www.peoplesworld.org October 9828, 2011

Occupy fills the jail with inspiration and solidarity

By John Bachtell

n Saturday Oct. 15, I was one of the 200 While the arrests were taking place we be- occupiers who were arrested standing gan singing the National Anthem. It reminded me up for free speech and assembly and of the Madison, Wis., earlier this year against corporate greed, after where I witnessed 5000 people sing the National OChicago attempted to establish an encampment at Anthem in the capitol rotunda. the edge of Grant Park. The police separated men and women and For nearly a month this movement has been filled a Chicago transit bus with men. We were all occupying the corner of Jackson and LaSalle taken to the police station at 18th and State. streets in the heart of the city’s financial district. As I was being processed, an officer asked However, city ordinances make it impossible to why a “boomer” like me was protesting. I told stay overnight there so protesters sleep in a near- him, “I’m here to end corporate greed and make by church. the country better.” Under a crisp cool night sky a spirited march “You’re going to have to end capitalism to do of 4,000 strong marched from the financial dis- that,” he said. I nodded and replied, “If that’s what trict to Grant Park. As waves streamed into the pavilion at the corner of Michigan and Congress, a giant American flag was lofted and passed over the this week: heads of protesters. • Occupy Chicago fills the jail with inspiration, solidarity The Chicago Police Department surround- ed the with officers and, at 11 p.m., an- • Editorial: is the voice of America nounced we were in violation of a city ordinance • Verizon workers join with Occupy Wall Street that prohibits being in the park after hours. • wakes the town Awaiting arrest, the mood among the over- • Estudiantes chilenos muestran camino whelmingly young protesters was defiant and fes- tive. Protesters linked arms and ringed the tents. read more news and opinion daily at www.peoplesworld.org At 1:30 a.m., after repeated warnings, the police began to arrest us and tear down the hastily con- structed tent village. Everyone remained calm, it takes.” strengthened by the understanding we were going We were led past holding cells crammed with to jail for a worthy cause. protesters. A loud cheer and raised fists greeted

Page 1 everyone who passed. in an Occupy Chicago protest. All spoke eloquent- I was placed in Holding Cell C and welcomed ly about how corporate greed had impacted their by the 25 others there. At 55 years old I was by far lives. the old man of the cell. Most were in their twen- Our discussions were far ranging. Toward ties and thirties. morning we discussed how to diversify the move- After a short while we settled in for the rest ment and debated whether the Occupy Chicago There’s not one of of the night and got talking. Someone began by movement should consider police part of the 99%. us who wouldn’t do giving the clearest explanation I have heard of or just an arm of the state. it again, and most what a “derivative” is, how Wall Street “gambling” Finally, after being fingerprinted, issued I- likely we will. crashed the economy and then how the victims bonds and assigned a court date, we gathered were blamed. Sometimes the best education takes our belongings and were released. We exited the place in a jail cell! police station into a dreary Sunday morning rain Then we got to introductions. Everyone lis- only to be warmed by a cheering crowd who had tened respectfully as we told our stories of what waited all night for our release. we did and what brought us to Occupy Chicago. There’s not one of us who wouldn’t do it There were young factory workers, students, a again, and most likely we will, to end corporate professor, an aspiring comic and union members greed and make our country right. from Unite Here, SEIU and the Teamsters. This was the first civil disobedience arrest for most and for some it was their first participation John Bachtell writes for the People’s World. Occupy Wall Street is the voice of America By PW Editorial Board

