Post by mikerancourt on Nov 15, 2011 22:00:03 GMT -5
OA GA 11-15-11
Facilitators:
Luigi and Josh – facilitators
Mary – process liaison
Emma – Vibes
Neville – Time keeper
Laurel – Stack
Caucus Updates:
NONE
WG Report Backs:
Direct Action –
Part Timers Support WG –sent out a call for more involvement in operations by people who aren’t here full time. 15 volunteers in 24 hours. We need to put together a list of activities people can do if they show up for an hour (picking up trash, etc…) They’re also talking about Thanksgiving for people who are here full time. One option is to ask Equinox to bring meals. Another is for part timer support people to cook. There could be a potluck with smaller participation or equinox with a lot, and maybe a potluck on Friday with larger participation and a teach-in. This will be discussed further at a GA to make a decision (small potluck or meals by Equinox and a bigger event on Friday). So, full timers should talk to each other about this.
If you’re on an operation WG like sanitation, food, etc… to get info about what people can do for help.
Albany City Mission prepared Thanksgiving Dinner 12-2, and anyone can come and request as many meals as you want for persons or families. ________ Will go there tomorrow to talk to the Mission about that.
Operations (formerly sanitation) – engineer will be here. If anyone can pick up two bags per day, or something, see the engineer (Cookie and others). If you have a tent that needs structural support, etc…
Direct Action – Joe participated on a conference call with occupations around the country. They called for a day of action on the 17th particularly with a focus on the rights of the people of NY. Thursday at noon, occupiers from Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse are coming, and there will be “visits” (actions) to the capital. Try to be here at/before noon to welcome visitors. See Facebook events to help promote it.
Saturday night at 10PM at Lafayette Park – a mass action to defy the curfew. The hope is to have hundreds of people present. See Facebook events to help promote it. Comment: People are concerned that the occupation is becoming the focus of the occupation, and we should consider maintaining the focus on the issues that made is form this movement. At the GA, the group consented on occupy Lafayette on Saturday and Sunday.
DA meeting Sunday at 1:30PM.
Anti-War WG – see Joe
Legal #1 – . Court dates: People who have been arrested – they’re doing their best to make sure there is legal coverage for all court appearances. If you were arrested, you NEED to go to court on the date your ticket says, and the charges will be dismissed (but you HAVE TO BE THERE or there may be a warrant out for you). They don’t know what will happen in the future with potential arrests. Also, if you were arrested, talk to legal to have a conversation and to make sure they know when your court date is. Is it possible to reschedule a court date? Probably yes, but you need to contact one of the attorneys ahead of time. Is there a chance that the Governor has the legal authority to yank the cases away from the Albany County DA? Yes, it’s a law that’s almost never utilized, but it could possibly be done. Mark says that would be a politically idiotic thing to do (because the precedent is based on a case about the death penalty). If this happens, there will be hundreds of trespass trials over months and years, and that’s dumb. Mark: “We don’t think there’s really a curfew.”
Legal #2 – the ongoing conversation with the city started before the occupation even started. The city proposed a memorandum of understanding, and that has been discussed a lot by us, and the city is getting frustrated that we haven’t moved forward with that. The legal group has some concern that if we don’t do something, the city might be in a position (pressured by the governor, etc…) that might not be good for us. There is a proposal we will decide on later (tomorrow, the next day?). We would have a mediator (go-between) between OA and the city. Mediators could be jointly selected the way it is in labor negotiations. The object is not for the mediator to take sides but to be neutral and help the sides understand and have discussions. Advantages for us: shows that OA is willing to continue engaging with the city. The legal WG would also have a lot of pressure taken off them. This has been informally vetted by the Legal WG in and a little outside the Legal WG, and responses have been pretty positive.
Questions: How do we define neutral pertaining to the mediator? There is no precise way, but the labor management dispute model is that opposing sides choose someone and they choose a third person together. Another way is that it could be a clergy member or academic who is a credible person but hasn’t been involved, etc… Obviously, it doesn’t work for us if we don’t trust the person.
Has this been used in protest situations, and what has been the effect? For example, Occupy Rochester reached an agreement with the city last week mediated by the NYCLU. In labor situations, it is used all the time. It was also used during the Attica Prison Rebellion, where the prisoners got mediators to do really good negotiations (but Gov. Rockefeller screwed it up).
Do you have people in mind for this yet? Mark has some ideas in his head, but he hasn’t spoken to anyone yet.
What would the written agreement be trying to reach for us? OA hasn’t coalesced around a written agreement being good for us. Mark’s POV is that our current arrangements are really good for us. The concern is that it may be difficult to maintain the balance we have (allowed to stay despite some question of some little legal things ex: port-a-john). Mediation could result in a written agreement, but not necessarily.
Would the mediator meet alone with the city? It would be up to the mediator.
Would the mediator be paid? We don’t know yet. The expectation is that we would look for volunteers.
