Occupy Oakland protesters push for general strike

293481_10150375936788393_121716588392_8371223_737101743_n.jpeg

Protesters Wednesday night gathered to discuss the violence of the day before at the newly renamed Oscar Grant Plaza. Photo by Alejandra Cuéllar/ Public Press

The day after a tumultuous confrontation between police and the protesters of the Occupy Oakland movement, more than 2,000 people gathered Wednesday at the civic center to vent their outrage at the heavy-handed eviction tactics, which included launching teargas into the crowd.
 
Thousands of protesters convened in the early evening in an amphitheater in what they were calling Oscar Grant Plaza — officially Frank Ogawa plaza at City Hall, renamed after the victim of a police shooting on BART last year — to discuss the events of the previous 48 hours.
 
Where the day before the 24-hour encampment of Occupy Oakland had stood with hundreds of tents, a large metal fence had been erected surrounding the grassy area of the park.
 
In contrast to the previous day, there was no visible police presence, but at least six helicopters circled the area and the media swarmed the streets below.
 
All around the block, people were meditating, dancing, playing music and giving away food, though the majority of the crowd was drawn into the large discussion.
 
Some spoke about whether the actions of the protesters constituted violence or nonviolence. One participant, who did not identify himself, spoke into the microphone:
“Throwing down a fence is not violence — throwing a canister of gas at somebody’s head is violence,” he said, making reference to an Iraq War veteran critically injured by a teargas canister the night before.
 
At the other side of the park, attention shifted when a small group of people began to kick the metal fences, which easily snapped and fell. Photographers quickly flooded into the middle and documented the people at work. Huge parts of the fence crashed down, as the crowd chanted, “Whose park? Our park!”
 
One by one, all the fences were removed and stacked in corners of the plaza.
 
Back at the ad-hoc governing body, the General Assembly, facilitators explained how the meeting was to move forward. Occupy Oakland works through “direct democracy” using a 90 percent consensus for any proposal introduced. Anyone could enter a proposal as long as it was written down and supported by at least three people. People could also email proposals to [email protected].
 
The discussion yesterday centered on a proposal to call for a general strike.
 
The proposal read:
“We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant plaza propose that on Wednesday November 2nd we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a citywide general strike. We propose to help all students walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work, and students going to school, all people will converge and walk downtown to shut down the city. All banks and corporations should shut their doors or we will march on them.
People were instructed to break into 20-person groups to vote and discuss their thoughts on this proposal. Representatives from each group were then sent to speak.
There was a general sense of support, but the concerns raised from the various groups were similar.
 
A teacher told the crowd: “I teach students, my schools are understaffed, I can’t take time off.”
 
Another speaker, a self-identified corporate employee, said: “I want to raise some concerns. You will not get corporate employees on your side with that language. You have to re-focus your messaging if you want to include them.”
 
Among the concerns was the exclusionary language of the proposal, job vulnerability, and limited time for planning.
 
However, there was widespread support.
 
“We haven’t exercised our real power yet,” another participant offered. “The world is watching Oakland. A general strike sends a national message.”
 
As hundreds of people spoke, there were periodic breaks for announcements. A facilitator announced that Occupy Wall Street in New York had donated $20,000 in solidarity with Occupy Oakland.
 
“Our brothers and sisters in Egypt,” said the same facilitator, “have also said they stand in solidarity with us.”
 
People began chanting in unison: “We are Tahrir Square!” referring to the plaza first taken over by millions in Egypt only eight months ago, leading to the toppling of the regime.
Results for the proposal appeared minutes before 10 p.m., the time at which the assembly would be made unlawful.
 
There were 1,484 approvals, 77 abstentions and 46 disagrees — which brought approval to 96.9 percent — enough for consensus.
 
People cheered as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” played, while an announcer rallied for people to come support the Occupy San Francisco camp. As the first crowd descended into BART, the gates suddenly shut and people inside were informed that the train from San Francisco would not be stopping at the 12th Street Oakland station. Some protesters got onboard anyway.
 
Organizers said the meeting Thursday at 5 p.m. would decide how the general strike would proceed. A General Assembly was to follow at 6 p.m.

 

100_3925.jpg
Protesters trampled fences that kept them out of the territory they previously occupied with a large encampment. Photo by Alejandra Cuéllar/ Public Press
rzeub.jpg
Protesters spread from the plaza to side streets in downtown Oakland. Photo by Alejandra Cuéllar/ Public Press

Don't miss out on our newest articles, episodes and events!
Sign up for our newsletter