t’s no surprise that Republicans, right- can voters say the same thing. wing think tanks, corporate moguls and, The same editorial gave as further “proof” of course, Wall Street execs and CEO’s are of the movement’s left wing orientation, its find- worried sick about Occupy Wall Street. ing that 77 percent of the demonstrators want to IFirst, the shines a light raise taxes on the wealthy. According to the latest on the real culprits behind the economic disaster Marist poll on this matter, 68 percent of all vot- that has engulfed our country. Second, and prob- ers, including 68 percent of independents, agree ably more worrisome for the “1 percent,” is the with the protesters on this issue too. fact that the majority of Americans agree with 65 percent of the protesters believe the gov- Occupy Wall Street and support the Occupy Wall Street movement, ernment should guarantee a secure retirement. shows, once again, which has spread across the nation, capturing the On this issue, the American public is even more that the real hearts and imaginations of millions. “radical” than the occupy protesters who were “center” holds There are two lines of attack against the pro- polled. 70 percent of all voters, including 73 per- progressive, testers we see daily in the corporate media. cent of independents, said the government should forward-thinking One is that they are essentially a bunch of guarantee a secure requirement. positions. misguided youth who lack any focus whatsoever. In deep contrast, the public emphatically The other is that they are, essentially, left- disagrees with the right-wing tea party. wing extremists opposed to capitalism, in favor 53 percent of Americans disapprove of the tea of stealing money from the rich, and in favor of party movement and only 28 percent approve. regulating private business out of existence. The big broad “center” in American politics is The truth the opponents of Occupy Wall not really in support of any part of the corporate Street are trying to hide is that Occupy Wall Street agenda. Broad majorities turned out for defend- is a movement that speaks for all of America. ing the right to organize unions and the right to A Wall Street Journal editorial this week, in collective bargaining. Occupy Wall Street shows, an attempt to prove the “left wing” orientation of once again, that the real “center” holds progres- the occupy movement, said two thirds of protest- sive, forward-thinking positions. ers it polled believe government should guarantee Occupy Wall Street, the movement spreading health care for all people. The recent Rasmussen across this nation like a prairie fire, speaks for poll on this matter showed 64 percent of Ameri- the people of the United States.

www.peoplesworld.org Page 2 Verizon workers say “We are the 99% too,” join with Occupy Wall Street

By Teresa Albano

fter several service problems with Ve- rizon, customer Julia Gruberg gladly joined the picket line in front of the corporate giant’s headquarters in New AYork City Oct. 15. Gruberg had gone to Occupy Wall Street and heard about the protest there. Carrying a sign saying, “We Are the 99%,” Gruberg joined with hundreds of others marching from to tie issues of corporate greed with workers’ rights. “I just had a problem with Verizon. My char- ger broke,” she said and described the run around that led to the pitch for a new more expensive phone. The union that represents many of the Ve- fore Hurricane Irene was due to hit the East Coast, rizon workers, the Communications of America, and the corporation would never have been able also found common cause with the Occupy move- to deal with its aftermath without its full staff of This is the most ment. Verizon workers, along with other union highly trained union workers. recent example members, marched from the picket line to Zuccot- However, after the crisis passed, Verizon re- of the labor ti Park, chanting “All day, all week, Occupy Wall turned to its previous mega-giveback positions. movement finding Street!” “The community support during the strike ways to work with This is the most recent example of the la- was great. People brought food and water to the the Occupy bor movement finding ways to work with the fast picket line,” said Tony Martinez, union steward growing, mass and youthful Occupy movement. for CWA 1101 and 31-year Verizon technician. movement. “We are the 99%,” a cornerstone concept of the Martinez is not a stranger to union-commu- movement, encompasses workers and their unions nity work. He has advocated on behalf of the dis- alongside small business people, students, the un- abled, working on a company committee. Marti- employed, professionals and a host of other, some nez is in a wheelchair. unexpected, allies. Debra Williams, whose been at Verizon for Wearing a “Ban Fracking” sticker, Martin Mi- 32 years, said she thought the Occupy Wall Street chaels, of Shandaken, N.Y., showed up at Zuccotti movement is “great.” Park and then the picket line said for a lot of rea- Michael Neggie, a Verizon field technician in sons he identifies with the new movement. Westchester County for 15 years, said the picket “I’m a recent college graduate, unemployed,” line and march were all about supporting Occupy he said. Wall Street along with bringing attention to a spe- After the corporation promised to bargain in cific example of corporate greed. good faith, the workers returned to work, and the “They want everything back that we gained in negotiating table, Aug. 22. That was just days be- the last 50 years,” he said.

www.peoplesworld.org Page 3 local news Estudiantes chilenos muestran Local contact camino a movimiento internacional [email protected] Por W. T. Whitney Jr.

