LATAZ! – RTS in Allston last night

Last night, in celebration of May Day a group decided to reclaim the streets in Allston. We partied and dance for an hour and half, roaming around and throughout Allston, leaving nothing but dance moves and crazy beats behind us.

LATAZ (Lower Allston Temporary Autonomous Zone) will return – we hope to see you there next time.

Here is the text for the flier handed out:

Tonight, may day, is international workers day – a day celebrating a radical past, a day celebrating a radical future. It is also a day acting in solidarity with comrades and against the many racist, fascist, fucked up things happening everyday by those in power. It is a day against authority – a day for us.

There are endless reasons for being against authority. For example, in Arizona the fascist law SB1070 was past not more than a week ago. Because of this police can stop people based on how they look and ask for you “to show your papers.” That’s some fucked up Nazi shit. In lower Allston, over the past couple of weeks, there has been an increase in police patrols, targeting people of color. In the meantime Harvard and business are moving into the area, beginning the process if making it more expensive to live, forcing people elsewhere.

A couple of days ago, a support and solidarity caravan to the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala, Oaxaca was attacked by state paramilitaries. This night is for you all as well. Stay strong – fight back.

Tonight will not change anything. Tonight is meant to celebrate what we have. Tonight is meant to show the possibility of another world.

“if I can’t dance – I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” -Emma Goldman

“let’s have some fun / this beat is sick / I wanna take a ride on your disco stick” -Mayor Menino

No racist laws!
No racist police!
Towards an autonomous society!

-Lower Allston Temporary Autonomous Zone

General Assembly of Boston Anti-Authoritarian Students & Young Folks!

You’ve already expressed interest or may be interested in the Greater Boston Anti-Authoritarian Students [and young folks] Collective (GBAASC.. we need a better name?).

A general assembly has been called! for this coming Wednesday the 21st at 8pm at Boston University in the Womens’ Resource Center at the George Sherman Union building basement.

This assembly will be a chance to get all of us together (cuz ya know, we (A)re everywhere) and connect our various projects on campuses, in our communities, and in the greater young radical community in Boston. At the recent Boston Student Teach-In and the campout on the BU beach as well as demos around the city fighting to save public education and inspiration drawn from the student uprisings around the US, we have poured renewed energy and momentum into “the movement”. We’ve been talking about keeping closer communication and this would be a great chance to develop that, as well as support each others’ projects, show up for each others’ events, and develop new friends and comrades while taking our actions to the next level. The idea of a general assembly has been floating around, so here it is!

If you are able to make it, please do! If you can’t, don’t worry, there’ll be more.. but it’d be great if all interested student/young folks groups could have at least one representative attend. It would also be good if folks could come to the assembly with topics to put on the table for discussion. This will be a time to have quality conversation about our campus and community projects and to strategize on how we can best unite to make our work stronger, because it is all connected, and all stem from the same root problems.

There may or may not be an after-assembly potluck/hang in Lower Allston!

Feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be interested!

Thusands Protest Boston School Cuts

Thousands protest Boston school cuts

Published Apr 1, 2010 9:22 PM
By Steve Gillis, Peter Cook & Frank Neisser
Boston
In response to Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s announced massive defunding of and charter privatization program for Boston’s public schools, over 2,000 people shut down the streets surrounding a building where Menino’s hand-picked Boston School Committee was voting on March 24 to approve nearly $60 million in budget cuts. The boisterous protest was organized by the Boston Teachers Union, the Coalition for Equal Quality Education, Boston Public Schools Custodians, and the Boston School Bus Drivers Union to demand, “Full Funding for Public Education, No Budget Cuts!”

Andre Francois of school bus drivers’ union
addresses rally as Boston police block door to
School Committee public hearing.
WW photo: Maureen Skehan
The militant outpouring of parents, students, teachers, custodians, bus drivers and monitors and other community activists and supporters took over the School Department plaza, with noisemakers and loudspeakers broadcasting their anger. For the first time in years, unity and solidarity of the entire school workforce and communities confronted Menino’s and city bondholders’ plan.

