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Muni Fare Strike Bulletin 1st Day Report
"[E]verywhere fare strike organizers went during the course of the day, out-of-sight of the occupied transit hubs, we found riders willing and eager to participate in the fare strike, and found few drivers interested in being the fare police."
MUNI FARE STRIKE
Bulletin #5
Friday, September 2, 2005
http://www.MuniFareStrike.net
The fare strike continues, and goes on until Muni reverses its fare hikes, service cuts, and layoffs. Basta!
*** DAY ONE ***
On the first day of the fare strike, Thursday, September 1, Muni mobilized squads of security guards, fare inspectors, administrators and police to combat fare strikers. Some transit locations expected to be hot spots for the fare strike were under virtual occupation by these Muni security teams --particularly in low-income neighborhoods like the Mission where support for the fare strike has been and remains strong.
Yet fare strike organizers continued to agitate at transit hubs like 16th and Mission, 24th and Mission, Geneva and Mission, and the Balboa BART station, right under the nose of the Muni counter-insurgency squads. Often riders getting on or off the bus were virtually surrounded by
Muni security, seeking to prevent fare strike organizers even from handing them a leaflet. But when the Muni squads missed surrounding a particular bus, or backed off a bit, many fare strikers found their way aboard.
Despite Muni's show of force and intimidation tactics, hundreds of fare strikers boarded Muni at these occupied transit hubs during the course of the day. There were a few tickets handed out, but most of those have already been referred to our legal team. More than once, fare
inspectors let several fare strikers get on, then picked off the last one to ticket as an example.
Most significantly, everywhere fare strike organizers went during the course of the day, out-of-sight of the occupied transit hubs, we found riders willing and eager to participate in the fare strike, and found few drivers interested in being the fare police. Reports are still being collected, but it is clear that many, many riders actively participated in Day One of the fare strike, in many different parts of town. The corporate media has so far concentrated its reports on the occupied transit hubs, and has done little to investigate conditions elsewhere in town.
In the late afternoon, the action shifted downtown. Fare strike organizers again went head-to-head with a large Muni security squad at 4th and Market, and again we found many riders eager to hear our message. Other organizers spread out around other parts of downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods, where the Muni security presence was nil, and found a great deal of support. Again, we are still collecting reports of the action downtown in the afternoon.
What became obvious during the course of the day was that the Muni security squads were actually making converts for the movement for transit justice, as many riders were angered to find themselves surrounded by these squads, blocking their way and slowing down the busses.
In one egregious example, Muni administrators, worried about a crowd of riders waiting to get on through the back doors of an articulated bus at 16th and Mission, ordered the driver to keep the back doors closed, even though there were dozens of riders trying to get out. Instead, Muni
administrators ordered the driver to force riders to get out the front door, which caused a long delay, virtually holding people in the bus hostage for several minutes.
The fare strike continues...
*** THUGS FOR MUNI? ***
The most serious incident we have heard yet started when one of the Muni security people grabbed a man by his pants at 16th and Mission who had entered a bus through the rear door, and dragged him back out into the street. This illegal and improper action naturally led to an
altercation, with several Muni security people getting involved, who ended up chasing the guy up the street, and roughing him up before the police finally intervened and detained him. It appears that our extra quarters are now being used to hire security squads to rough up riders for trying
to ride the bus.
*** MUNI FARE STRIKE LEGAL TEAM ***
Despite all the press about $113 to $500 tickets for fare evasion, the Muni fare inspectors on the street yesterday were passing out "sample tickets" that stated that the maximum fine is $75. This confirms what we have been saying -- namely that the first ticket is $35, the second ticket is $55, and the third and following tickets $75. As previously reported, our Muni Fare Strike Legal Team, working together with the National Lawyers Guild, is up and running. Our lawyers, will defend anyone who gets a ticket or has other legal problems as a result of the fare strike. If you get a ticket, call our legal team at 285-1011, and let us defend you.
More info on the legal team is at
http://www.munifarestrike.net/8328.html.
THE FARE STRIKE IS ON!
WE ARE NOT PAYING MORE TO WAIT LONGER.
NO MUNI FARE HIKE!
NO MUNI SERVICE CUTS!
NO MUNI LAYOFFS!
Bulletin #5
Friday, September 2, 2005
http://www.MuniFareStrike.net
The fare strike continues, and goes on until Muni reverses its fare hikes, service cuts, and layoffs. Basta!
*** DAY ONE ***
On the first day of the fare strike, Thursday, September 1, Muni mobilized squads of security guards, fare inspectors, administrators and police to combat fare strikers. Some transit locations expected to be hot spots for the fare strike were under virtual occupation by these Muni security teams --particularly in low-income neighborhoods like the Mission where support for the fare strike has been and remains strong.
