Banner Drops Let the 99% Know About Occupy Wall St West Actions Tomorrow

Activists dropped banners this morning to spread the word about the January 20, 2012, Occupy Wall St West actions.

Two banners, one reading “Liberate SF, January 20th – Occupy the Banks” and one reading “Occupy the Banks, Liberate SF – This Friday” were hung by activists to spread the word about the shutdown of the Financial District this Friday.

Press Conference on January 20, 2012, Occupy Wall St West Actions

At 10:00am this morning, January 18, 2012, Occupy Wall St West held a well-attended press conference with speeches and action announcements from a diverse group of affinity group and organizational representatives, including Iraq Veterans Against the War, Young Workers United, The Progressive Workers Alliance, Unite Here Local 2 Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union, California Nurses Association, Occupy SFSU (San Francisco State University), Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), the Episcopalian Church, and the ANSWER Coalition. Videostream available here (please endure the advertisement to see the program).

Updated: A Call to Occupy Wall St. West!

en espanol    PDF format in English

Friday, January 20, 2012

San Francisco Financial District

DAYLONG NONVIOLENT MASS OCCUPATION

of the Wall St. banks & corporations attacking our communities, homes, education, environment, livelihood, and democracy

What?

  • A day of mass action centered in the SF Financial District involving mass occupation, mobilization, nonviolent direct action and disobedience.
  • We ask people, groups, movements and communities from San Francisco, the Bay Area and across California to self-organize and take action with us to disrupt business-as-usual—either at a bank or corporation where you are drawn to act or at one initiated by other participants.
  • Many ways to participate without risk of arrest!
  • There will be an all-day orientation site at Bradley Manning/Justin Herman Plaza where unaffiliated folks can get information, including where and how to plug into actions, with mobilization times at 6:00 am (Wall St. West starts when Wall St. East starts!), 12:00 noon and 5:00 pm.

We call on the Occupy movements and the 99% across the region to join us.

Why?

  • To end corporate personhood! Corporations are NOT people; Money is NOT speech. January 20th is the anniversary eve of the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, which further privileged corporations over people in our Constitution.
  • To expose how Wall St. operates in our midst, attacking our communities, homes, livelihoods, education, environment, democracy, and health.
  • To demand that banks stop foreclosing on our neighbors and evicting them from their homes for profit.
  • To contribute to ongoing community fights for social and economic justice against banks and corporations.
  • To build and mobilize a broad-based, strategic mass movement asserting the people power of the 99% in San Francisco, the Bay Area, California and the region.

How?

  • DON’T GO TO — OR WALK OUT OF — WORK AND SCHOOL. No Business as Usual!
  • FORM/JOIN AN ACTION GROUP: Organize an action/affinity group with friends, neighbors, classmates, congregation and/or co-workers. We encourage you to organize an action group in your own community or with folks who share common interests or identities.
  • You may also meet people to form or join a group with at a Nonviolent Occupy Direct Action Training (more info later in this document) or by networking through Meetup.
  • These groups can take action, do education and outreach, etc. in their own communities and neighborhoods in addition to supporting mass actions and occupations and staying organized for the long haul. Please send a spokesperson from your group to the weekly Occupy SF Action Council Meeting to coordinate.
  • If you want to let others know that your group is participating and about the actions you are planning, we encourage you to do so!
  • PREPARE: Participate in a two-hour Nonviolent Occupy Direct Action Training to prepare, find out more and maybe meet up with folks to form or join an affinity group. National Lawyers Guild will sponsor Know Your Rights Trainings.
  • ORIENT: Go to the orientation site by the ice skating rink at Bradley Manning/Justin Herman Plaza beginning at 6:00 am — and throughout the entire day — for info and to plug in.

Occupy SF Action Council

The Occupy SF Action Council is an ongoing weekly “spokescouncil” meeting of affinity groups and organizations to coordinate actions and mobilizations. It is the primary coordinating body for the Occupy Wall St. West January 20, 2012, actions and lead-up activities. Decisions are made by spokespeople—chosen by their groups—using a modified consensus decision-making process [try for full consensus; if not possible, 9/10 majority].

All groups participating in the January 20 / Occupy Wall St. West actions, please send spokes to participate.

  • Sunday, January 8, 2:00pm: Unite-Here Local 2, 209 Golden Gate @ Leavenworth (just North of 7th and Market—Civic Center BART), map
  • Sunday, January 15, 2:00pm: Unite-Here Local 2, 209 Golden Gate @ Leavenworth (just North of 7th and Market—Civic Center BART), map
  • Thursay, January 19, 6:00pm: Location TBA

Check the web calendar (www.occupywallstwest.org/calendar) for the latest information on all meetings related to the January 20 actions.

