Occupy Portland Events

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PLEASE NOTE: Not all the events listed below originate with Occupy Portland. They may be attended by occupiers, or endorsed by the Occupy movement, or they may be simply sponsored by people who share the goals of the Occupy movement. Please refer to each event for specifics, and use the discussion pages to ask questions.

For new events, please read "How to create a new Occupy Portland event", or you can send information to: ActionCommitteePDX@googlegroups.com

Click here for current date and time in Portland, OR

Action Committee Meetings

Action Committee Meetings are held every Monday and Thursday at 6PM Terry Schrunk Plaza. With Terry Schrunk now closed to the public indefinitely, the Nov 14th meeting has moved to PSU Smith Center in the cafeteria area in the SW corner.

Please see the forum for more information, notes on previous meetings, and general discussions regarding actions.


Tuesday

Why Do Corporations Have More Rights Than You Do

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  • Date: Tuesday, 22 November 2011
  • Time: 2 pm - 4 pm
  • Location: 5805 SE 41st Ave. near bus lines: 19, 75 (Cesar Chavez bus)
  • Jump to this event's wiki page, edit it, discuss it or return to the events page.

Purpose

Why do we fail at:

  • Universal Health Care
  • Renewable Energy Development
  • Bold Climate Change Response
  • End to Foreign Invasions
  • Labor Rights in the Workplace
  • Stopping Home Forclosures
  • many, many more symptoms

The Occupy Movement has generated amazing energy. Yet the history of popular uprisings has shown us that we have to do something completely new.

Join the 140+ communities in six NE states that are building the Community Rights Movement.

They have passed local laws that end corporate "rights" & enshrine COMMUNITY RIGHTS!

Join with others to learn more about this exciting movement!

Local Contact:

There may only be a brief window to convert street level momentum into organized rights-legislating movements in each of our local communities.

more information

Nonviolent Direct Action Training

  • Date: Tuesday, November 15,2011
  • Time: 6pm - 9pm
  • Location: Field Work 1101 SW Jefferson St. Portland, Or 
or return to the events page.

Purpose




Other details
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cascadia-Rising-Tide/136386265801

more information

Wednesday

Move City Money Local!

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Purpose

Take the Bank Transfer Day concept to City Hall! Help convince local leaders to move Portland's money out of the Wall Street banks and bring it home. In the long term a Municipal or State Bank might be the best institution, in the meantime: why not a credit union or local community bank?

Other details
Todd Olson of Oregon Move Our Money will address the City Council with the following demands:

  1. That they immediately move as much of the city's money as possible out of Wells Fargo and Bank of America and into local credit unions and banks who serve the interests of the 99%;
  2. That they direct the city's chief financial officer to publish a summary of the city's current and projected cash deposits, debts, and contracts with all banks and financial institutions as soon as possible;
  3. That they schedule a public hearing as soon as possible to address questions and hear proposals regarding the city's banking relationships and policies.

This will be a fun, positive action, and all the rest of us have to do is show up!

  • 9AM - Meetup at City Hall
  • 9:30AM - City Council Meeting
  • 10-10:30AM - Victory!
  • ACTION: Very Important! Council hearing on police oversight, Wed. 11/16, 2 PM Please plan on attending!

The event will surely attract media attention and put the city council on the spot. Pundits and politicians have been asking for demands from the Occupy movement so let's give them one. ( Note: No signs bigger than an 8.5x11 are likely to be allowed in the chambers. Small signs, Occupy and 99% t-shirts, buttons, etc. are encouraged but not necessary. Just being there is enough! )

PSU Walkout

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Purpose

  • Bail out students, not banks.
  • Equitable pay for faculty and staff.
  • Bring back public funding.
  • Make tuition affordable.
  • Remove barriers for minorities and immigrants.
Also See
The Project On Student Debt



more information

Thursday

Get On The Bridge: We Declare a State of Economic Emergency for the 99%

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Purpose

On Nov. 17th, we will declare an economic emergency for the 99%:

  • 25 million Americans are looking for work, but Congress won’t pass a jobs bill
  • Super-Committee budget cuts could kill millions more jobs
  • This economy works for the richest 1%, not the 99%

The Steel Bridge [1], which was built and always owned by Union Pacific Railroad, [2] is structurally deficient (how?) and in need of repair. This is work that needs doing, even while thousands in Portland are unemployed!