Yet fare strike organizers continued to agitate at transit hubs like 16th and Mission, 24th and Mission, Geneva and Mission, and the Balboa BART station, right under the nose of the Muni counter-insurgency squads. Often riders getting on or off the bus were virtually surrounded by
Muni security, seeking to prevent fare strike organizers even from handing them a leaflet. But when the Muni squads missed surrounding a particular bus, or backed off a bit, many fare strikers found their way aboard.
Despite Muni's show of force and intimidation tactics, hundreds of fare strikers boarded Muni at these occupied transit hubs during the course of the day. There were a few tickets handed out, but most of those have already been referred to our legal team. More than once, fare
inspectors let several fare strikers get on, then picked off the last one to ticket as an example.
Most significantly, everywhere fare strike organizers went during the course of the day, out-of-sight of the occupied transit hubs, we found riders willing and eager to participate in the fare strike, and found few drivers interested in being the fare police. Reports are still being collected, but it is clear that many, many riders actively participated in Day One of the fare strike, in many different parts of town. The corporate media has so far concentrated its reports on the occupied transit hubs, and has done little to investigate conditions elsewhere in town.
In the late afternoon, the action shifted downtown. Fare strike organizers again went head-to-head with a large Muni security squad at 4th and Market, and again we found many riders eager to hear our message. Other organizers spread out around other parts of downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods, where the Muni security presence was nil, and found a great deal of support. Again, we are still collecting reports of the action downtown in the afternoon.
What became obvious during the course of the day was that the Muni security squads were actually making converts for the movement for transit justice, as many riders were angered to find themselves surrounded by these squads, blocking their way and slowing down the busses.
In one egregious example, Muni administrators, worried about a crowd of riders waiting to get on through the back doors of an articulated bus at 16th and Mission, ordered the driver to keep the back doors closed, even though there were dozens of riders trying to get out. Instead, Muni
administrators ordered the driver to force riders to get out the front door, which caused a long delay, virtually holding people in the bus hostage for several minutes.
The fare strike continues...
*** THUGS FOR MUNI? ***
The most serious incident we have heard yet started when one of the Muni security people grabbed a man by his pants at 16th and Mission who had entered a bus through the rear door, and dragged him back out into the street. This illegal and improper action naturally led to an
altercation, with several Muni security people getting involved, who ended up chasing the guy up the street, and roughing him up before the police finally intervened and detained him. It appears that our extra quarters are now being used to hire security squads to rough up riders for trying
to ride the bus.
*** MUNI FARE STRIKE LEGAL TEAM ***
Despite all the press about $113 to $500 tickets for fare evasion, the Muni fare inspectors on the street yesterday were passing out "sample tickets" that stated that the maximum fine is $75. This confirms what we have been saying -- namely that the first ticket is $35, the second ticket is $55, and the third and following tickets $75. As previously reported, our Muni Fare Strike Legal Team, working together with the National Lawyers Guild, is up and running. Our lawyers, will defend anyone who gets a ticket or has other legal problems as a result of the fare strike. If you get a ticket, call our legal team at 285-1011, and let us defend you.
More info on the legal team is at
http://www.munifarestrike.net/8328.html.
THE FARE STRIKE IS ON!
WE ARE NOT PAYING MORE TO WAIT LONGER.
NO MUNI FARE HIKE!
NO MUNI SERVICE CUTS!
NO MUNI LAYOFFS!
Add Your Comments
Comments
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Oh shut up! Hundreds of thousands of our citizens are in distress and you are bitching and whining about a fucking quarter. GET A GRIP ON REALITY. Your action has NO support. No one cares. In case you hadn't noticed, there are somewhat more pressing matters at hand. You are beyond trivial.
Oh shut up! Hundreds of thousands of our citizens are in distress and you are bitching and whining about a fucking quarter. GET A GRIP ON REALITY. Your action has NO support. No one cares. In case you hadn't noticed, there are somewhat more pressing matters at hand. You are beyond trivial.
The fare strike isn't simply in opposition to the raising of fares by 25 cents. It is just as much against large scale service cutbacks--runs on more than 30 Muni lines are getting slashed--and layoffs of as many as 200 Muni workers.
Steve only approves of class war when it is waged by the rich. We see the outcome of his favored course of action in New Orleans today.
Steve only approves of class war when it is waged by the rich. We see the outcome of his favored course of action in New Orleans today.
but he's unable to enage in any intelligent discussion beyond antagonistic, sneering, condescending hit and run remarks. Another right-wing troll.
