Fight for a Fair Economy

November 2 - Join Oakland’s "Peaceful Day of Action"

Official Statement & Call to Action

Call to Action

The SEIU 1021 Executive Board calls on all members of SEIU 1021 to join a day-long “Peaceful Day of Action” in support of Occupy Oakland and against the banking industry and last week’s police brutality against the Occupy Oakland encampment.

To avoid misinterpretation: Occupy Oakland has called for a “general strike,” but SEIU 1021 is not asking any members to “go on strike” — that would be a violation of many SEIU 1021 contracts. Instead, we encourage members to use legitimate time off to stand in support of Occupy Oakland and join the day’s events at the “Peaceful Day of Action.”

City of Oakland Workers: The City has agreed that workers may use a day of comp time, vacation time, a floating holiday or leave without pay in order to participate.

Other SEIU 1021 Members: We encourage all members to work with their employers constructively to find a way to take the day off in order to participate.

The “Peaceful Day of Action” takes place at Frank Ogawa Plaza (in front of City Hall), 14th & Broadway, Oakland
9 am — Events begin
12 noon — SEIU March Against Foreclosures
4 pm — Public Sector Worker Action

For more information, download a flyer under “Current Downloads” to the right of this article.
 

Why Labor Backs 'Occupy Wall Street'

The banks refuse to invest in the small businesses that drive job creation, and they kick us while we're down by foreclosing on millions of families.

By Mary Kay Henry

President, SEIU International

The images of row upon row of stoic airline pilots, fed-up students and thousands of Americans marching through downtown Manhattan have captivated the nation.

Seemingly overnight, the organic, scrappy protests in the financial center of the world have blossomed into a national movement from Chicago to Los Angeles, calling attention to the gross inequality in our society and the unwillingness of our politicians to correct this imbalance.

The Occupy Wall Street actions are a potent example of what is happening across our country as the anger and frustration of ordinary Americans builds. While the media and pundits obsess over what the Occupy Wall Street protester's want, the protesters have already succeeded in shaking our conscience as a nation and forcing a national conversation about everything that is wrong with our economy.

SEIU 1021 members "Make Banks Pay" for trashing our communities

If you only watched network TV, you'd hardly even know there's a nationwide movement that's fighting the powerful financial interests who trashed the economy and run our country. You'd see cops picturesquely arresting protesters on Wall Street and think that's all there was, that the movement is just a handful of radicals on the fringe. Maybe Gil Scott Heron was right after all: The revolution won't be televised.

We don't believe it. The campaign to "Make Banks Pay" for the damage they've caused to our lives and our communities is not just national, but international in scope, and more people are joining every day. Even saying it's "Main Street vs. Wall Street" doesn't capture the scope of this growing movement: It's on *every* street — and on websites, Twitter feeds, Facebook pages and everywhere the mainstream media is not. Watch your Droid or iPhone, not your TV.

This week, members of SEIU 1021 took to the streets of San Francisco's financial district and Oakland's impoverished neighborhoods to add their voices and literally lend a hand to this movement that more people are seeing even through the veil of the national media blackout.

To see photo albums of the Oakland and San Francisco actions, click the links in the Act! Here! Now! box on the top right of this page.

Fight for a Fair Economy: The action starts now!

Here are some ways that SEIU 1021 members can get engaged now, this week. Who says August has to be a slow month?