na ola de indignación derecho, no como algo que se compra Occupy Oakland contra el dominio del con dinero. mercado y de los banque- La educación universitaria en wakes the town ros está dando la vuelta al Chile es la más privatizada en toda Umundo. Protestan manifestantes con- América Latina. Las familias y los By Marilyn Bechtel tra recortes a salarios y pensiones en estudiantes tienen que cubrir casi el Europa, el poder del dinero en EEUU, 85 por ciento de las colegiaturas que n the morning of Oct. 22, Occupy y el abandono a los jóvenes por todas se cobran por asistir a las universi- Oakland’s two-week-old camp partes. En Europa el desempleo en- dades chilenas. Los niveles de deuda in front of City Hall - now said tre los de menos de 25 años de edad para las colegiaturas y cuotas estudi- to number 150 tents - thronged anda por el 25 por ciento, y en Es- antiles están por las nubes. Owith visitors. They viewed displays of art- paña, 43,6 por ciento. El año pasado Fracasaban las negociaciones, work by the occupiers, including the chil- aumentos a colegiaturas fueron reci- que servían solo para provocar may- dren in the camp. A small garden bloomed bidas con inmensas protestas estudi- ores críticas a los dirigentes estudi- in the center of an open space. antiles en Bretaña e Italia. Egresados antiles como irresueltos y para of- A covering of straw protected the universitarios recientes en EEUU que recerles una breve esperanza a los ground, and walkways of pallets covered by se unen al movimiento para Ocupar a estudiantes preocupados por perder plywood and cardboard wound through the Wall Street nos cuentan de sus malas becas y un año de créditos académi- clustered tents. A neat-looking kitchen was perspectivas para encontrar trabajo e cos. Respondió el movimiento estu- serving breakfast to campers as they pre- pesadas cargas de deuda. diantil con volver a las calles a nivel pared for Occupy Oakland’s first rally and Los estudiantes chilenos están nacional el 7 de octubre para encon- march. Organizers said 300 to 500 meals are dando lecciones al movimiento global. trar la represión policíaca. Fueron ar- served there each day. Trabajando desde hace cinco meses y restados 205 en Santiago. The area has been renamed Oscar Grant dependiendo de decisiones colectivas, Desde hace meses han estado Plaza by the occupiers to honor a young los estudiantes allí han movido de las exigiendo cambios constitucionales y black man killed by Bay Area Rapid Transit demandas inmediatas a una crítica el fin de un sistema electoral “bino- police nearly three years ago. global al sistema politicoeconómico mial” que empuje los partidos políti- In the last few days the encampment dominante chileno, herencia de la cos a dos coaliciones. En el curso de has received eviction notices from the city, dictadura Pinochetista. Han creado las pláticas regresaban los negocia- citing health and safety problems, none of alianzas con sindicatos laborales, con dores estudiantiles a cuestiones may- which were visible on march day. At their grupos indígenas y con movimientos ores que afectan a toda la sociedad. daily general assemblies, occupiers them- sociales. La educación universal sería pagada selves have talked about the need to over- Cientos de miles se han manifes- con reformas tributarias y nacional- come some problems that have arisen in the tado una y otra vez tras el curso de las ización de la industria del cobre. En camp. semanas, y con las escuelas ocupadas esto se reunían con la Asociación de The question on many visitors’ minds y el ausentismo en aumento, realiza- Maestros Chilenos para organizar un was, what brings people - mostly but not ban los estudiantes una huelga gen- plebiscito nacional extraoficial. entirely young - to leave the comfort of eral el 25 de agosto en colaboración Subraya el dirigente estudiantil their own beds and come, for a few nights con los trabajadores. El gobierno del Giorgio Jackson al nuevo papel de or weeks, to join other campers in the broad presidente derechista Sebastian Pi- los estudiantes como protagonistas. and ever-growing Occupy Together move- ñera comenzó negociaciones con di- Escribiendo para Le Monde Diplo- ment. rigentes estudiantiles. Entre las cues- matique, declara Jackson que el “eje Ayessa, 25, a young black single moth- tiones en la mesa son una educación central es la desigualdad dominantes er who’s had to move back in with her own gratuita y de alta calidad para todos, en Chile que nos permitió despertar al mother, put it this way: “Everything in this un control nacional en vez de local so- descontento latente”. country is moving backward. Homes are be- bre las escuelas, y la educación como ing repossessed, jobs are hard to find. How can one live on $8 an hour? national contact “If everyone in the working class gets organized on this, like the 48 hour strike in Editorial: (773) 446-9920 Business: (212) 924-2523 Greece, we can change things!” she said. Email: [email protected]

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