Keep up the strike!
If only some of us to get it together to fare strike Golden Gate Transit.
They've jacked up the fares twice in one year and drastically cut service so you can barely get around Marin.
If only some of us to get it together to fare strike Golden Gate Transit.
They've jacked up the fares twice in one year and drastically cut service so you can barely get around Marin.
Yes, there are more pressing concerns than MUNI raising the fare by a quarter. The occupation of Iraq continues, The US has neglected to provide adequate aid following a major national disaster and this neglect is likely motivated by class issues.
However, we've been standing up against the war in Iraq for 3 years now and nothing seems to change. New Orleans is thousands of miles away, and even if we could easily get there, I'm not sure what you or I would do to make the situation any better.
The MUNI fare-hike might not be a tragedy in the way that Katrina or the war in Iraq is, but unlike those two situations, we can actually do something to stop this!
The MUNI fare-hike is an attack on the poorest in our community. Those who have the financial stability to afford a slight fare increase have been spared the hike, leaving the poorest in our city having to pay even more to get to and from their work. As far as I'm concerned, the fare hike is an act of class war against San Francisco's poor and it is our dutry as a community to stand against such agregious acts and refuse to pay for MUNI until the hike is rolled back, the lay-off's reversed, and full service secured.
However, we've been standing up against the war in Iraq for 3 years now and nothing seems to change. New Orleans is thousands of miles away, and even if we could easily get there, I'm not sure what you or I would do to make the situation any better.
The MUNI fare-hike might not be a tragedy in the way that Katrina or the war in Iraq is, but unlike those two situations, we can actually do something to stop this!
The MUNI fare-hike is an attack on the poorest in our community. Those who have the financial stability to afford a slight fare increase have been spared the hike, leaving the poorest in our city having to pay even more to get to and from their work. As far as I'm concerned, the fare hike is an act of class war against San Francisco's poor and it is our dutry as a community to stand against such agregious acts and refuse to pay for MUNI until the hike is rolled back, the lay-off's reversed, and full service secured.
For more information:
http://www.thisrevolution.blogspot.com
This was written by a friend, reporting on his experiences on the first day of the fare strike:
I was greeted by 4 motorcycle cops at 7:00 in the morning occupying the site where we held the press conference on the northeast corner. They were accompanied by a trio of really eager Muni goons trying to shout me down.
Instead of hanging the banners and placards, I set my stuff down inside the bus stop and started handing out flyers. My strategy was to get up right at the door when the bus arrived, greet the drivers and remind them of the strike while i attempted to escort people onto the bus for free.
Out of about 8 full bus loads that I approached early on, I would say that more than half of the people without fast passes were getting on for free.
This came to an abrupt end when two paddywagons of pigs showed up with an entire team of Muni suits. The cops pulled me away from my post at the door of the bus saying i was obstructing something-or-other while the goons and suits took over the front of the line to enforce fare payment with a stick.
Gerry and some press from SF State arrived at about this time as more cops arrived and the whole thing became an absurd police state. We continued flyering as more people from social strike and other friends began to show up.
With XX from Social Strike I began giving out transfers which became a quick success. People were coming up to me from all sides trying to get the mock transfers and using them to ride. The cops quickly zoomed in on the this and tried to accost XX and take his transfers. Mo defended himself honorably claiming that it was not counterfeit or illegal in any way.He challenged them to try to stop him and they were left dumbfounded.
Within moments they moved toward me, telling me I was detained and to give them my information. They created a ring of about 7 or 8 cops around me while I created a ruckus with a hundred or so folks milling around and waiting for the bus. They eventually gave me a verbal warning after talking to headquarters for a while.
This is a bit of a ramble, i'll hit the highlights.
An entire group of riders heading up 24th was totally receptive to the fare strike. While talking with people and flyering, two older latina women started talking and yelling things against the fare hike. One thing they started to say was, "no fare increase, we need a wage increase". 9 out of 10 people were getting really riled up and the buses were coming really late. The bus arrived while the suits were off somewhere in a huddle. People started to get on and the driver, who was a huge man, got pissed off, stood up and told people to come back. We started talking him down with numerous riders while everyone just filed in and took their seats for free. The driver was mainly scared and perplexed. His tensions from the morning had hit a boiling point, the drivers were all on center stage. Though we had made every effort to talk with as many drivers as possible before and during strike day 1, many felt the strain of being trapped between angry riders and the heavy management and police surveillance.
