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May Day 2015: Block the Tech Commute
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Date:
Friday, May 01, 2015
Time:
7:30 AM
-
9:30 AM
Event Type:
Protest
Organizer/Author:
Location Details:
Outside the MacArthur BART station along 40th Street
May Day is the traditional holiday of the working class, the oppressed, and the rebellious. It is a day to celebrate our collective power against exploitation, capitalism, and control. This Friday, May 1st, 2015, we want to start the day off the right way.
Oakland is seeing an unprecedented wave of gentrification creeping in from every direction. The rich have begun colonizing North Oakland, West Oakland, and Downtown. Their tech buses, their pricey cafes, and their luxury apartments have begun to appear with alarming frequency. This May Day, we will deliver a simple message to these colonizers during their morning commute.
Starting at 7:30 AM and lasting until 9:30 AM, we call on everyone to converge at the MacArthur BART station to interrupt the morning commute. The tech shuttle buses for Facebook, Google, and Apple all stop outside the BART station on 40th Street, below the freeway. We will converge in front of these buses, on the platforms of the station, and in front of the BART gates to spread our message.
We call on everyone affected by gentrification to make banners, bring megaphones, and prepare words or speeches to deliver to these colonizers. Tell them what you have been thinking, what you have been seeing, what you have been feeling. Let them know that they are not welcome, that their high-priced world is not welcome, and their terrible world of surveillance and alienation must end. Bring all of your creativity, joy, and anger to the streets. Together, we can deliver a clear and undeniable message.
Oakland is a people's town!
Oakland is seeing an unprecedented wave of gentrification creeping in from every direction. The rich have begun colonizing North Oakland, West Oakland, and Downtown. Their tech buses, their pricey cafes, and their luxury apartments have begun to appear with alarming frequency. This May Day, we will deliver a simple message to these colonizers during their morning commute.
Starting at 7:30 AM and lasting until 9:30 AM, we call on everyone to converge at the MacArthur BART station to interrupt the morning commute. The tech shuttle buses for Facebook, Google, and Apple all stop outside the BART station on 40th Street, below the freeway. We will converge in front of these buses, on the platforms of the station, and in front of the BART gates to spread our message.
We call on everyone affected by gentrification to make banners, bring megaphones, and prepare words or speeches to deliver to these colonizers. Tell them what you have been thinking, what you have been seeing, what you have been feeling. Let them know that they are not welcome, that their high-priced world is not welcome, and their terrible world of surveillance and alienation must end. Bring all of your creativity, joy, and anger to the streets. Together, we can deliver a clear and undeniable message.
Oakland is a people's town!
Added to the calendar on Tue, Apr 14, 2015 2:03PM
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Hi,
I've lived in the East Bay for more than 12 years. I can tell you that the people riding these buses are just commuters who are trying to get to work in the most eco-friendly way possible. By shutting down the buses, you inconvenience your neighbors and do nothing to stop the market changes or impact the landlords. I'm sorry, this is the wrong way to attack the problem. You're just hurting other people who are trying to make a living, just like you.
This may seem like a great idea, but it's actually counterproductive. All you'll do with these shutdowns is force more people into cars (so you're promoting global warming). People are not moving to Oakland because of these shuttles. In fact, they don't start up shuttle lines unless a lot of people already live in the area. The people on the shuttles are most-likely long-time East Bay residents just like you. Don't attack the workers, that's too short-sighted. Figure out how to impact the market and landlords. We are not the enemy.
I've lived in the East Bay for more than 12 years. I can tell you that the people riding these buses are just commuters who are trying to get to work in the most eco-friendly way possible. By shutting down the buses, you inconvenience your neighbors and do nothing to stop the market changes or impact the landlords. I'm sorry, this is the wrong way to attack the problem. You're just hurting other people who are trying to make a living, just like you.
This may seem like a great idea, but it's actually counterproductive. All you'll do with these shutdowns is force more people into cars (so you're promoting global warming). People are not moving to Oakland because of these shuttles. In fact, they don't start up shuttle lines unless a lot of people already live in the area. The people on the shuttles are most-likely long-time East Bay residents just like you. Don't attack the workers, that's too short-sighted. Figure out how to impact the market and landlords. We are not the enemy.
The people on those busses might have better paying jobs, but they are not the "wealthy upper class". They are working jobs just like you and while they do get paid more it is only like 2x more. The really wealthy 1% people make 100x or 1000x or even more than what you make. Those people don't go to work 9-5, they don't take busses (even nice google busses), and they probably have never seen the inside of a BART train.
All this is going to do is make other working people upset and cause fighting between workers who should support each other. It's a bad plan that has not really be thought through.
All this is going to do is make other working people upset and cause fighting between workers who should support each other. It's a bad plan that has not really be thought through.
http://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/33tter/may_day_2015_block_the_tech_commute_planned/
not sure this is playing as well as you hoped outside of radical circles who already share your viewpoint
not sure this is playing as well as you hoped outside of radical circles who already share your viewpoint
While I sympathize with those who are frustrated to see prices for services and housing rising around them, something like this protest is not the right answer.
To anyone who is considering attending this protest:
If you are upset about housing prices, spend the time you would have at this protest to learn something about the housing markets in Oakland. Become vocal in your community to correct problems if you find them. Hold your local officials accountable on important issues such as the level of affordable housing in the city.
Better yet, spend that time volunteering. Clean up a park or a neighborhood, volunteer at an Alameda county food bank, mentor a local youth so they can leverage your wisdom to do better in school or succeed in life.
Any of these uses of two hours is going to have a far greater positive impact on our city than blocking someone from boarding BART because they work at a tech company.
Anyone who really believes that Oakland is “a people’s city” should spend the morning of May 1st doing something to better the lives of all the people who live here. Be the positivity you want to see in our community.
To anyone who is considering attending this protest:
If you are upset about housing prices, spend the time you would have at this protest to learn something about the housing markets in Oakland. Become vocal in your community to correct problems if you find them. Hold your local officials accountable on important issues such as the level of affordable housing in the city.
Better yet, spend that time volunteering. Clean up a park or a neighborhood, volunteer at an Alameda county food bank, mentor a local youth so they can leverage your wisdom to do better in school or succeed in life.
Any of these uses of two hours is going to have a far greater positive impact on our city than blocking someone from boarding BART because they work at a tech company.
Anyone who really believes that Oakland is “a people’s city” should spend the morning of May 1st doing something to better the lives of all the people who live here. Be the positivity you want to see in our community.
If you block BART, you will hurt the rest of the bay, especially low-wage employees. Please stick to the Google Buses.
I don't believe this is the way - - working "in tech" is not working for the evil empire (I don't work in tech). Technology is the only high-paying industry right now; it isn't creating lots of jobs but it is creating jobs. What other industry is doing that? Advancement of industry is going to come in the form of tech, bio-tech, healthcare, not so much manufacturing. And service jobs (lower education requirement, low pay) depend on these industries. Let's not make Oakland look like a Baltimore. You want Oakland of the 1970's? It's never coming back. It's time to move forward.
Listen now:
I wrote this song about the Google Bus Protests
- Yellow Stallion
- Yellow Stallion
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