Notes for 11/3/2011 GA Go over hand signals. Explanation of 90% agreement Agenda: Committee announcements Proposal announcements 4 proposals -City liason -Month long action -Nov 17 action against banks -Indoor space ANNOUNCEMENTS Media Committee: Police patrol will be carrying more equipment, but should not be considered a threat. The police have cited cost concerns and liability as reasons for this change. The conversation is open. They will be carrying gas masks, helmets and batons. The hope is to decrease response time. Is this because of the officer that was pushed in front of a bus? Yes, this is a direct response to that. Have there been incidents where a gas mask is needed? First response of crowd control is usually pepper spray. They have to announce such action if time allows. Was there anything about OP members having gas masks? Recommended to avoid escalation. This was a procedural move by the police. Recommending that occupiers hold defensive position. Offensive not recommended. You used the phrase ‘direct threat’ twice. How is more weapons about cop safety? How is this not in response to another park getting taken? (different person) Police never related to alleged incident yesterday to these measures. Tomorrow is when unemployment numbers come out. There will be a press conference at 12 noon at the Labor Tent at the SE corner of Main and 3rd. Please come share your story. Spending committee: There will be a meeting Tuesday at 6 pm at Terry Schrunk Plaza. Need more committee representatives. Spokes Council Working Group: working from Spokes model that is used by OWS to create an alternate decision making body and process about camp. Want to represent smaller voices. Finance: Were facilitating transfer of Paypal funds to a trust. Paypal owner had agreed to move funds. After talking to his attorney, decided to return funds. Had wished for a conversation, but there was no attorney meeting. He said he would come to the GA, clearly not here. There isn’t any recourse. Twitter users have said they have gotten money returned with question marks at the end. James and Kip have talked about donations and are looking into online donation models that are established. Talking to attorney. Did person with the account return funds without the GA’s consent? He did not consult with GA We took over the Web site, was the money his or ours? It represents us. It was a Paypal business account in his name. He turned over the Web site, not the Paypal account. Does this deplete the $10,000? Just POOF? Accounting last week showed $14,000, now no longer exists. Is there a way to get the transaction history? Was requested, will request again. GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Found backpack, bring ID to lost and found. Regarding power: working with fire and city. They will be in contact tomorrow. The generator needs gas and other things. Police are concerned about growing population. Be proactive. Establish collective authority and personal accountability. This is about congruency, accountability and boundaries. As the population density grows, we can afford greater latitude in communication. Little individual helps collective intent. Fundraiser event: Occupy Baghdad. In 5 days. Have capacity of 600, sold 20 tickets online and 5 at camp. Cost is $10, will be a silent auction. We need to beat the streets. Missed deadline for WW and Merc. Info available at the Info Booth. Will be Tuesday, Nov. 8. 37th and Hawthorne. Doors at 6. Comedy at 8. Movie at 10. Transitions on sustainability working group have developed a survey to help inform committees of concerns from people, specifically those feeling disconnected. Can be found online under the Safety forum. Hard copies at the info booth and safety and peace keeping. Hoping to close survey process by Sunday. A former attorney and public prosecutor will be showing up at 6 to inform of rights and process. Know your rights or you don’t have them. Take personal responsibility to be non-violent. Separate from the violence. Reality based economics workshop tomorrow 1p TSP Services on Sunday: 11a Christian, 3p Interfaith at Obelisk. I fell last night, have a concussion. Thanks for the help and I’m sorry for being a dick. Engineering: From Fire Marshall: No storage of flammable liquids. No storage in tents. No smoking. Social Media: There was an interview with the Mayor over Livestream. 1ST PROPOSAL That the GA of OP endorses the existence of a City Liaison Team to convey information to the city and receive information to relay to the GA. Questions: How were are the liaisons chosen? Liaison team formed with members from other committees. Shouldn’t they be chosen by the people? That’s not how committees work. How do I join? Come to our next meeting or contact a member. Can you describe this team? Formed at the request of the city. The city has been approached by people claiming to represent OP to negotiate. That has not been allowed. The team is not negotiating. It is there to collect information and relay. When the city is deciding policy, team hopes to serve as a vehicle to provide input from Gas. Was there a meeting already? Yes, at 6 pm yesterday. What is the make up of the team? 3 men, 3 women. The number of minorities is unknown because it is unclear how each person identifies. The next meeting time is currently undecided. Are there elected terms? A training process? A cycle? Yes, these have been discussed. Is it all inclusive? Are all committees represented? Or is it closed? Not officially closed and the make-up is changing. Accepting all input and want a member from each committee. How many members? Currently 6, but shifting. Have you met with the city? Yes because of concerns from the fire marshal about camp. Why is the team needed and what is the function with regards to media statements? No public statements from the team, only a conduit of information. There are team members from media and PR. Can anyone make official statements? No, statements are autonomous. PR has released GA approved statements. This proposal is in reaction to people representing without approval, but 6 people have already represented without approval. What happened? No one represented camp and that was made clear to the city, that all the people were there autonomously and not approved by GA. Can I talk to the media? Yes, no one person represents the movement. CONCERNS Concerned about extending the group to fit groups of people. Certain folks that get identified as leaders turn into snitches. Extend the proposal to say that no one can be excluded. Concerned that not everyone understands the term liaison. It’s a conduit for information going both ways. When the group tried to occupy the federal park, I watched the news that said that people who were occupying were with OP. That wasn’t true. How would that be handled. That is a different conversation. You couldn’t answer my question about how different groups are represented. That conversation