An Open Letter from Occupy Portland to City Workers

An Open Letter from Occupy Portland to City Workers:

Occupy Portland recognizes that there are city workers responsible for the health of our parks, the health of the people at the camp and city infrastructure. Occupy Portland stands in solidarity with those workers and thank them for their support.

Commissioner Nick Fish’s letter to Occupy Portland offered to discuss maintenance of the park with the occupiers. Occupy Portland does not plan to leave these Squares but will work with rank-and-file city workers to maintain the health of the park. Some worry that Fish’s concerns will be used as a pretext to deny occupiers their First Amendment rights to assembly based on the need to ‘clean the park’.

Occupy Portland is supported by the vast majority of the citizens of Portland. The Occupation has also received incredible support from organized workers throughout the city. This support keeps us confident in knowing that our use of this space is in line with the values of the majority of our community.

Occupy Portland restates its commitment to maintaining and caring for the public spaces of the encampment after receiving a letter from City Councilman Nick Fish on Monday that expressed concerns about the occupation’s impact on the urban environment. We care deeply about the environmental integrity of our public spaces. Occupy Portland has a Sanitation Working Group that has been overseeing the cleaning and maintenance of those spaces.

Occupy Portland wishes to redirect a sentiment that our Occupation is somehow responsible for contributing to the budget cuts to City Workers currently on the table. Those workers are threatened with an 8% budget cut at the hands of City Council. We stand in solidarity with all workers and bring attention to the reality of our current economic system which continues to undertax the 1% while eliminating working class jobs. These are exactly the type of injustices that Occupy Portland is bringing to light.

We are the 99%.
You are the 99%.

***This statement has not been approved by the General Assembly of Occupy Portland***