On the flip side, another driver on Mission coming from 16th St. stopped at the light, honked his horn, yelled out and then for all to see (including pigs and suits) held up a piece of paper with the New Fare $1.50 logo and ripped it to shreds.
Two women and one of their sons began to flyer and motivate others not to pay. They played really pivotal roles in setting the tenor for the entire morning. They drew numerous people in and gave a whole new feel to our efforts.
One of these women assisted another woman who boarded without paying. The driver stopped the bus and said he wouldn't move until she payed. She finally got up and payed "everything she had" and went back. Since she couldn't make the new fare the driver remained planted while numerous people talked and pleaded with him. She eventually got off the bus, but not before attracting numerous people to idea of not paying. At this time i handed her and everyone els a mock transfer and they successfully got boarded the next bus.
Another woman with two kids got on the bus without paying and stayed put until a hidden fare inspector came out of the darkness and took them off the bus and cited them. The press swooned in on this one and the brave woman adamantly stated that she had no plans to pay the fare increase.
Ok, enough for now.
The collective effort on this project has been amazing and inspiring. I agree fully with XX that this thing must take on a life of its own. We must quickly act to maintain the momentum. An open meeting this weekend is imperative....
I was greeted by 4 motorcycle cops at 7:00 in the morning occupying the site where we held the press conference on the northeast corner. They were accompanied by a trio of really eager Muni goons trying to shout me down.
Instead of hanging the banners and placards, I set my stuff down inside the bus stop and started handing out flyers. My strategy was to get up right at the door when the bus arrived, greet the drivers and remind them of the strike while i attempted to escort people onto the bus for free.
Out of about 8 full bus loads that I approached early on, I would say that more than half of the people without fast passes were getting on for free.
This came to an abrupt end when two paddywagons of pigs showed up with an entire team of Muni suits. The cops pulled me away from my post at the door of the bus saying i was obstructing something-or-other while the goons and suits took over the front of the line to enforce fare payment with a stick.
Gerry and some press from SF State arrived at about this time as more cops arrived and the whole thing became an absurd police state. We continued flyering as more people from social strike and other friends began to show up.
With XX from Social Strike I began giving out transfers which became a quick success. People were coming up to me from all sides trying to get the mock transfers and using them to ride. The cops quickly zoomed in on the this and tried to accost XX and take his transfers. Mo defended himself honorably claiming that it was not counterfeit or illegal in any way.He challenged them to try to stop him and they were left dumbfounded.
Within moments they moved toward me, telling me I was detained and to give them my information. They created a ring of about 7 or 8 cops around me while I created a ruckus with a hundred or so folks milling around and waiting for the bus. They eventually gave me a verbal warning after talking to headquarters for a while.
This is a bit of a ramble, i'll hit the highlights.
An entire group of riders heading up 24th was totally receptive to the fare strike. While talking with people and flyering, two older latina women started talking and yelling things against the fare hike. One thing they started to say was, "no fare increase, we need a wage increase". 9 out of 10 people were getting really riled up and the buses were coming really late. The bus arrived while the suits were off somewhere in a huddle. People started to get on and the driver, who was a huge man, got pissed off, stood up and told people to come back. We started talking him down with numerous riders while everyone just filed in and took their seats for free. The driver was mainly scared and perplexed. His tensions from the morning had hit a boiling point, the drivers were all on center stage. Though we had made every effort to talk with as many drivers as possible before and during strike day 1, many felt the strain of being trapped between angry riders and the heavy management and police surveillance.
On the flip side, another driver on Mission coming from 16th St. stopped at the light, honked his horn, yelled out and then for all to see (including pigs and suits) held up a piece of paper with the New Fare $1.50 logo and ripped it to shreds.
Two women and one of their sons began to flyer and motivate others not to pay. They played really pivotal roles in setting the tenor for the entire morning. They drew numerous people in and gave a whole new feel to our efforts.
One of these women assisted another woman who boarded without paying. The driver stopped the bus and said he wouldn't move until she payed. She finally got up and payed "everything she had" and went back. Since she couldn't make the new fare the driver remained planted while numerous people talked and pleaded with him. She eventually got off the bus, but not before attracting numerous people to idea of not paying. At this time i handed her and everyone els a mock transfer and they successfully got boarded the next bus.
Another woman with two kids got on the bus without paying and stayed put until a hidden fare inspector came out of the darkness and took them off the bus and cited them. The press swooned in on this one and the brave woman adamantly stated that she had no plans to pay the fare increase.
Ok, enough for now.
The collective effort on this project has been amazing and inspiring. I agree fully with XX that this thing must take on a life of its own. We must quickly act to maintain the momentum. An open meeting this weekend is imperative....
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