hasn’t been had. We don’t have the names of the people on this committee. I understand liaison, but people often capitulate. Concern about transparency and equal access. Currently not transparent. People are talking on our behalf leads to confusion. Currently 6 members but it’s only ad hoc. Notes are taken by an independent party. At the next meeting with the city, the committee is going to request for audio recording to be posted online and the notes will be at info booth. Already calling yourself a liaison, but you’re not more than us. This wasn’t brought to camp. Great that some people are always stepping up, but that creates a hierarchy. Allow others to step up. Concerned about make up of the committee and transparency. EVOLUTIONARY STAGE We need to pass concrete limits for the committee’s influence and power. POP: There’s a proposal coming tomorrow that will address what committees can do with and without GA’s consent. Amendment: Have any initiative the represents OP have a member from each minority group. What about people who don’t show up? One minority to represent each group? One person doesn’t speak for a whole group. Brings that perspective, not represent. Implementation? Whoever wants to be apart can. Temperature check on continuing discussion: split. Discussion continues. Bring different version of the amendment. Change the amendment to striving for transparency. Not proposing that each person represents and there is an understanding that the committee needs to accurately represent our make up. If they are open to audio recording are you open to having live stream there? That will depend on what has been agreed for audio, but we will make that request. Have every committee be a part of the conversation. Need specifics on rotation of people. The issues will be discussed at the GA. This is not a decision making body, it just serves a function of reporting. Membership is open. Evolution: Strive for diverse make-up, but not a requirement to function. Specific language will be decided upon at the next liaison committee meeting. Have we reached consensus that no one person represents OP? Yes, has been that way from the beginning. This camp isn’t diverse, it’s mostly white people. And just because someone is Latino, doesn’t mean they represent me or my perspective. There should be a capacity of rotation built into the structure so that 8 people (example number) rotate weekly and allow these concerns to be addressed. The committee is open to more that that number of people. If the committee is open, then it is their own fault if they are not represented. This amendment is pointless. Amend: Term limit of 6 weeks Agree: 65% Disagree: 35% Passes Amendments used to build agreement. Temperature check on proposal with 3 amendments (strive for diversity, having livestream if possible, and term limits) 5 disagree REMAINING CONCERNS Police are here imposing fear which is influencing the decision making process. There will be a break down of the group with the term limits. What happens if the term limit ends and no one steps up? Term limit is too short. This isn’t reality, there should be an e-mail list of lots of people who can respond to each given call for liaison. The group is open and without training and limits it decreases the efficacy. Not everyone will practice self-censorship. For the rotation, the term limit asks a lot with regards to training. Should be 2 months. Limit should be longer: 3 months. 5 STAND ASIDES SERIOUS CONCERNS For term limits but changing everyone at the same time is not smart. There should be fluidity in this group. Join as needed. 5 DISAGREE PASSES WITH 90%+ PROPOSAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Send a statement to the mayor. Meeting at 2 p tomorrow at TSP Demand commission of the UN to address corporate involvement in politics. E-mail Jacob.e.clary@gmail.com Flag Proposal Committee. Bring attention to purchase American flags. Meeting under the flag over there. Propose that every day or ever two days we have a theme. Meeting over there. Propose that we that this money matter to the authorities. Meet over there. PROPOSAL 2 Don’t Feed the Greed! Individual Pledge: 1. Using a credit union or local small bank for my personal finances. 2. Using cash whenever possible, debit whenever cash is not an option and credit as a payment of last resort, as debit and credit results in higher charges to myself and to community businesses. 3. I will purchase locally produced goods and services, especially from worker owned cooperatives. 4. I will involve myself with my community, by introducing myself to y neighbors, and discussing with them their needs and abilities so that we may rely upon one another. 5. I will support labor action by boycotting businesses that have striking workers, until the strike has been resolved. Business Owner’s Pledge: 1. I will refuse business loans from corporate banks, instead seeking loans (if necessary) from credit unions or local banks. 2. I will provide a living wage, sick and vacation time, and health coverage for our employees, their dependents, and partners, married or not. 3. I will not try to subvert efforts by my workers to collectively bargain or join a union. 4. I will give my employees a democratic voice in the workplace by supporting an equal management structure and consensus making processes when possible. 5. I will source as much of my goods and services to do business from local or domestic sources as possible. Government Officer and Employee Pledge 1. I will work to remove corporate influence over my agency’s operations, i.e. I will oppose privatization of our services by legislators. 2. I will only contract out operations when all in-house options are exhausted, and will try to find local, unionized, co-op’s to provide these services. 3. I will not seek out on-call or temporary employees who are not represented by unions. 4. I will provide a living wage, sick and vacation time, and health coverage for our employees, their dependents, and partners, married or not. 5. I will not try to subvert efforts by our workers to collectively bargain or join a union. TABLED UNTIL TOMORROW; LACK OF PEOPLE PROPOSAL 3 The GA of OP answer the call out from OWS to act on Nov. 17 to resist banks in direct action. This is a call out to autonomous groups to shut down banks on Nov. 17. Local labor is targeting something with bridges that day. Working with the action committee to have autonomous groups remain secret until the day of action to protect them QUESTIONS Secret groups? Need specifics and to be transparent. No one is required to say that they will be taking action, but it is nice to know. And give protection. Specify beyond “banks”? Says corporate banks. We have an action on the 5th, how is the one on the 17th different? Explained aside. TABLED UNTIL TOMORROW Facilitator wants to move announcement from beginning to the end because people don’t stay. PROPOSAL 4? Gone. FOUR WEEK ANNIVERSARY! YAY!