Bridges like this one are symbols of politicians’ failure to pass a jobs bill or do anything to help the 99%, while the richest 1% keep getting richer.

On Nov. 17th, we say enough is enough. We can’t wait any longer.

Get on the bridge!

Other details
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION PARTNER CITIES INCLUDE: PORTLAND, NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, DETROIT, HOUSTON, BOSTON, SEATTLE, CHICAGO, PITTSBURGH, PHILADELPHIA, WASHINGTON DC, MIAMI, MILWAUKEE, MINNEAPOLIS

What was the Works Progress Administration?

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) employed 2.7 million Americans in 1935, 2.3 million in 1936, 1.7 million in 1937 and 2.9 million in 1938. Over 9.7 million jobless Americans received WPA paychecks over those four years.

Due to the growth in our nation's workforce, if the WPA was re-enacted today, the equivalent numbers would be 7.7 million in 2012, 6.5 million in 2013, 4.9 million in 2014 and 8.3 million in 2015. That totals 27.4 million - 1.7 million or so less than our real unemployment level in October 2011.

What did the WPA do?

According to American-Made, a book by Nick Taylor, the Works Progress Administration:

  • built 650,000 miles of roads, 78,000 bridges, 125,000 civilian and military buildings, 800 airports built, improved or enlarged, 700 miles of airport runways;
  • served almost 900 million hot lunches to schoolchildren and operated 1,500 nursery schools;
  • presented 225,000 concerts to audiences totaling 150 million;
  • performed plays, vaudeville acts, puppet shows, and circuses before 30 million people; and
  • produced 475,000 works of art and at least 276 full-length books and 701 pamphlets.

Taylor wrote that the statistics were "silent on the transformation of the infrastructure that occurred, the modernization of the country, the malnutrition defeated and the educational prospects gained, the new horizons opened."

We did it once. Let’s do it now!

The WPA built a stronger, more interconnected and more modern nation. It followed President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s promise that the work would have a "lasting impact on the nation." And it did.

From the Timberline Lodge on Oregon's Mt. Hood, the Newton County Courthouse in Jasper, Arkansas to the National Guard Armory in San Jose, California, from the Pioneer Bowl in Minot, North Dakota to the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, the WPA left its mark upon our land.

At a total cost of $10.5 billion - the equivalent of $130.9 billion today - it rescued a nation from the Great Depression and saved 8.6 million Americans from the pangs of poverty and destitution.

We can put an end to this Grave Recession. We can put millions to work each year. We can hire them to modernize, strengthen and connect our service economy. We can use their skills to revitalize and renovate our manufacturing and transportation sectors. And we can push the President of the United States and the Congress to give us a chance to prove what Americans can do when the chips are down.

Sponsors
We Are Oregon
St. Johns Community Action Network
SEIU Local 503
Portland Rising
Portland Jobs With Justice
CWA Local 7901
SEIU Local 49
MoveOn.org Portland Council
Laborers’ Local 483
Our Oregon
Economic Fairness Oregon
Oregon Action
Unified Labor Committee
More Info

#N17 - Call To Action

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  • Date: Thursday, November 17, 2011
  • Time: 10:00am - 11:30pm
  • Location: Occupy Everywhere
  • Jump to this event's wiki page, edit it, discuss it or return to the events page.

Purpose

On November 17th, Join the 99%
[Click here for the MAP!]

Occupy Portland, in solidarity with organized labor and the 99% around the world, will mobilize for a day of peaceful direct action to reject the economy that divides us and rebuild an economy that works for all. We will resist the banks and the government they control, reclaim our democracy, and recreate the society we want to see.

Resist austerity. Reclaim the economy. Recreate our democracy.

Occupy Portland has endorsed a call for decentralized-yet-coordinated nonviolent civil disobedience against big banks on Nov. 17. Let’s shut them down!

  • Resist the 1% economy that drowns us in debt, forecloses on our homes, profits from war, eliminates our jobs and closes our schools and hospitals.
  • Reclaim the economy for the 99%. Everyone deserves the opportunity to find honest work, live with dignity, and pursue a better future.
  • Recreate our democracy. We will start to create a society that is organized to meet human needs, not maximize corporate profit.

On November 17th, the 99% will reclaim our destiny from the 1% and fight back against their plans for austerity.

Please send invites to everyone you know in the Portland-area for this event!

