Tag Archives: occupy eugene

OE 6-Month Strategic Campaign Plan Proposals

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Occupy Eugene has consensed to select one or more strategic campaigns to put substantial energy into for the next six months. Six proposals are under consideration now that the two BofA proposals have merged. We’ve had some great conversations about them so far, and imagine a couple more G.A. conversations to come to consensus.

Submitted Proposals

  1. BofA: BANKrupting America Campaign
  2. BofA: FightBAC Campaign (this and the above have merged)
  3. Community Bill of Rights Campaign
  4. Cooperative Production Campaign – this project continues, but not as a strategic campaign
  5. Foreclosure Campaign (aka “Our Homes Over Wall Street” – also see the updated presentation)
  6. Healthcare for All Campaign
  7. Homeless Solutions Task Force Campaign

There’s also a spreadsheet with useful information about each campaign that makes it easy to look at and compare them all together. You can pick up copies at OEV, or see the spreadsheet online. We’ll be updating it over time, so check back once in a while to see what’s new. Also, click here to watch the livestream of week  8 of occupation education, where we discuss the spreadsheet results in detail.

Proposed schedule

  1. Friday, May 4th G.A.: This proposed schedule will be announced at the G.A. and there will probably some q&a about the process and specific proposals.
  2. Tuesday, May 8th G.A.: Conversation about the proposed campaigns, especially the capacity realistically required for each campaign, and how each will build our movement.
  3. Tuesday, May 15th G.A.: More conversation and if possible, consensus on one or more strategic campaigns.

Past conversation

  1. Tuesday April 17th @ 5:30 pm There was a special legal/research meeting at OEV to review submissions and prepare for presentations.
  2. April 24th, G.A.: Proposals were presented and livestreamed: 5 minute presentation, 5 minute Q&A if necessary. There was also some conversation about whether OE wants to have focus, goals or a strategic campaign at all.
  3. April 27th, G.A: Further conversation about whether OE wants to have one or more strategic campaigns
  4. May 1st, G.A.: Further conversation, and consensus that OE does want to select one or more strategic campaigns

For questions, please contact campaigns@occupyeugenemedia.org.

 

Initial Announcement

Members of Occupy Eugene have endeavored to democratically develop a strategic campaign plan.  As part of that process, and as a result of a six hour strategic campaign workshop OE participated in, we will be discussing and deciding whether we should select a certain campaign or campaigns to focus the majority of our time and attention on as the Occupy Eugene movement.  Any committee or individual that would like to propose a campaign for Occupy Eugene to work on for the next 6 months should submit their proposal by Friday, April 13th.  Submissions should be in word or pdf formats, 2 pages or less using 12 pt font.  All submissions must be emailed to campaigns@occupyeugenemedia.org by April 13, 2012 (arrangement can be made for hand delivery if necessary).

Please address the following in your proposal submission:

  1. Details of the Campaign:
    • Working name of Campaign
    • Your name and contact info (including email and phone if possible)
  2. Describe what the goal of your campaign is. What do you hope to accomplish?  Short-term or long-term?
  3. Does OE have the resources (human and otherwise) to achieve this goal in the next 6 months?  Why/why not?  How many people will you need to achieve this goal?
  4. Does the Campaign go to a root issue or concern?  How?
  5. How does the campaign grow the movement or draw in new people? Describe with examples.
  6. Describe who/what this campaign will benefit?
  7. Are there existing allies or groups working on this/these issue(s)?  Do you think these existing groups will support this campaign? Why/not?

Other criteria you may consider or reflect upon:

  • Is the campaign tied to national Occupy Wall Street campaigns/goals
  • Does it include multiple short term pay-offs (mini-successes)
  • Create links with marginal or communities of color
  • Addresses issues not being addressed by existing local groups
  • Addresses issues that cause most harm
  • Holds participants’ interest
  • Can it be linked somehow with the activities of all, or nearly all, committees now active in Occupy, and doesn’t exclude anyone
  • What is the range of tactics you foresee that might be used in this campaign?

PROCESS FOR CHOOSING OE CAMPAIGN PLAN

The deadline for submissions must be received by Friday, April 13th , 11:59pm. The Legal/Research committee will review all submissions to determine if any proposals can/should be combined, or eliminate clearly inappropriate proposals. If proposals are similar in nature, authors of the submissions will be contacted by email and informed that they will need to jointly present their proposal at the G.A. Inappropriate proposals, or proposals that do not meet the submission criteria will be removed from the selection process (but will be posted online for transparency purposes)

OE members will be able to view all the proposals on our website.  If you have questions or concerns about a submission that you hope to have the author address at the G.A., please send your inquiry to campaigns@occupyeugenemedia.org and we will forward your question to the author with the idea that they will attempt to tailor their 5-minute presentation to address member questions or concerns.

