Minutes of the 40th Occupy Detroit General Assembly, February 18, 2012
Proposed Agenda:
1. Welcome (4 min)
• Translations/accessibility
• Intro to facilitation
Christine-facilitating
Jarret-vibe checker and stack greeter
Joseph-stack
Nina-minutes
Jerry-time
• Meet your neighbor/process review
2. Approve Agenda (5 min)
3. Process Review (5 min)
4. Small group break-out (15 min)
• Theme:
• Report Backs
5. Working Group Report-Backs (15 min)
6. Announcements (5 min)
7. Proposals (per stock)
8. Closing
Christine: Need to be mindful of time becaue 1515 has an event at 3pm today.
Joe: Remove SGBO to save time (PASSED)
Peter: Rearrange order of proposals
Jarret: Discuss punctuality proposal instead of SGBO
Mark T: Punctuality is my proposal, open to moving it to a discussion.
Jarret: Is solidarity with Greece proposal time sensitive, or can it be moved down?
Stephen D: Greece proposal can be moved
Jarret: Would prefer to have guiding principles discussion today, due to good turn-out.
Order of proposals: I. Punctuality, II.Guiding Principles, III. Solidarity with Greece, IV. May 1st General Strike
1. Welcome (4 min)
a. Translations/accessibility
b. Intro to facilitation
c. Meet your neighbor/process review
2. Approve Agenda (5 min)
3. Process Review (5 min)
4. Working Group Report-Backs (15 min)
Shannon from Voter Ed: Enough petitions collected to repeal EM law. Can still turn in petitions that have been filled out.
Joe from Direct Action: Working on Eviction Defense subcommittee (meeting today at Local 600 at 1:30 and 6pm at 1515 Broadway), EM Law subcommittee (meets Sunday at noon, 1515), March in solidarity with Arab Spring on Friday at Dearborn City Hall, January 24 at 5:30, Main DA meeting Thursday 7pm at 1515
Mike from May 1st committee: Forming to reoccupy on May 1, talk to him for more info.
Hans from Finance: meeting tomorrow 4pm at Phoenix, short discussion right after GA
Hans from Locations WG meeting tomorrow 8pm 19966 Livernois to discuss proposal about 5900 to be made at next GA, OD’s official use of that space. Outreach should come to participate if possible.
Hans is putting together committee for mic-checking Republican candidates while they’re in town.
Hans from Occupy Our Homes: Rally at Fred Schrum’s house last Tuesday, 40-50 turned out, 2/3 from UAW local 600, neighbors also there. Adjournment until March 1, 2 weeks to prepare case. Looking to pack the court in support of him. FOX2, NPR, WJR covered. 28th District Courthouse is in Dearborn Heights Michigan and Beach Daly, 10am.
Dianne from Education: Planning teach-in on Thursday, April 19 at Wayne State on austerity, EM budget. Discussion and panels. Next meeting next Sunday Feb 26 at 7pm, Cass Cafe
Josh from Outreach: Focused on Listening Campaign, going into the city and meeting with organizations, churches, unions, etc. Looking for friendly contacts. Can speak at events, but also interested in listening and learning how we can work together. Just finished volunteer sheets of people who signed up for different WGs and will pass them along. Listening Campaign is holding training on Saturday, February 25. Reach out to Jarret, Josh or Dave for more info. Meeting Fridays at 5:30 in 5900. Just sent out a newsletter, if you’re new pass your contact info to the committee.
Jarret from Facilitation: Always trying to improve GAs and process, discussed having 10 mins in the middle of agendas to do teach-ins. Reach out to WG with outline of what you’d like to teach, or anything you’d like to learn about. We’ll circulate request sheets. Meet every Monday and Friday at 7:30, 1515 and would love to have new participation.
Rakiba from Sensitivity and Racial Inclusion: will be working with Housing Initiative, to get housing for HUD homes, promote ownership of public housing. Wednesday at noon, MWRO 4th floor. Bring lists of HUD homes from ownpath.com.
