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Welcome to May, when flowers bloom, the hills turn green, and the weather warms up. Those whom choose to live in the Bay Area can all agree on one thing, the climate is fantastic in the month of May from the Napa Wineries, down to the Gilroy Garlic fields, and over to the Altamont Pass wind farms.
Outside of the joy of sunshine, San Francisco is an economically devastated region, of massive home foreclosures, rampant unemployment, violence, crime, drug addiction, and government going crazy with laws, regulations, taxes, and stifling regulations. The police state is alive and well, with cameras on EVERY street corner, million dollar “traffic alert” billboards on the freeways that now are used for daily nanny state threats, such as “Text while driving a $150.00 fine, not worth it”, and a police man hidden everywhere waiting to pull you over for speeding or jay waking.
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Today is known as May Day. I won’t go into the history of what May Day is, I believe my readers understand this originally came from communist countries as a means to rally people against each other through economic class warfare. What I what to focus on is what is scheduled to happen here today in regards to protests, walk outs, strikes and the occupy movement.
Here is what I am able to find scheduled to happen today, (is it not strange that I can find schedules of protests).
All day:
National Nurses United/California Nurses United is on strike at Sutter Health locations throughout the Bay Area. According to a press release, “some 4,500 RNs will be affected by the planned walk-out.”
ILWU Local 10, which worked in solidarity with Occupy Oakland in two port shutdowns last fall, is planning another one. They say that a work stoppage will halt the Port of Oakland’s operations all day.
7-10am, San Francisco:
The Golden Gate Bridge labor coalition, representing several unions of workers on the bridge, have been without a contract since April 2011. They originally called for a strike and resulting shut down of the bridge- and had massive support behind them. They’re now saying the protest will involve picketing at the bridge instead. So come join a picket, or if you cross the bridge don’t take the workers for granted- the bridge doesn’t work without them. www.occupythebridge.com
7am, San Francisco:
Meet at 16th st and Mission to be a part of the first SF Bike Cavalry of the day, a critical mass that will ride to the Golden Gate Bridge in solidarity with the picket.www.sfbikecavalry.org
8:30am – 12pm, Oakland:
Occupy Oakland will join others protesting, picketing, and generally striking at three (or four?) “action stations.” Meet at Snow Park for a “flying picket” that will “shut down banks and the Chamber of Commerce.” Meet at First and Broadway to “occupy Child Protective Services” in response to a decision they made to de-grant custody of one woman’s children based in part on her involvement in Occupy Oakland. Meet at 22nd and Telegraph to cause mayhem at uptown and downtown business associations. www.strikemay1st.com/119/
10am, San Francisco:
A rally and march for immigrants rights (the people who have been holding down US May Day for years.) Meet at 24th St Mission Bart for a march to 16th St.
11am, San Francisco:
Janitors and retail workers at Westfield Mall are engaged in an ongoing labor dispute, and they’ll be picketing in solidarity at 5th and Market.
11am, San Francisco:
A second SF Bike Cavalry will convene at Justin Herman Plaza to support the janitors strike, the immigrants’ rights march, and the Peoples Street Festival
11:30am, Hayward:
The Amalgameted Transit Union Local 192 will protest “substandard conditions” and “institutionalized racism” (according to a press release) at the operators of AC Transit, A-Para Transit Corporation, 22990 Clawiter Rd in Hayward.
12pm, San Francisco:
All the San Francisco students who walk out of school, workers who call in sick, people who usually do all the housework, who, for the day, say screw it, and other “general strike” participants will converge at Montgomery and Market for thePeople’s Street Festival. Music, performance, art and fun for the whole family.
Noon-1pm, Oakland:
A mass rally in Oakland, at 14th and Broadway, with food, speakers, music, activities, and generally a lot to do that you can’t if you’re at work.
1-3pm, Oakland:
According to Occupy Oakland “After the rally, those in attendance have the opportunity to stay downtown or join one of the autonomous actions that will be departing from 14th & Broadway to continue shutting down various capitalist institutions in the downtown area.”
3pm, Oakland:
Meet at Fruitvale Plaza (next to the Fruitvale Bart station) for likely the biggest action of the day. The March for Dignity and Resistance is being called the Bay Area’s regional protest and supporters will be there from all over the area.mayday2012.blogspot.com
6pm, San Francisco:
Celebrate workers rights at a fundraiser for Young Workers United, a self-described “multi-racial and bilingual membership organization dedicated to improving the quality of jobs for young and immigrant workers.” The party is at El Rio, 3158 Mission. www.occupysf.org
On May Day, local groups who have taken to occupying spaces in ways other than public square-camping will be ramping up their efforts. The occupied farm at Gill Tract will push on, and in a message from Occupy San Francisco: “On May Day, the SF Commune will open it’s doors and conduct another Open Occupation in solidarity with the May 1st General Strike.” So if you’re looking for someone to sleep while protesting a complex web of oppressive forces Tuesday night, you may be in luck.
For more information, see www.strikemay1st.com, a clearinghouse for Bay Area May Day plans.
Also see:
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I am simply attempting to provide some overview information with many links that I am sure will updated during the day. What happens today is yet to be seen, and the better question what will be “reported” to you today is yet to be seen.