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The Black Swan is on the Wing
Worthy Quote

“Maybe freedom’s just another word for no one left to screw.”

Monologue Transcript

The Black Swan is on the Wing.

Related Reading
The Coming Derivatives Crisis That Could Destroy The Entire Global Financial System

Occupy Wall Street, in solidarity with organized labor and the 99% around the world, has called for a day of non-violent civil disobedience on Thursday November 17th to reject the economy that divides us and rebuild an economy that works for all. We will resist the banks and the government they control, reclaim our democracy, and recreate the society we want to see.

This is a call to form “affinity group” action teams, take on support roles, or join in a public march visiting action locations. An action “Spokes Council” for communication between and support of affinity group has been formed by the Occupy Portland Action Committee and seeks your participation.

How to engage:

  • Check out www.n17pdx.org and email join@n17pdx.org
  • Form an affinity group! A team of half-a-dozen friends can, for example, shut down a corporate bank for hours, especially if utilizing u-locks or other basic “lock-down” devices. The spokescouncil has seats for representatives of all active affinity groups and is working to ensure actions don’t accidentally conflict, can get their action’s message out to media, have legal support, and more.
  • Support the direct actions! There are many ways to help support actions without risking arrest – police and media liaisons, legal observation, march planning, outreach, and more. Teams are forming for all of them, and are a great place to get trained – no experience necessary.
  • Get trained! Many workshops for anyone wanting help planning actions and organizing new affinity groups are happening! Schedule at www.n17pdx.org/training (link at bottom of page), or contact training@n17pdx.org.
  • Donate! This coordinated mass action – one of the largest days of action in Portland history – is being run on a shoestring! Put your money where your values are now! We need your support asap, every bit helps: Funds are desperately needed for legal support, outreach material, sign making supplies, and civil disobedience blockade devices. Do you want to see the big banks shut down? Then please put your money where your visions are and visit www.n17pdx.org/donate today!!
Spread the word! RSVP on Facebook, invite others, help put up flyers, and check out our website for more ideas.

This is a once in a generation opportunity to take bold action with a critical mass of activists willing and ready to confront corporate greed. Seize the moment. Take the day off work (because the banks are open 9-5). Spread the word. Gather your friends. Plan your action. Be Creative. Occupy the Banks.

Join us.

Other details
To get involved contact: join@n17pdx.org / (503) 567-6895 Media inquiries: media@n17pdx.org General Questions: info@n17pdx.org

more information

Saturday

25TH ANNUAL FIX-IT FAIR SEASON

  • Date: November 19th 2011
  • Time: 8:30 am - 2:00 pm
  • Location: Ron Russell Middle School 3955 SE 112th Avenue 
or return to the events page.

Purpose

Sponsor City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability 25TH ANNUAL FIX-IT FAIR SEASON

Fix-It Fair is FREE - GRATIS

The City of Portland’s 25th annual Fix-It Fair season will kick off in November. Fix-It Fairs are free events where you can learn simple and effective ways to save money at home this winter and stay healthy. The events feature exhibits from numerous community partners and an extensive schedule of workshops held throughout the day. Experts will be available to talk with you about water and energy savings, home and personal health, food and nutrition, community resources, recycling and yard care, lead testing, bike tune-ups and more!

Special workshops taught in Spanish are offered at the Ron Russell Fair. Free professional childcare and lunch is provided at all Fairs.

Day long exhibits and hourly workshops provide information and resources for:

• water & energy savings,

• home & personal health,

• food & nutrition,

• community resources,

• recycling & yard care,

• lead blood testing

• much more!

To find out more information about scheduled workshops, visit Portland Online

To receive information and reminders on upcoming fairs, e-mail fixitfair@portlandoregon.gov.

The Fix-It Fairs are presented by the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability with support from the following sponsors: Energy Trust of Oregon, Legacy Health Systems, Pacific Power, Portland Housing Bureau and Portland General Electric.

Questions? 503-823-4309

more information

March for Universal Health Care

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  • Date: Saturday, November 19, 2011
  • Time: 12:00 rally; 1:00 march
  • Location: Waterfront Park - the fountain @ Naito and Salmon
  • Jump to this event's wiki page, edit it, discuss it or return to the events page.

Purpose

Rally and March to Take Wall Street Out of Health Care

More than 50 million Americans (1 in 6) do not have health insurance and almost as many are underinsured. Despite spending much more private and public money on health care than any other people in the world, the majority of people in the US are either uninsured or underinsured, without sufficient insurance to meet a medical emergency. We are the only country in the world in which medical bills are the reason for the majority of bankruptcies.