THIS WILL BE A PROPOSAL TO THE GA ON FRIDAY
Legal #3 – The city requested another meeting with us tomorrow. Mark doesn’t think we’re prepared to move on that. It seems like it won’t happen.
Facilitation WG – We meet 30 minutes before every GA (see us to get on the Agenda) and 20 minutes after every GA. Also, we have facilitation training every Saturday at 11AM. We also have a new GA guide. See our message board for a document that you can edit if you have ideas fort changes to it.
Outreach – meeting
WG Proposals:
Food – Food would like $200/week instead of the current $25/day (it would be an extra $25). It would not roll over from week to week if they don’t spend the whole $200. Concern – can we incorporate a plan for protecting the food and resources from theft that come into this camp (purchased or donations)? People’s safety is having a WG meeting after the GA at 7PM (mandatory for all safety people), so concerns can be raised there.
CONSENSUS HAS BEEN REACHED
IT #1 – a group text message relay system. A good mechanism for (for example) protecting against surprised raids.
IT #2 – Conference call through Interoccupy, a virtual GA through the phone system. Temp check on this idea (a formal proposal was not put forward)
Other Business:
Ruben – Eric Diedricson (a microhousing guy) may be interesting in providing us with an on-site shack (about the size of one of our tents. Heating source? We don’t know yet, maybe passive solar heating. Funds for UHaul? We don’t know yet. What’s the purpose of the shack? Mostly as a demo of housing alternatives (you don’t need a huge house). Can we put handles/wheels on it to show we can move it so that the city won’t get all huffy. Money? It’s free except for picking it up in Boston.
Temp check: GENERALLY SUPPORTED.
Ruben will get more details and make a formal proposal.
Luigi – 7PM teach-in for basics of nonviolent communication at the hexagon tent. He’s a nonviolent comm Trainer.
_____ - also on the interoccupy conference call – suggested to write state attorney general about this matter.
Mary - #1: Oakland and Portland were also torn down last night. #2: today’s Times Union editorial page: “Arrests are not the answer. Cuomo should come here instead of dealing with us through cops.
Drea – Wednesday evening at 8PM in the octagon tent, a discussion about arrests and how this is congruent with our message. Open dialogue about arrests here and OWS, and how to make it more inclusive.
Gallup Poll from Siena College – 12% (47% supported our goals) of the people polled think our ideas represent them. 22% think the Tea Party represent them. Maybe we shouldn’t use the 99%.
Joe – Sienna College is sponsoring an open discussion to the community about the Occupy Movement. Look on the forums for info on when and where.
Facilitators:
Luigi and Josh – facilitators
Mary – process liaison
Emma – Vibes
Neville – Time keeper
Laurel – Stack
Caucus Updates:
NONE
WG Report Backs:
Direct Action –
Part Timers Support WG –sent out a call for more involvement in operations by people who aren’t here full time. 15 volunteers in 24 hours. We need to put together a list of activities people can do if they show up for an hour (picking up trash, etc…) They’re also talking about Thanksgiving for people who are here full time. One option is to ask Equinox to bring meals. Another is for part timer support people to cook. There could be a potluck with smaller participation or equinox with a lot, and maybe a potluck on Friday with larger participation and a teach-in. This will be discussed further at a GA to make a decision (small potluck or meals by Equinox and a bigger event on Friday). So, full timers should talk to each other about this.
If you’re on an operation WG like sanitation, food, etc… to get info about what people can do for help.
Albany City Mission prepared Thanksgiving Dinner 12-2, and anyone can come and request as many meals as you want for persons or families. ________ Will go there tomorrow to talk to the Mission about that.
Operations (formerly sanitation) – engineer will be here. If anyone can pick up two bags per day, or something, see the engineer (Cookie and others). If you have a tent that needs structural support, etc…
Direct Action – Joe participated on a conference call with occupations around the country. They called for a day of action on the 17th particularly with a focus on the rights of the people of NY. Thursday at noon, occupiers from Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse are coming, and there will be “visits” (actions) to the capital. Try to be here at/before noon to welcome visitors. See Facebook events to help promote it.
Saturday night at 10PM at Lafayette Park – a mass action to defy the curfew. The hope is to have hundreds of people present. See Facebook events to help promote it. Comment: People are concerned that the occupation is becoming the focus of the occupation, and we should consider maintaining the focus on the issues that made is form this movement. At the GA, the group consented on occupy Lafayette on Saturday and Sunday.
DA meeting Sunday at 1:30PM.
Anti-War WG – see Joe
Legal #1 – . Court dates: People who have been arrested – they’re doing their best to make sure there is legal coverage for all court appearances. If you were arrested, you NEED to go to court on the date your ticket says, and the charges will be dismissed (but you HAVE TO BE THERE or there may be a warrant out for you). They don’t know what will happen in the future with potential arrests. Also, if you were arrested, talk to legal to have a conversation and to make sure they know when your court date is. Is it possible to reschedule a court date? Probably yes, but you need to contact one of the attorneys ahead of time. Is there a chance that the Governor has the legal authority to yank the cases away from the Albany County DA? Yes, it’s a law that’s almost never utilized, but it could possibly be done. Mark says that would be a politically idiotic thing to do (because the precedent is based on a case about the death penalty). If this happens, there will be hundreds of trespass trials over months and years, and that’s dumb. Mark: “We don’t think there’s really a curfew.”
