The occupy movement has been fiercely attacked and raided these past two months. First, the Occupy Oakland encampment on October 25th and now on Nov 14, then Occupy Cal on Nov 9th and now Occupy WallSt last night. City and federal administrations have ordered the encampments to be destroyed and have brutalized the occupiers along with their allies.
This attack on our free speech comes after some of the biggest Occupy mobilizations of the year. First, the November 2nd “General Strike” that brought out more than 30,000 youth and workers and paralyzed the Oakland City Port. Second, the OccupyCal Nov 9th protest of 3000 students and workers and encampment, and what is to be the third, the planned Nov 17th mass mobilization to shut down the New York Stock Exchange.
This offensive by the 1% shows that they are terrified of our mass mobilizations and are resorting to beating our bodies and destroying our encampments.
· We must not let these attacks deter us from organizing our power;
· We must mobilize a fight-back to show them that we will not stop;
· We will regroup and respond through larger mass actions;
As we regroup, we have the opportunity to make our demands clearer, our organizing methods stronger and take advantage of the support we are now receiving to mobilize more workers and oppressed communities (i.e. Blacks, Latinos, women, immigrants, LGBTQI).
The occupy movement needs to continue consolidating its bases of power. We can do this by forming base committees in all schools and workplaces to discuss our current problems and demands, and bring them to the Occupy general assemblies.
Plan of Action for the Next Period
The UC Regents postponed their November 16-17th meeting because they feared that our protest will mobilize thousands. The cancellation of the regents meeting is a victory for the public education movement! However, this is only the start of our fight-back.
This week of action, including UC Berkeley’s Nov 15th Strike and Day of Action and the statewide Nov 16th Day of Action, will be our immediate response to the repression of our movement. But we must also plan for the long term. We should build the forthcoming actions planned by OccupyCal’s General Assembly, including a public debate this December inviting UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau, the UC Regents, UC President Mark Yudof and California Governor Jerry Brown to pressure them to support our movement. This will be an opportunity for students, workers and the community to see that they are not on our side and we must fight the austerity measures that they all are imposing.
We must also start mobilizing future waves of actions and strikes early next semester, as the Occupy Cal General Assembly is proposing. We need to call on state and public education officials to meet our demands for free and fully-funded public education, free speech and for increased access to public education for under-represented communities of color.
We must continue posing demands that unite the whole 99% around our needs and target the core interests of the 1%. This will prevent the co-optation of our movement by the ones in power.
· End police brutality in our communities!
· No to school and library closures!
· Reverse fee hikes, cuts and layoffs in public education!
· Tax the Rich! Fully funded and free public education and health care for all!
· Nationalization of the banks that were bailed out with public money under workers’ control.