Occupy Portland, along with many other organizations and other Occupy groups, will join in the "Universal Single Payer Healthcare March." The rally will meet at noon at Naito and SW Salmon, march past the Saturday Market and Pioneer Square, and end by placing 558 crosses in Waterfront Park in memory of the estimated 558 people who die in Oregon every year because of lack of health care.

With our signs lifted and messages shouted from the many Occupy groups plus thousands of people of different ages and backgrounds from civic groups, unions, grassroots organizations, and many more. We will be pushing for universal health care. JOIN US IN THIS FIGHT!!

New Facebook group: Single Payer Healthcare PDX

Facebook event RSVP--invite your friends!

Oregon Single Payer Coalition

Other details
Universal access to a single system of health care is not a new struggle but has definitely been a long one! Such a national system would include allowing patients to choose their hospitals and doctors, taking these decisions back from insurance companies.

American health insurance is a mess with deductibles that are so high for a number of people that they make health insurance unaffordable, particularly when it comes to regular checkups and preventative treatment. Both of which would greatly minimize emergency room visits for those without healthcare, as well as reduce the crowding and long waits there.

Critics say a move toward a government-backed national health program is a move closer to socialized medicine, similar to what many European countries have. We say Americans should all care about those who don't have health care, or those who don't have enough. Health care reform is a complicated, massive undertaking that has a lot of people offering different ideas on what will work, and what won't. But everyone can agree that some action is needed. It's something so basic, and we should all have it - but we don't.

The Portland Jobs with Justice Health Care Committee are also working to organize a deeper statewide network & movement, with an expanded coalition to be launched in January, and a tour in December of some folks from the Vermont Workers' Center. The VWC people will be doing events about how grassroots organizing around "health care is a human right" contributed to Vermont creating the first law with a clear path to a state-level universal publicly funded single payer health care system. (It is truly universal, including everyone living in the state regardless of citizenship).

It's always a fight when you're fighting for something that is right - especially for young people, older people, and people still in the work force as well as the many unemployed workers that are unable to find work in today's economy.

On the right there are congressional Republicans, allied with and supported by the pharmaceutical and health insurance companies, as well as numerous other health-related agencies, which are bound and determined to defeat any attempt to bring universal health care to America.

There are more than 50 million Americans without health insurance, and this number may have increased dramatically with recent massive layoffs.

"Know also that among 36 nations that provide health care for all their citizens, there are similar layoffs, but losing your job in those countries does not affect your health coverage. Despite the fact that we spend twice as much as these other countries for our health care, we get significantly less for the money. It’s time for America to move to universal health care. It’s the sensible thing to do." Quote from 2009 article regarding this same issue.

2009 Universal Health Care March Back to DC Medicare For All Activist and Documentary Filmmaker, Sheila Dvorak, tells her story of joining a movement and fighting for the rights of every American. What began as a one woman protest in D.C., September 2009, will culminate in a 3000 mile March on Washington, in July 2010. Uploaded on Martin Luther King Day, let his spirit inspire you to join the Universal Health Care March today!

Members of Jobs with Justice, Mad as Hell Doctors, Nurses for Single Payer Health Care, Students for National Health Care, HealthCare Now, the Oregon Single Payer Coalition and Physicians for a National Health Program will join Occupy protestors Saturday.

All of them are familiar with the needless deaths and human suffering caused by our for-profit health care system, and all point to a Single Payer health care system as the one one route that will guarantee good and affordable health care for everyone.

more information

Dogcupy Portland 11 19 11

  • Date: November 19, 2011
  • Time: 12:00pm - 3:00pm
  • Location: Bank of America 6512 SE Milwaukie Portland, OR (Sellwood area) 
or return to the events page.

Purpose

MAN'S BEST FRIEND IS NOT THE BIG BANKS!

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A DOG, BORROW A DOG.

We are showing that the Occupation is more than just downtown. This event is held in solidarity with the Occupy Portland movement.

We will be meeting at the corner of 13th and Tacoma, and protesting in front of the Bank of America... although you are welcome to protest wherever is convenient and oppressive.

PLEASE BRING YOUR DOGS ON A LEASH

This is a creative way to involve all of our friends who still want to participate in the Occupy movement but don't necessarily want to go downtown.