Occupy Wall St. West Workgroups

Organizing and outreach for Occupy Wall St. West (OWSW) is coordinated by the OWSW Action Workgroup and carried out by other ongoing and ad-hoc workgroups, including: Trainings, Outreach, Press, Media, Internal/Action Communications, Food and Housing.

If you have questions or would like to contribute to organizing, available contact info for each workgroup is listed on our website.

Initial Participating Organizations

  • Occupy SF General Assembly and Action Council
  • 
Occupy SF State University
  • 
Occupy SF Housing Coalition:
    ACCE, Asian Law Caucus, Causa Justa: Just
 Cause, Coalition on Homelessness, Eviction Defense Collaborative,
 Housing Rights Committee, Occupy SF, QUEEN, San Francisco Tenants
 Union
  • Progressive Workers Alliance:
    Coleman Advocates for Children
 and Youth, Chinese Progressive Association, Filipino Community Center, La Raza Centro Legal—Day Laborer Program and Women’s Collective, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, People Organized to Demand Environmental and
 Economic Rights, People Organized to Win Employment Rights, Pride at
 Work, Young Workers United
  • Jobs with Justice
  • 
SF Labor Council

  • California Nurses Association

  • Pride at Work/HAVOQ (Horizontal Alliance of Very Organized Queers)
  • 
Rainforest Action Network

  • Code Pink
  • 
ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and Racism) Coalition

  • 28th Amendment Group

  • Move to Amend
  • 
SF Interfaith Allies of Occupy

  • SF 99% Coalition

Additional participating groups are (and can be) listed online here.

ORGANIZATIONS: Existing organizations who respect the ethos of the Occupy movement (e.g., being autonomous from political parties and organizations; non-hierarchical and directly democratic structure; and nonviolent protest, occupation and resistance) are warmly welcomed to participate.

Key Wall St. West Action Sites

We propose that the most key Wall St. institutions to target:

  1. Are major players in the economy
  2. Contributed to the financial crisis and economic melt-down
  3. Have a presence in San Francisco
  4. Have ongoing campaigns against them locally

BIG WALL ST. BANKS:

  • Wells Fargo—World HQ (420 Montgomery) & branches
  • JP Morgan Chase—West Coast HQ (560 Mission) & branches
  • Bank of America—B of A Center (555 California) & branches
  • Citibank—Citigroup Center (1 Sansome) & branches

SOME KEY WALL ST CORPORATIONS:

  • Goldman Sachs (555 California)
  • Morgan Stanley (555 California)
  • Merrill Lynch (101 California)
  • Capital International (1 Market, 20th floor)
  • Chartis Group (AIG) (1 Market, 36th floor)
  • Bechtel (50 Beale)
  • PG&E (77 Beale)

SOME KEY WALL ST CORPORATIONS:

  • Fannie Mae (50 California)
  • Federal Reserve Bank (101 Market)
  • SEC (44 Montgomery)

ACTION MAP:

Additional corporate or government sites that groups are planning actions at can be added to the online action map along with the address and information about why they are being targeted.

A printable version of the online Action Map will be available for download by January 10.

Nonviolent Occupy/Direct Action Trainings

  • These two-hour trainings will cover all the basics of the Jan. 20 Occupy Wall St. West Occupation, including hands-on skills and information about nonviolent direct action, disobedience and occupation for those considering participating in or supporting direct actions, or who just want to find out more. Trainings will include:
    • How to engage in direct action and occupation
    • Tools for de-escalation (and escalation)
    • Working in groups
    • Dealing with arrest and legal consequences
  • You may meet people at the training to form an affinity group with (a group of 5-25 who works as a team for Jan. 20) or join an existing group to participate in the day of action.
  • Please come on time, stay for the whole time and please RSVP using our web form.
  • If you have a group or community — 15 or more people — and would like us to have trainers come to you to do a Nonviolent Occupy/Direct Action Training, ask us and we’ll make it happen if we can!