Important Dates
(see above for what actually happened)

  1. Tuesday April 17th @ 5:30 pm there will be a special legal/rsch meetingOEV to review submissions and prepare for presentations.  Presenters shall be contacted to review presentation process—5 minutes to present, 5 minutes for Q&A.
  2. On April 24th  G.A. proposals will be presented and livestreamed:  suggest 5 minute presentation, 5 minute Q&A if necessary.
  3. April 27th G.A: should OE select a ceratain number of campaigns in the next 6 months?  If so, how many can we realistically achieve?
  4. May 4th G.A.: make decision on choosing campaign plan(s)

For questions, please contact campaigns@occupyeugenemedia.org. Begin work on new campaign plans as soon as possible!

—Legal/Research Committee

Bank of America Protest

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Protest against Bank of America’s corruption and blatant disregard for the people of America. They are economic terrorists and criminals. They need to be broken up, if not allowed to fail completely.

These are weekly protests, each Friday from 4:30 to 5:30 to attract the evening traffic BofA customers.

Educate the customers, encourage them to move their money to a credit union. Let Bank of America know what we think about their illegal foreclosures, discriminatory practices against minorities and that they are not respecting the laws that protect active duty service members. Let’s stop the bank that is too corrupt to survive!

Bring signs about foreclosures, robo-signing, MERS, excessive fees, free bailouts, corruption, greed, whatever you want!

Join us directly afterward at the Park Blocks, 8th & Oak, 6pm, for Occupy Eugene’s General Assembly and see what consensus democracy looks like!

When: Today, April 6, 4:30 – 5:30pm

Where: Bank of America, 11th & Pearl, Eugene.

This protest is planned by the Occupy Foreclosure Action Committee

Kesey Square Revival

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“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.”
– Ken Kesey

Reclaim Kesey Square as a place for street artists, entertainers, friends and activists to gather as a community.

Since the breakup of the Washington Jefferson Park occupation site, many of the displaced homeless have been harassed by some within the Eugene Police Department.

They have been unfairly targeted, charged with small crimes, and then told they can’t return to a 20 block area surrounding Kesey Square.

This “Downtown Public Safety Zone” is being used to discriminate against the homeless. Alley Valkyrie demonstrates how easy it is to break these laws, and not get arrested because she doesn’t look homeless.

Join in every Friday, noonish to dusk-ish.  Art vendors welome.

 Where? Kesey Square, of course, Broadway & Willamette.

Opinion: From Leaderless to Leaderful

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Author: Reid Kimball
Editor: OE Communications
This opinion piece was approved by the OE Communications committee by receiving the minimum number of at least 6 votes needed for publication.

The Register Guard’s front page article “Protest Pioneers” written by Edward Russo, stated that people within Occupy Eugene (OE) “dislike calling themselves leaders.”

This is true for the most part. I have heard on numerous occasions talking with my brothers and sisters within OE that “there are no leaders,” and “we are a leaderless movement” because Occupy Wall Street was founded on the principles of being a people-powered, leaderless, non-hierarchical movement.

However, I have a differing opinion I would like to share with you all now. Rather than OE being a leaderless movement, or a movement with a few key people who are regarded as leaders, both inside and out, I suggest the following: Occupy Eugene is a protest movement in which everyone who participates is a leader.

We are not a leaderless movement. We are a leaderful movement. You, myself, and everyone in between are leaders. Think about it for a second.

We are making many sacrifices of energy, finances, and time. The sacrifices we make require leadership.

We are taking a proactive initiative to speak our rage against the economic injustices surrounding us; that takes leadership.

We are actively working on solving today’s most pressing problems; that takes leadership.

I joined Occupy Eugene because for once I felt empowered to do something about the governmental and systemic problems. Our energy and momentum depends on creating and maintaining that feeling of personal empowerment.

Calling ourselves a leaderless movement does not feel empowering to me. When we say, “there are no leaders,” I have to ask, who then takes responsibility for the mistakes that we have made?

Without leaders, how do we make ourselves accountable? How do we push ourselves to improve, to grow, and to win this fight against reckless capitalistic greed?

I don’t believe calling ourselves a leaderless movement gives us the personal power we all deserve. Nothing short of leadership is required of us if we are to improve our healthcare, our global economy, our government, our environment, and more. The job we have willingly accepted is daunting, but we can do it if we all believe that each and every one of us is a leader.

Every single day, each one of us commits a plethora of acts that demonstrate leadership. Some of us may commit more than another, but the quantity matters little. There are no ranks, no ladders, no silly job titles, just you and I, working together as equal leaders.

What if you don’t want to be a leader? That’s fine. But know that when I look you in the eye, what I see is a leader because your presence in the same room as I, tells me you have the passion, the smarts, and the leadership qualities we need. We need more people like you.

Support Bank Transfer Day

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Bank Transfer Day

Remember, remember the 5th of November! Occupy Eugene encourages everyone to close your account in a corporate bank by November 5th and deposit your money in a local credit union or community bank.

Join us this Saturday for a rally at 11:00am in the Free Speech Plaza (8th & Oak) and then for a March at 12:00pm visiting the local large corporate financial institutions.

Local Credit Unions have already reported a surge in new accounts as a result of the anti-corporate bank movement associated with Occupy Wall Street movements around the country. Occupy Eugene and other groups such as SEIU Local 503 and ESSN have been holding regular protests at corporate banks in Eugene, such as Bank of America, Chase, US Bank, and Wells Fargo.