Legal #2 – the ongoing conversation with the city started before the occupation even started. The city proposed a memorandum of understanding, and that has been discussed a lot by us, and the city is getting frustrated that we haven’t moved forward with that. The legal group has some concern that if we don’t do something, the city might be in a position (pressured by the governor, etc…) that might not be good for us. There is a proposal we will decide on later (tomorrow, the next day?). We would have a mediator (go-between) between OA and the city. Mediators could be jointly selected the way it is in labor negotiations. The object is not for the mediator to take sides but to be neutral and help the sides understand and have discussions. Advantages for us: shows that OA is willing to continue engaging with the city. The legal WG would also have a lot of pressure taken off them. This has been informally vetted by the Legal WG in and a little outside the Legal WG, and responses have been pretty positive.
Questions: How do we define neutral pertaining to the mediator? There is no precise way, but the labor management dispute model is that opposing sides choose someone and they choose a third person together. Another way is that it could be a clergy member or academic who is a credible person but hasn’t been involved, etc… Obviously, it doesn’t work for us if we don’t trust the person.
Has this been used in protest situations, and what has been the effect? For example, Occupy Rochester reached an agreement with the city last week mediated by the NYCLU. In labor situations, it is used all the time. It was also used during the Attica Prison Rebellion, where the prisoners got mediators to do really good negotiations (but Gov. Rockefeller screwed it up).
Do you have people in mind for this yet? Mark has some ideas in his head, but he hasn’t spoken to anyone yet.
What would the written agreement be trying to reach for us? OA hasn’t coalesced around a written agreement being good for us. Mark’s POV is that our current arrangements are really good for us. The concern is that it may be difficult to maintain the balance we have (allowed to stay despite some question of some little legal things ex: port-a-john). Mediation could result in a written agreement, but not necessarily.
Would the mediator meet alone with the city? It would be up to the mediator.
Would the mediator be paid? We don’t know yet. The expectation is that we would look for volunteers.
THIS WILL BE A PROPOSAL TO THE GA ON FRIDAY
Legal #3 – The city requested another meeting with us tomorrow. Mark doesn’t think we’re prepared to move on that. It seems like it won’t happen.
Facilitation WG – We meet 30 minutes before every GA (see us to get on the Agenda) and 20 minutes after every GA. Also, we have facilitation training every Saturday at 11AM. We also have a new GA guide. See our message board for a document that you can edit if you have ideas fort changes to it.
Outreach – meeting
WG Proposals:
Food – Food would like $200/week instead of the current $25/day (it would be an extra $25). It would not roll over from week to week if they don’t spend the whole $200. Concern – can we incorporate a plan for protecting the food and resources from theft that come into this camp (purchased or donations)? People’s safety is having a WG meeting after the GA at 7PM (mandatory for all safety people), so concerns can be raised there.
CONSENSUS HAS BEEN REACHED
IT #1 – a group text message relay system. A good mechanism for (for example) protecting against surprised raids.
IT #2 – Conference call through Interoccupy, a virtual GA through the phone system. Temp check on this idea (a formal proposal was not put forward)
Other Business:
Ruben – Eric Diedricson (a microhousing guy) may be interesting in providing us with an on-site shack (about the size of one of our tents. Heating source? We don’t know yet, maybe passive solar heating. Funds for UHaul? We don’t know yet. What’s the purpose of the shack? Mostly as a demo of housing alternatives (you don’t need a huge house). Can we put handles/wheels on it to show we can move it so that the city won’t get all huffy. Money? It’s free except for picking it up in Boston.
Temp check: GENERALLY SUPPORTED.
Ruben will get more details and make a formal proposal.
Luigi – 7PM teach-in for basics of nonviolent communication at the hexagon tent. He’s a nonviolent comm Trainer.
_____ - also on the interoccupy conference call – suggested to write state attorney general about this matter.
Mary - #1: Oakland and Portland were also torn down last night. #2: today’s Times Union editorial page: “Arrests are not the answer. Cuomo should come here instead of dealing with us through cops.
Drea – Wednesday evening at 8PM in the octagon tent, a discussion about arrests and how this is congruent with our message. Open dialogue about arrests here and OWS, and how to make it more inclusive.
Gallup Poll from Siena College – 12% (47% supported our goals) of the people polled think our ideas represent them. 22% think the Tea Party represent them. Maybe we shouldn’t use the 99%.
Joe – Sienna College is sponsoring an open discussion to the community about the Occupy Movement. Look on the forums for info on when and where.
Attachments:
