One Year Since Occupy Shook the World
By Greg Beiter, Seattle Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 Shop Steward 
A year later, despite the movement’s decline, it transformed consciousness among the broad mass of workers and young people. It brought tens of thousands into action, many for the first time, giving them a taste of their collective power.
Many lessons can be learned from the movement, from both its successes and its later decline. And though Occupy today isn’t a mass force in the streets, its early days last year foreshadowed the even bigger struggles that will emerge in the near future.
Four-Minute Late Phone Call to Bank Could Cost Anita Her Home
Anita Reyes-LeRey’s phone call to the Vice President at Woodlands National Bank, was four minutes late, and as a result, the Native American might lose the south Minneapolis home for which she and the Occupy Homes MN movement have fought.
Reyes-LeRey has owned her home for 17 years and has $50,000 in equity. She endured a series of financial and health setbacks when her job hours were cut and vertigo prevented her from making the 100 mile, one-way drive to work, prompting her to fall behind on her mortgage payments. Anita tried to negotiate a new mortgage with Woodlands National Bank in Onamia, Minn., which holds the mortgage, but was unable to do so.
Woodland’s National Bank Vice President Cindy Koonce, told Reyes-LeRey that she would do everything she could to help the homeowner. Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson offered to look over Reyes-LeRey’s loan documents for the bank. She returned to work and earned more than enough to afford her mortgage. But to Reyes-LeRey’s shock, on the end date of her redemption period, Koonce called and told her she needed to leave her home.
With the help of Occupy Homes MN, Reyes-LeRey began building a public pressure campaign, including call-ins and a petition for Woodlands National Bank to renegotiate her mortgage and keep her in her home. The bank tentatively offered to rent her the home and, after two years, prepare a new mortgage so she could buy it back. The deal required an up-front $2,100 payment — an amount that Reyes-LeRey was uncertain she could raise the money but nevertheless did. But her phone call was four minutes after noon, and Koonce told her the deal was off.
A video from Occupy Homes MN shows a bank official confirming the deal was off because Reyes-LeRey called in “after noon.”
Foreclosure Free Block Party!
Friday, February 17th 4pm-8pm @ Bobby Hull’s House (3712 Columbus Ave S) RSVP on Facebook!
On the anniversary of the Minnesota Moratorium of 1934, passed during the last great depression, we’ll be throwing a massive block party to celebrate the defense of the home of Bobby Hull. He’s a former Marine and Vietnam era vet who’s been in his home since 1968 and is facing foreclosure. Feb 17th is the last day of his Redemption Period after which he could face eviction. On this day we’ll pitch a tent and a stage, invite friends, neighbors and supportive community members to Bobby’s home and block.
We’ll treat the event like a celebration-Either be celebrating a good faith negotiation by the Bank (US Bank or Bank of America) or we’ll be celebrating the fact they we’re not leaving anyway. Come stand in solidarity with Bobby and help to send a strong message to the big Banks: We will NOT be moved from our homes without a good faith negotiation and fair resolution to the foreclosure crisis.
Come and join hundreds of community members in solidarity. Enjoy some amazing artists, great food, and the warmth and protection that only comes when neighbors stand together in unity. We’ll be live streaming the event to our friends around the country as we proclaim; Who’s House? Bobby’s House!
Special Guests:
Grant Hart (from Husker Du): http://www.granthart.com/
Toki Wright (DJ Set): http://rhymesayers.com/tokiwright
Mayda: http://www.imaydasong.com/
The Lioness: http://www.thelionessmusic.com/
Phillip Morris: www.myspace.com/phillipmorris
Turn Back Now: www.reverbnation.com/turnbacknow
Guante: www.guante.info/
Nick Mastermind Muhammad, Jayanthi (from Black Audience), Sol Rebel Ras, Rob Weekend, Wayne McFarland, homeowners, pirates, and much MORE!!
West Coast Ports Shut Down - A Big Step Forward for Occupy and Labor
The December 12 port shutdowns were organized to strike back against systematic police violence when police repressed and evicted occupations in city after city across the country, violating citizens’ constitutional rights to freedom of speech and assembly. The port shutdowns were also organized to show solidarity with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), who is waging an historic struggle against multinational grain exporter EGT, and also highly exploited port truck drivers in Long Beach, California and elsewhere who are fighting to win a union contract.
The west coast port blockade marked an extremely significant step forward for the Occupy movement. This coordinated disruption of international commerce significantly expanded upon the successful shutdown of the Port of Oakland six weeks before on November 2. By directly disrupting international trade and taking up common causes with the labor movement, the Occupy movement escalated its tactics from its initial approach of symbolic occupations of central squares to actively shutting corporations down and cutting into their profits.