Denouncing the layoffs and program cuts were Richard Stutman, Boston Teachers Union president; Robert Haynes, Massachusetts AFL-CIO president; Rich Rogers of the Greater Boston Labor Council; Dave Jelley, Custodians Union president; Steve Gillis, Boston School Bus Drivers Union vice president; Sandra McIntosh, Coalition for Equal Quality Education; City Councilors Felix Arroyo and Charles Yancey; as well as a representative of the American Civil Liberties Union, students, Bail Out the People Movement, Women’s Fightback Network, Fight Imperialism, Stand Together , and many others. The Women’s Fightback Network led an

International Women’s Day march that began at the State House and ended outside the School Committee meeting to join the rally.

The multigenerational and multinational crowd, including many immigrant workers, cheered as many speakers raised the slogans, “Money for Schools, Not for War!” and “Bail Out the Schools, Not the Banks!” Placards condemned privatization of education through charter schools and plans to resegregate “neighborhood” schools. Flyers for the Bail Out the People Movement’s May 8th National Jobs Protest in Washington, D.C., were well received.

Several times people surrounded the building and climbed up into the windows to hang signs and chant into the chamber where the School Committee was cloistered, hearing testimony for even more massive cuts to school workers’ health care insurance from the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, the city’s business mouthpiece.

The Bureau had recently succeeded in writing massive cuts into Menino’s general 2011 budget, slashing public services from libraries to housing to snow removal, while increasing payments to bondholders and establishing new police outstations in all the city’s public housing developments.

The school committee chamber holds only 167 people, so protesters loudly raised the issue of the legitimacy of the vote to approve the new budget, arguing that the meeting should have taken place in a larger hall so that those who are most impacted by the cuts have the opportunity to express their outrage over the bondholders’ budget.

Police Special Forces surrounded the building’s perimeter and blockaded the doors, calling in motorcycle reinforcements and wagons, effectively turning the school’s public headquarters into an armed camp. A determined contingent led by members of the Boston School Bus Drivers Union and the Custodians Union attempted to enter the building, but cops jamming with sharp batons and school administrators frantically tugging on doors engaged the workers, students and community leaders in a 10-minute scuffle, forcibly preventing the public from entering on the phony pretext of fire codes.

Despite the overwhelming show of force by the cops the demonstration was a strong step in building the unity necessary for the struggles ahead. Some victories were also secured, including School Superintendent Dr. Carol R. Johnson’s withdrawal of her plan to kick middle school students off school buses, citing public protest to the clearly unsafe proposal. However, School Committee members took turns wringing their hands about future school closings, program eliminations, layoffs and the gutting of student rights, like transportation and nutrition, and then promptly and unanimously passed the cuts.

The next stage of the struggle goes to the Boston City Council, which must approve the school budget. Today’s newly energized community, labor and education advocates are already planning stepped up protests.

Gillis is vice president of the Boston School Bus Drivers union. Cook is a member of the Boston Teachers Union.

Pics from thursday

here are some pictures from Thursday Rally and March

March around campus

Today at the rally outside of the campus center a lively crowd was speaking and chanting for a good 45 minutes. Soon, the group left on a spontaneous march throughout the campus. We into and out of campus buildings chanting and telling people to get out of their classes and join us. We eventually reached the administration building where we were confonted with a small line of cops. The teach-in is tonight – we are not done, we are only begginning.

Pics will be up soon

Twitter account now up

follow us on what’s happening.

twitter.com/occupyboston

UMB Committee to Have Fun Gives Another Reminder

The UMass Boston Committee to Have Fun struck again this morning when a massive banner was dropped from the shiny new Campus Center building reading “STUDENT-WORKER SOLIDARITY – MARCH 4TH – TAKE BACK UMASS”.