SF DIRECT ACTION TRAINING SCHEDULE

  • Saturday, January 14, 9:15 am – 11:45 am, Global Exchange, 2017 Mission @ 16th, This will be a special MLK DAY Training led by David Hartsough, a civil rights movement veteran who met Martin Luther King in his youth and was actively involved in the lunch counter sit-ins. Media are welcome.
  • Sunday, January 15, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, Unite-Here Local 2, 209 Golden Gate @ Leavenworth
  • Sunday, January 15, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm, Unite-Here Local 2, 209 Golden Gate @ Leavenworth
  • Monday, January 16, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Unite-Here Local 2, 209 Golden Gate @ Leavenworth
  • Tuesday, January 17, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Location To Be Confirmed—will send after you register
  • Wednesday, January 18, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Unitarian Universalist Church SF—MLK ROOM, Franklin btw. Geary and O’Farrell
  • Thursday, January 19, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Unitarian Universalist Church SF—STARR KING ROOM, Franklin btw. Geary and O’Farrell
  • Thursday, January 19, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Unitarian Universalist Church SF—STARR KING ROOM, Franklin btw. Geary and O’Farrell
  • Thursday, January 19, 8:30pm – 10:30pm, Faithful Fools Street Ministry, 234 Hyde @ Eddy
  • Friday, January 20, 5:00 am – 5:00 pm all-day orientation @ Bradley Manning/Justin Herman Plaza

For updates, stay tuned to the www.occupywallstwest.org/calendar.

Legal Support

  • Occupy Legal is a collective of activists, lawyers and legal workers dedicated to supporting economic justice occupation encampments in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we are supporting Occupy Wall St. West.
  • We are asking groups to self-organize their own legal support contact person–we will work with you. More info on how to do legal support is here.
  • Occupy Legal works to transform the demoralizing experience of arrest and incarceration into an empowering one. We are working in collaboration with the Bay Area chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

What we will do:

  • Provide “Know Your Rights” information and trainings
  • Provide materials on documenting injuries and police misconduct
  • Staff a hotline – 415.285.1011
  • Organize and dispatch legal observers when needed
  • Track people in jail to make sure everyone gets out
  • Provide emergency support to people who are having a crisis in jail
  • Help people who are not released from jail
  • Find lawyers to meet with and defend arrestees on criminal charges
  • Organize a meeting for arrestees (if needed)
  • Maintain a website: http://occupylegal.info

What we can’t do:

  • Handle bail/bond–we can’t raise funds, arrange bail, or otherwise deal with money
  • Provide logistical support for people as they are released from jail (rides, food, medical/emotional support)
  • Guarantee free representation for the duration of your criminal case
  • We may not have resources to represent people who are being held in jail due to prior unrelated charges
  • Make legal decisions for you–we will give information, but in the end your actions are your own

Legal Training

  • The Know Your Rights training covers basic constitutional rights, interacting with the police, searches and the court/arraignment process. We use role-playing and real life scenarios to empower activists to assert their rights in protest situations and to demystify the legal process.
  • You can also take the official NLG Legal Observer training. If you ever wanted a sexy green hat, this is the training for you. The Legal Observer program is part of a comprehensive system of legal support designed to enable people to express their political views as fully as possible without unconstitutional disruption or interference by the police and with the fewest possible consequences from the criminal justice system.
  • Please contact us at occupylegal@riseup.net to RSVP or to request additional trainings for your group!

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS TRAINING

Sunday, January 8, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Unite-Here Local 2, 209 Golden Gate @ Leavenworth
Sunday, January 15, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm: location TBA

LEGAL OBSERVER TRAINING

Thursday, January 12, 6:00 pm: Hastings Law School, 200 McAllister @ Hyde

Housing

We will try to connect out of town participants with Bay Area housing. Please fill out a web form if you know you are coming and you need housing OR if you live in the Bay Area and can offer housing. If you have personal contacts (e.g., friend of a friend/family, etc.), please pursue those to leave housing available to those without contacts.

Action Agreements

Agreed to by Occupy SF Action Council & General Assembly:

These basic action agreements allow for a diversity of participants from the 99% needed to build a strategic mass movement capable of standing up to and overthrowing the rule of the 1%, and building a better world. We make agreements about how we make decisions and how we occupy together; these are basic agreements about how we take action together, beyond which individuals and groups are autonomous. These are not philosophical or political requirements or judgments about the validity of some tactics over others; just minimal agreements to create a basis of trust to work together as diverse communities, and to know what to expect from each other.

Occupy SF action participants agree not to engage in property destruction, unless it’s part of our strategy or action agreed to at General Assembly/Action Council (example: entering a foreclosed home to re-occupy). All groups, regardless of strategy and tactics, are welcome to participate in the day of action and are asked to agree to the general principles of the Occupy SF actions.