Occupy Activists Shut Down Washington State Capitol — Police Violence follows
On Monday November 28th the Washington State Government started a special session to discuss cutting an additional two billion dollars for the already stretched state government budget. Some in the Democratic Party suggested offsetting some of the cuts with a state sales tax, which will disproportionately tax the poor, and only prevent new cuts to education. This not only does not address the defunding of education over decades, but also leaves other social programs on the chopping block in a classic divide and conquer strategy. No voices in state government stood up for workers, young people, or the oppressed.
Labor unions, socialists, and the occupy movement around the state mobilized a mass protest on that Monday morning, followed by an attempted occupation of the capital building. There were about three thousand people at the peak in the afternoon. Hundreds of protesters flooded the capital and peacefully refused to leave. Many entered the congressional sessions, and using the people’s mic, demanded their voices be heard.
The protesters failed to hold the capital building overnight, but have returned day after day to protest and disrupt the special session and its budget slashing agenda. Both Republicans and Democrats have been shown that their support for big business will not go unnoticed. However, more action is needed. Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire announced later in the week that corporate taxes will surprisingly decrease this year. She said this was a good thing. However it is not a good thing for the mass of poor and working class people who will see their taxes go up, and their essential services cut.
The state police were called in Monday night to remove the protesters. They carried out their job with excessive force. Two Socialist Alternative organizers interviewed below, Clay Showalter and Sarah Moses-Winyard, talk about the police brutality they experienced:
Defend the Occupy Movement! — Build actions to put millions in the streets across the U.S.
United mass mobilizations needed to protest police crackdowns, and stop the cuts, layoffs, foreclosures, and tuition hikes
In the last week the ruling elite have mobilized their police forces in an attempt to smash the Occupy movement, which they correctly see as a threat to their rule. Democratic and Republican Party mayors and city councilors have sent out their police to obediently do the dirty work. But tearing down tents and arresting protestors will ultimately fail to repress a movement that has broad support. They may evict some occupiers in this or that city, but they cannot contain the deep anger in U.S. society forever.
Occupy Wall Street has already changed U.S. society. It has ignited new struggles beyond the occupations themselves. Students are starting to organize against tuition hikes. Activists are fighting foreclosures. Teachers are fighting attacks on public education. Many of them are using some of the bold tactics and radical slogans of Occupy.
Defend Occupy Wall St! THURS: Day of Action - Spread the word!
* No to police repression of the Occupy movement!
Occupy Oakland Calls General Strike - Unions Take A Stand Against Police Repression
“Going forward, the unions in particular need to seize the moment. Mass resistance by the 99% against the 1% through building major national actions to stop the budget cuts, layoffs, and other attempts to make working people pay for the economic crisis is the way to build this movement. In coordination with the occupy movement, community organizations, and left groups, organized labor has an historic opportunity to stop the corporate attacks. The general strike call in Oakland should be viewed as an example of what is possible.”
Capitalism, Social Movements and Police Repression
“On September 24 an #OccupyWallStreet protester videotaped a NYPD officer macing peaceful protesters in the face for no apparent reason.
The video shows several women standing calmly as the police unroll and surround them with a bright orange net. Once the women are corralled, a white-shirted police officer walks up to the group and sprays them all in the face with pepper spray. He then walks away.
Over the next couple days, over a million people watched that video on YouTube as the Occupy Wall Street movement spread to hundreds of cities around the world. Far from fearful, protesters responded with renewed vigor, joining the anti-corporate protests in the thousands.
The mace-wielding maniac was identified as NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, who, if former incidents of police brutality are any indication, will receive no consequence. ”
From Occupations to System Change
With upwards of 2,000 gathered for the opening night rally of OccupyMN, myself and other organizers were beaming. As one of the MCs, leading chants and introducing speakers, my voice was almost gone by the time I got to my hardest task that night: rallying people to our first General Assembly, which was to start a few minutes after the rally. After all, what the hell is a “General Assembly”? Even among the core organizers, different conceptions were rife. Using the “people’s mic” call and response method of amplification, I chose my words carefully. “We all know / that our democracy is broken / that the elites on Wall Street / and the big corporations / and their paid-off politicians / have completely corrupted our system / but we still need to learn / how to build a real democracy / how to build a bottom-up participatory democracy / where everyone’s voice is heard / tonight we are going to have an experiment / in participatory democracy / we are going / to have our first General Assembly” Across the country and around the world, General Assemblies (GA) are a defining feature of the occupations. Their specific character and internal processes vary widely, but everywhere most Occupy activists consider GA’s more than simply decision-making bodies for the immediate protests. They are also viewed as a radical experiment in participatory, bottom-up democracy. “These protesters have not come to work within the system,” explains acclaimed journalist Chris Hedges. “They know electoral politics is a farce and have found another way to be heard and exercise power. They have no faith, nor should they, in the political system or the two major political parties. They know the press will not amplify their voices, and so they created a press of their own. They know the economy serves the oligarchs, so they formed their own communal system. This movement is an effort to take our country back”