5. Announcements (5 min)
Tristan: Tuesday, February 21st 1pm Library Commission meeting at Main Branch. Voting to reopen Lincoln library. Picketing in front.
School closings: city-wide BAMN meeting with schools that are closing, will be organizing next week, meetings at schools that are fighting to stay open.
Dave D:Michigan Coalition from Human Rights is presenting OD with an award, 8 are invited to accept it on March 24 at 5pm, Marygrove College. If you’re available, fill out the form on the website and there will be a random drawing to pick reps.
Rich: If you haven’t signed the EM petition yet and would like to, see him. The goal has been met, but we need to create a buffer. Must be registered MI voter to sign.
Kim with 5900: great party last night, 19 potential programs put forward, including yoga after Tuesday GAs.
Fuzzytech: DDOT service will be cut from 1-4am, and weekends. Feb 23rd Transport Riders United is having event to meet your rep. Setting up carpooling. Will be on TRU’s agenda, they have the talking points.
Jerry G: Monday Moratorium NOW sponsoring meeting 5920 Second Ave 7pm, Jerry G and Vanessa F will be doing analysis of new proposal. National conference on stopping eviction and foreclosures on March 31 so groups across the country can come together.
Diara:Nonviolence training was going to happen today, but will be rescheduled.
Christine: Community agreements document discussion during next Tuesday and Saturday GAs with the goal of moving towards adopting it.
6. Proposals (per stock)
I. Punctuality (Mark T): GAs should start on time, every time.
Mark T: Consistently starting GAs late, issue of respect. Need to be as organized and disciplined as the other side.
Gentleman with glasses: didn’t make announcement today because we created more of a time constraint by starting late.
Peter: We want new people to come, if there’s poor turn-out at the beginning of a GA, might not stick around.
Shannon: No one disagrees starting on time would be nice, but the tone of the proposal is uncomfortable. None of us are being paid to be here, we have other responsibilities, so saying that showing up late is disrespectful raises issues of privilege.
Michael B: Don’t take offense to Tucker
Mark T: Late today because we can get away with it. The governing body should take a leadership role, so if we can’t take ourselves seriously no one else will either.
Rich: Wording aside, the proposal is that we should start on time, so people who need to leave on time also need to be respected. Sometimes people are late by choice, sometimes not. If you’re late you should know you’ll miss something. Sick of showing up on time with nothing starting for 45 minutes, so stopped showing up on time.
Dianne: Should start within 10 minutes of when we said we would.
Jarret: Temperature check on moving to consensus.
Mark T: GAs should start on time, every time, not a minute late.
Maggie: question for facilitation, they’re the ones who start the GA.
Stephen: asking for clarification on what the proposal is. Agree with Maggie the FWG should be talked to.
Rakiba: FWG already consensed on starting on time, but proposal is necessary because no one else was here today at 12. We will start exactly at 12 on Saturday and exactly 6pm on Tuesdays, if you consense on this proposals.
Mark T: Responsibility falls on FWG but we have to hold ourselves accountable and create norms.
PROPOSAL PASSED
II. Core Values (Jarret): Adopt list of guiding principals of Occupy Detroit.
1. Freedom
2. Inclusion
3. Non-Violence
a. In speech and action
4. Safety
5. Justice
6. Mutual Respect
7. Transparency
8. Egalitarianism
a. Consensus decision-making
b. Everyone has a voice
9. Equality
Rakiba: Are the principles for meetings or for the OD movement in general? If it’s for the movement, should have more concrete principals and values such as decent housing, food justice, good schools in the community, etc that people can relate to.
Jarret: Those are important, but list is intentionally broad because can have different opinions but need
Fuzzy: this is a conversation about values, principles are also important and they can overlap but they’re not the same.
Rakiba: often talked about as one and the same.
Stephen D: If we enact these principles, how do we enforce them?
Jarret: spirit of accountability, we don’t have a hierarchical structure. If mutual respect issues come up, we can check each other.
Stephen D: How do we police each other?
