused and promptly called security and the police, activists chanted, "United we stand, divided we fall, an injury to one is an injury to all" and "We are the 99 percent!" before being escorted out. They vowed to return.

In the afternoon, some 50 students from San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco, teachers from the American Federation of Teachers Local 2121, and community members entered the State Building on Golden Gate Avenue. The crowd left after about 45 minutes, proclaiming that they would be back to see Gov. Jerry Brown at the Capitol on March 5, the day of a statewide convergence to occupy the building in defense of education and social services.

The final scheduled event of the day was a unity march, rally and celebration in front of the main Bank of America branch that had been locked down all day. Activists packed the 400 block of Montgomery Street with one of the most diverse crowds that Occupy SF has mobilized to date.

As the rally ended, a few activists announced that a building had been occupied and that reinforcements were needed to defend it. A large portion of the crowd followed them on a winding march through driving rain to the Cathedral Hotel on Geary and Van Ness.

The vacant building has been the site of previous labor disputes, and current owner Sutter Health is already under fire from organized labor for plans to use non-union labor in a future facility at the site. After a standoff between police and activists in the street, a number of occupiers were able to enter the building. Reportedly, a dozen protesters were pepper sprayed, but no one was arrested after police entered the building and the remaining occupiers agreed to leave.

The success of Occupy Wall Street West shows the potential and resilience of the Occupy movement in the face of austerity and repression. The day of action demonstrated that Occupiers can link arms with community and labor organizations in the fight for the interests of the 99 percent.
Julien Ball, Melissa Cornelius, Robin Horne, Diana Macasa and Dan Riazanov contributed to this article.

[Peter Lemkin]

download and mirror, as Youtube willl likely take this down shortly!