This is a creative and PEACEFUL protest to draw positive media attention to our cause.

We also hope that this kind of event will inspire creativity within the ranks of the Occupiers. So please join us. I'll bring the dog treats and you guys bring the creative dog signs...

[Facebook Event more information]

Sunday

Full Consensus Decision Making-Workshop

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Purpose

Bringing together the wisdom of the group for the best possible decisions--it's a nice ideal, but how do groups do it effectively? This workshop will offer a coherent approach to full consensus, including the official structures (agreement, standing aside, blocking), the principles underlying them, and what it really takes to make them work. Presentation will be mixed with highly interactive exercises and practice.

Other details
; Lunch

Brown bag, please bring your own lunch.
Registration
Please register ahead as space is limited. Contact Michelle Lasley at michelle [at] michellelasley.com or 503-901-0605.
Presenter
Tree Bressen consults with a wide variety of organizations on how to have meetings that are lively, productive, and connecting. Intentional communities--groups whose members have to deal with each other every day--have provided her with a living crucible for learning and refining these skills. Tree's work is founded on a desire to help groups put their ideals into action. She is a co-creator of Group Works: A Pattern Language for Bringing Life to Meetings and Other Gatherings. Her workshops are highly interactive and have consistently received enthusiastic reviews for being lively, practical, and informative. She is currently inspired by process learnings arising from the Occupy movement. Tree's website TreeGroup.info offers extensive free articles and resources.
Fee
Tree's work is offered on a gift economy basis. She asks participants to pay an amount that feels good and right and fair to you, that you can afford, and that you can give joyfully. Cash and checks accepted on site.
Sponsored by North Portland Food Buying Club

more information

Occupy Your Block Day

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Purpose

In solidarity with the shut down of the physical occupation, we're calling for a day of community action.

What is Occupy Your Block?

On Sunday, November 20th, one week after the police action against Occupy Portland, neighborhoods around Portland will take their own streets with block parties. Or if not block parties, potlucks. Or if not potlucks, a brief meet and greet. This isn’t just one day, and it isn’t just about blocking off your street. It’s about human connection and being stronger together than we are alone. So occupy your neighborhood to join the conversation and organize your community toward participating in a new direction for the Occupy movement.

How You Can Help
  1. Download the Occupy Your Block Toolkit and start talking with your neighbors
  2. Download and Print (as double sided!) our Occupy Your Block Foldy Comic with flyer and publicize your event!
  3. If you can’t host an event, talk to your friends and neighbors to see if they can.
  4. If you can’t take part this Sunday, consider organizing an event like this in the next few weeks or months!


We want to send a clear message that the movement does not end with the closing of Chapman and Lownsdale parks. Let's share dinner with our neighbors, and discuss our future together. We hope to make this an action that other occupations can follow in response to crackdowns on the physical occupations.

A point on the closing of streets: This is to send a message. It is legal for neighbors to shut down their streets for block parties, if they apply for a permit and get the consent of every house on the block. There isn't enough time to do that before November 20th, and this action will be an intentional action of civil disobedience.

HOWEVER! The goal of our project is community outreach and dialogue. So unless you get the support of your whole block to close your street, please don't. Consider putting a sign on the side walk instead. We should push for this action, but remember it is just a point of emphasis. Getting communities talking is the important thing, and if some neighbors are reticent it is counterproductive to shut down the road against their wishes.

We recommend reaching out to your neighbors by saying you're definitely having a potluck at your house on Sunday, but if everyone agrees to a block party, you'll have a block party! Then get them to put their name down on a piece of paper if they support the block party idea.

If you encounter neighbors who are expressly against the occupy movement, be gentle. Tell them that you know there is a lot of controversy around Occupy. The point of the potluck is to get neighbors connecting on issues that bring them together, like community gardens and resource sharing, not to dwell on issues that divide us, like politics or wall street. Let them know their voice will be heard and respected!

Other details
The question on everybody’s mind is what’s next for Occupy Portland. We’re organizing neighborhood-level events all around Portland on Sunday, November 20th, to kick off Occupy My House and the next phase of the movement.

more information

Next Week and Beyond

These events are more than seven days away, please jump to each event's page for more info.

Past Events

These events have come and gone, please add media links about the results of these events to their pages.

see also: PortlandOccupyPastEvents which includes earlier versions of some of these events.

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