[lbo-talk] report from Oakland

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Wed Nov 2 08:34:05 PDT 2011


[This was sent to me offlist by someone who wanted it posted anonymously.]

This is probably the biggest preparation for an event like this I have seen in my lifetime. My co-workers, friends, and family are talking about it. Just the fact that the USA Today had an article indicates that it's a pretty big deal.

The best news are available on twitter, unfortunately, #occupyoakland and #generalstrike. For online coverage you can check the SF Chronicle (sfgate.com) that wrote an editorial against the strike, the baycitizen.com, and oaklandnorth.com

There is a huge amount of support; I've not heard anything outright against it.

A few anecdotes to give you an idea of what is going on:

The police union released a bizarre letter, basically suggesting that they were only following orders. Apparently all vacation & leave is canceled for them tomorrow.

UC headquarters are in Oakland and will be basically shut down tomorrow, with all non-essential workers working from home.

The city of Oakland has said that any employees that wish can take a vacation or unpaid day.

A relative reports that teacher's have received notices from the district encouraging them not to walk out tomorrow, so I guess they are worried.

Almost every union has given some sort of endorsement of the strike: ILWU, local SEIU, Oakland teachers, Alameda Labor Council. Of course all of them did not endorse a "strike", per se, but a day of action.

The Grand Lake movie theater and my corner store will be closed in support.

I was at the general assembly that called for strike, and I expected it to be pretty big; but I am surprised at the momentum.



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