“People are fed up with the excessive fees these banks are charging, and their unethical practices and profiteering,” said one local Occupy Eugene activist. “If you leave your money and your business in these banks, your money is telling them their practices are acceptable. They are not.”

The ten largest banks in the U.S. now own 80% of banking assets. Community banks and credit unions own the remainder of these assets and generally provide small business loans, home mortgages, and other similar accounts.

Bank of America, in addition to other corporate banks is now charging its customers a $5.00 per month fee on debit cards if an account has less than $20,000 on deposit, disproportionately impacting lower-income customers. Given the million-dollar bonuses paid to big bank executives after taxpayers bailed them out in 2008, the high rate of home foreclosures resulting from predatory loan practices, the admissions that many of these banks lied to investors to increase their gigantic profits, it isn’t difficult to figure out that ‘we the people’ should not be rewarding these unscrupulous business practices.

You can use this contact sheet to find options for Oregon credit unions or better yet, start a discussion with friends and family by asking them if they know of any local credit unions.

Local Credit Unions & Community Banks | Fact Sheet on Why You Should Move Your Money | Flyer

 

Occupation Education Continues

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Building and Using Organizational Power

Michael Carrigan,  Joe Tyndall, Jon Wostman

The trainers will lead a discussion about how to build movement power and create change by effectively engaging the public, and effectively influencing elected officials  and city and county staff.

OE Medical Clinic extra!

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This Sunday, Occupy Medical Clinic Plus presents Bodywork Day! Bodywork specialists such as massage therapists and Reiki healers are offering free hands-on treatment for back pain, as well as Sundays’ regular offerings:

12 -4 pm:  Downtown Park Blocks, corner of 8th & Oak.  Dr. Knowlton, 1 -3 pm; Dr. Howison, Spanish interpreter available, 2 -4pm.

Dr. Howison is a family physician with special interests in developing preventive health strategies for patients, holistic remedies, nutrition, obstetrics and pediatrics.

Dr. Knowlton is a family physician who has been practicing medicine in the Eugene area since 1997. He was the medical director of the clinic providing health care for the Makah Nation in Neah Bay, Washington from 1993 – 1997.

All are welcome, no charge. No appointments; first come, first served. If you have any medical conditions, concerns or questions, please come by. Let’s all do what we can to make our Occupy Eugene environment as healthy and safe as possible.

Please check the OE calendar to make sure the event is still valid.

Spanish Translation

Occupy Medical Clinic “PLUS” presenta un dia de masajes terapeuticos. Especialistas de Reiki, metodo Bowen y otros tratamientos imparten sus servicios durante las horas de la clinica, 12-4 PM, en el Parque.

Domingos: de las 12:00 a las 4:00 de la tarde, el doctor Howison dará consulta en la esquina de 8th y Oak.  Habrá un interprete disponible durante el turno del doctor Howison.

El doctor Howison es un medico familiar certificado, cuyo enfoque particular es el desarrollo de estrategias de salud preventiva para los pacientes, los medicamentos holístico, la nutrición, la obstetricia y la pediatría

El Dr. Knowlton atenderá a pacientes en la sede de Eugene Toma las Calles, OE V. El es médico familiar con certificación profesional, que ha estado practicando medicina en Eugene desde 1997. El doctor Howison fue director médico de la clínica que brindaba atención en salud para la Nación Makah, en Neah Bay, Washington, desde 1993 hasta 1997.

Atención gratuita al publico en general. No es necesario hacer cita, se atiende en orden de llegada. Si usted tiene alguna enfermedad, o si tiene alguna pregunta, por favor, venga a vernos. Hagamos todos lo posible para que las condiciones en Eugene Toma las Calles sean lo más sanas y seguras que se pueda.

Por favor, vea el calendario de Eugene Toma las Calles, OE calendar, para asegurarse de que estas condiciones sigan vigentes.

Michelle Shocked Roccupy makes room for OE Foreclosure Action Committee!

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The Occupy Eugene Foreclosure Action Committee has been asked to perform a short skit that will entertain and enlighten Michelle Shocked’s audience about the foreclosure crisis.

The skit will start about 70 minutes after the start of her show.

 

When: Thursday, April 26, 7pm

Where: Cozmic Pizza

Contact person about the skit: Reid Kimball, reid@rbkdesign.com

Contact about Michelle Shocked performance: Cozmic Pizza, http://www.Cozmicpizza.com

Eric Rogers Auction Action

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This is an Occupy Foreclosure Action Committee event. We are attending to support Eric Rogers to help him stop the auction sale of his Marcola, OR property.

He has a letter which states he is offering to pay off the mortgage in full. If this letter does not work, we will ask Eric for permission to sing a song to disrupt the auction and prevent the sale of his home.

When: Monday, April 9, 10 am sharp!   …this is not an event to show up 5 minutes late….

Where: Lane County Courthouse, 125 East 8th ave. Eugene, OR

Contact person: Reid Kimball, reid@rbkdesign.com
415-632-9982