Jarret: Need to have trainings, remain consistent so we can embody them and hold each other accountable.
Josh: how does inclusion apply, or work in context
Jarret: Until something happens, we will include all people.
Aric: do you mean non-violence in a moral sense? What’s non-violent speech?
Jarret: speech can be interpreted as violent if it’s threatening. Violent action—we
decided it wouldn’t be tolerated at a GA, groups might participate in violence that
we’re in solidarity with but OD will not.
Aric: want to think strategically, need to be able to debate our tactics.
Mike S: Did you come up with principles on your own?
Jarret: came out of group discussions, anyone can add or take off.
Mike S: would make more sense, since this is a living document, to have a committee responsible for coming up with a more detailed set of principles. This is vague, hard to understand what each of these things mean.
Rich: Generally support the proposal, but there’s a lot of vagueness, need to come back and further discuss. Inclusion and safety can be contradictory, do we include people who are violent, racist, etc? Need to go line by line to define what each word means to us.
Mark A: Jarret said this is intentionally vague, will be added to. Good to internally refer to for now. If someone accuses us of doing one of these things, we can refer back to these principles we adopted.
Jarret: Agree we can create a committee to work on this, some is open to interpretation and we can do something about that. As the movement grows, these might change but there’s a huge importance to have this, we’ve been working on this since October and we need a list. If inclusion is too open, can take it off for now.
Mark T: Shouldn’t table, but could go one by one and if any are controversial.
Mike: amendment to take principles and form WG committee to delve into them more and bringing back to the committee.
PROPOSAL TABLED
III. Solidarity with Greece (Stephen D): Adopt statement of solidarity with Greece:
Occupy Detroit stands with the protests and occupations in Greece to counter the long-standing assaults on democracy via the I.M.F. and multinational finance. The resistance against austerity in Greece partakes in larger struggles against neoliberalism in which counties such as Argentina and Bolivia rejected austerity by investing in their communities instead of “international” financial companies based in Europe and the United States. While the I.M.F. and E.C.B. assault the people of Greece, Occupy Detroit declares such an assault assaults our communities in Detroit as well.
What happens in Greece could happen in the U.S. No less is at stake than our ability to determine how we want to live instead of following multinational finance’s dictates over crisis management.
Each package brokered by the I.M.F., E.C.B. and politicians meant to “stabilize” finance causes suffering while neglecting life in Greece. Such deals increase unemployment and poverty, cut wages and salaries and reduce public programs. Greece experienced five consecutive years of recession after officially imposed austerity. A third of Greece’s population is in poverty. Unemployment in Greece reached 20% in 2011 and a youth unemployment rate of 48%. The four packages, each bringing austerity, resulted in an increase of suicides and massive unrest met by police brutality. The unrest stoked by austerity seeks to counter the oligarchic monopolization of politics by finance.
The effects of austerity are no stranger to Detroit, which receives threats by emergency management of cuts to programs that largely benefit the poor and has historic levels of disinvestment in its communities. Occupy Detroit sees the mobilizations in Greece are part of a larger mobilization against the oligarchies that seek to monopolize politics through “stabilization” of finance.
Michael B: What do you want us to do?
Stephen: support statement as OD.
Chris: As maybe the only Greek citizen here, thanks, but didn’t we adopt a statement of non-violence?
Stephen: Not an endorsement of violence, just the people of Greece. Could amend to say we don’t support police brutality and violence.
Chris: Friendly Amendment to specifically say we don’t support violence.
Stephen: (FA not accepted)
Jarret: OD consensed to reject all austerity measures at a previous GA
Tristan: That proposal was to oppose EM and ALL austerity
Jarret: when we passed Egypt resolution, we added we don’t support use of violence.
Tristan: our solidarity statement with Oakland was with the people, did not define tactics that should be used, people should decide that on their own,
Mark T: said OD was a nonviolent movement, but we left it to OO to make their own decisions
Richard: In Mark’s proposal, we added the preference of OD’s stance of non-violence.
Stephen: statement does not include support of violence.