In forming the Occupy SF Action Council — the coordinating body for Occupy Wall St West — Occupy SF General Assembly and the Occupy SF Action Council agreed that: those who respect our practice of being autonomous from political parties and organizations, of being non-hierarchical and directly democratic, and of nonviolent protest, occupation and resistance are welcome. Groups that wish to co-opt, dominate or use the Occupy movement to further their own organization or ideology are not.

Join Us!
OccupyWallStWest.org

J20 text updates & real-time action updates the day of the action: text owswest to 41411.

Ocupa Wall St. Oeste!

English

Corporaciones No Son Seres Humanos!

¡Dinero no es Expresión Política!

VIERNES, 20 DE ENERO, 2012

Distrito Financiero de San Francisco

Dia de Ocupación Masiva Pacifica

En contra de los Bancos de Wall St. y Corporaciones que están atacando nuestras comunidades, el medio ambiente, la democracia, y nuestro bienestar.

No Vayan al Trabajo ni a la Escuela o Marcharse Afuera.

Organize una acción con un grupos aliados — con amigos,vecinos, alumnos, gente de su iglesia o compañeros de trabajo.

Que?

  • Organize una acción con un grupos aliados — con amigos, vecinos, alumnos, gente de su iglesia o compañeros de trabajo.
  • Por favor, mande un representante de su grupo al Consejo de Accion de Occupy San Francisco cada Domingo a las 2 p.m. en Justin Herman Plaza.

Y por que?

  • Para manifestamos en contra de como funciona Wall St., en nuestro entorno, agrediendo a nuestras comunidades, hogares, ingresos,
    bienestar y la democracia;
  • Para ampliar, profundizar, y movilizar el poder popular del movimiento Occupy y sus aliados;
  • Para fortalecer a las luchas populares actuales por  la justicia económica que se enfrenta a los bancos y corporaciones y
  • Para levantar el movimiento masivo y amplio de los 99% en S.F., la Área de la Bahía, en California y los estados vecinos.

Incorporase con nosotros: 
Occupy SF General Assembly and Action Council, 
Occupy SF State University, 
Occupy SF Housing Coalition (ACCE, Asian Law Caucus, Causa Justa: Just
 Cause, Coalition on Homelessness, Eviction Defense Collaborative,
 Housing Rights Committee, Occupy SF, QUEEN, San Francisco Tenants
 Union)
, Progressive Workers Alliance (includes: Coleman Advocates for Children
 and Youth, Chinese Progressive Association, Filipino Community Center,
 La Raza Centro Legal—Day Laborer Program and Women’s Collective,
 Mujeres Unidas y Activas, People Organized to Demand Environmental and
 Economic Rights, People Organized to Win Employment Rights, Pride at
 Work, Young Workers United), 
Jobs with Justice, 
SF Labor Council
, California Nurses Association
, Pride at Work/HAVOQ (Horizontal Alliance of Very Organized Queers), 
Rainforest Action Network
, Code Pink, ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and Racism)
 Coalition
, 28th Amendment Group
, Move to Amend, 
SF Interfaith Allies of Occupy
, SF 99% Coalition

Volantes y carteles

Flyers and Posters

A variety of flyers and posters are available for the January 20, 2012, Occupy Wall St. West action, in various colors and sizes. Not all flyers and posters are available in all sizes and colors. If you have a request for another size or color, or if you have a poster to add to this page, please click on Contact above and fill out the form to let us know. For additional formats of some of the flyers and posters, check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/owswest (thanks to Oona).

Thumbnail Description
PDF, Color, “Fortress Flyer”
JPG, Color, “Corporations are Not People”
OCCUPY-FLYER-CHINESE Word document. black & white, Chinese language flyer (heavy on text)
OccupyWallStWest_J20_Quarter_bw_spn2 quarter flyers, pdf, b&w, horizontal woodblock
jpg hi-res (can print up to 11″ x 17″), color, black cat
OccupyWallStWest_J20_11x8.5_bw_spn3 pdf (8.5X11), b/w, spanish woodblock print
OccupyWallStWest_J20_11x17_2color_spn one color, one b/w pdfs; 11X17 posters; vertical woodblock in Spanish
OccupyWallStWest_J20_11x17_bw_spn2 one color, one b/w pdfs; 11X17 posters; vertical woodblock in Spanish
OccupyWallStWest_J20_11x17_CMYK pdf 11X17 posters, English vertical woodblock
OccupyWallStWest_J20_11x81.5_bw pdf 11X8.5, b/w, horizontal woodblock w/meet up times