Joseph: also no statement of non-violence
Stephen: could make an amendment to add language that says we support a variety of tactics
Mark T: Oakland statement came out against police oppression, we are nonviolent, support each community’s decisions on tactics
2 BLOCKS
Peter: This sets a bad precedent for solidarity statements coming out of OD, should be shorter and should not include sentiments on violence or non-violence.
Stephen: No problem with statement as it is, but it can be tabled.
Woman in hat: agree
(2 minutes added for discussion before 9/10 vote)
Vote on proposal with no amendments accepted:
PROPOSAL NOT PASSED
IV. Technology (Mark A): Use funds to upgrade technology for media.
Mark: OWS main message during film on Thursday was for us to have media, proposal has been brought about spending more on technology. Need to upgrade, the world is watching Detroit.
Tristan: confusion created in the past by because Media did not accept amendments that would have reduced cost.
Diara: did accept lesser cost—1 webcam, 1 microphone instead of 2. Diara and Fuzzy would ensure that each action was livestreamed.
Fuzzytech: $50 for a phone, $90/ month for plan, $60 for mic, $60 for webcam activation $50, total $300, down from $609. Diara would pay for half of phone contract ($90)
Michael: should vote on two things separately, let people buy what they need
Pam: wanted explanation, already answered
Mark T: livestreaming has been choppy, want to know that it will improve
Diara: OWS has $25,000 budget, even their streams are choppy. Can do more livestreaming with a phone
Fuzzy: OakFoSho carries a $20,000 backpack, same as Tim Pool
Hans: Finance has a little over $7,000, monthly amount is not significant
Justin: cost is for cell phones?
Diara: and webcams, mics, would also work as a hotspot. Might turn into extended Occupy contract
Justin: will this lead to nicer quality streams, more versatility?
Diara: nicer, less choppy stream, two phones with unlimited data plans
Justin: will the phones be available for all of Occupy?
Diara: will be carried by me and Stephen, been at every action
Justin: but can be for anyone on media who wants to stream?
Fuzz: would have to be returned, but yes
Diara: also for twitter, web, etc
Aric: how many on average watch the livestream?
Fuzz: low quality contributes to fewer people watching
Diara: 847 people check in from many countries
Restatement of proposal: $609 for Media equipment with a $90/month plan.
PROPOSAL PASSED
V. Mass Transit (Stephen Fuzzytech): OD should have a presence at public hearings around cuts to public transit.
Fuzz: Upcoming events include:
Monday at 10:00am public services mtg with city council
Tuesday: TRU pre-brief for meeting with legislators
Thursday: 9am-4pm in Lansing. Meet with house rep, senators
Friday: DDOT public hearings 11am-1pm AND 6pm-8pm at WCC on 5901 Conner AND NW Activities Center 18100 Meyers Road on service cuts to mass transit in Detroit. Cuts will eliminate jobs of people who depend on busses to get to work. Should have action
Pam: decision has already been made
Lady in black: should reach out to ATU locals and bus drivers. No info about cuts on busses available to riders.
Stephen: agreement
Rakiba: this decision is not final, they will back off it it’s protested. Lives will be risked if transportation is not available.
Stephen: City Council is powerless in making decisions within Mayor’s realm
Tristan: On Friday, what is the public hearing and what are we trying to achieve?
Fuzz: TRU wants to know what we’ve achieved and what we’re trying to do. Meet to discuss further. Will be discussion of reduction of weekday and weekend service.
Tristan: if we’re mobilizing, should do it with the goal of being effective.
Fuzz: when there’s enough presence, sometimes there’s a delay in decisions.
Tristan: are there decisions being made at the meeting?
Aric: doesn’t matter if it’s too late, they’ve been cutting and will continue so should be protested now. Fundamental to say no cuts and no privatization.
Restatement of proposal: Stage a large protest at the public hearings on Friday of cuts to workers on bus lines for weekday, weekend, and night service and engage public discourse with the Department of Transportation.
PROPOSAL PASSED
7. Closing