The countdown towards March Fourth has narrowed down to just one day left to go! Activists chose this prime location on a building that UMB takes pride in, to demonstrate that students and workers must join in solidarity tomorrow if we want to take back the real reasons UMass Boston should hold pride, relating to its revolutionary history of occupations, protests, and radically progressive education programs. All of these are at risk as UMass built this riot-proof campus in response to student reactions towards bombings in Cambodia in 1969 of rioting and barging in on a director’s meeting. We are also seeing important community service and mutual aid programs such as the College of Public and Community Service constantly facing the threat of defunding and extinction. Together we will show UMass that we are prepared to fight for tuition and fee freezes, better treatment towards staff and faculty, more attention put into existing infastructure, more public funding for the arts and social and organizational sciences, and are planning on jumping on a recent advancement..

On Monday, boston.com announced that UMass president Jack Wilson will be stepping down from his position in 2011. The UMB Committee to Have Fun would like to see him step down much sooner, and give his recent $72,800 pay raise back to the students. His raise was approved in a time of extreme economic crisis in Massachusetts, when 37% of state funding for public education was cut, union students staff and faculty were asked to reopen contracts and add more concessions while their health care was cut into, and local students began rapidly being priced-out of UMass.

Get ready for tomorrow’s tipping point!
Rally and speak-out at Noon-2pm outside Campus Center
Teach-In and Mobilization Strategy Session 4-7pm McCormack 3rd floor old cafeteria, look for the signs!

Day of Action at UMass Boston on Thursday: Rally, Speak-Out & Teach-In!

Epic day of action, education and solidarity with public education attacks nationwide on Thursday the 4th at UMass Boston! Come join students, staff and workers as we protest and speak-out against budget cuts, tuition and fee hikes, layoffs, crumbling infastructure, gross pay-raises for UMass president Jack Wilson, and unions’ contracts being re-negotiated.

Rally and speak-out from 12pm-2pm outside Campus Center, join the excitement as we stir things up on campus!
Teach-In from 4-7pm in McCormack 3rd floor old cafeteria. Come hear students staff and faculty address issues such as public education funding in Massachusetts, democracy in the educational system, accessibility and affordability of public education in MA, and more. We will be having a video conference with organizers of the University of California, speaking with them about the radical statewide responses to the same issues we are facing in MA! The last half of the teach-in will be small group discussions for attendees to discuss how we are going to join together in solidarity and fight the injustices at UMass and how we can build a better system from the grassroots up.

The Teach-In agenda is thus:

Thursday, March 4, 4-7 pm
McCormack Hall, 3rd floor, room 0301

4:00 WELCOME (Moderator = Anneta Argyres)

4:05 A BRIEF HISTORY OF PUBLIC HIGHER ED FUNDING IN MA: Dave Danning
Topics:
– Where does funding for Public Higher Ed in MA come from (fed, state, etc.)?
– How has funding changed over time (total amount and distribution of sources)?
– How does this compare to other states? Nationally?
– Why have these changes happened?

4:25 PANEL DISCUSSION (4 speakers, each doing a 5 minute presentation)
– ACCESSIBILITY & AFFORDABILITY OF PUBLIC HIGHER ED IN MA: Ed Hunt (UMB graduate student)
– QUALITY OF EDUCATION: Heike Schotten (UMB Faculty)
– DEMOCRACY IN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: Deirdre Lally (UMB undergrad student)
– EDUCATION AS A PUBLIC GOOD: Geneveive Morse (UMB Union Staff)

4:45 Q&A with presenter and panelists on open mics

5:00 TAKING ACTION
– RESPONSE IN CA: Intro by Ed Hunt; Skype with CA activists
– MTA’s REVENUE COMMITTEE: Randy Albelda
– PHENOM’S “A BETTER STATE OF MIND” CAMPAIGN: Alex Kulenovic

5:20 SMALL TABLE DISCUSSIONS: facilitated by March 4th planning committee members

Introductions: What struck you about the presentations?

How should we respond to this situation?

What can each of us do – as individuals or in any campus groups?

5:40 SPEAK OUT AT MICS: share your thoughts/commitments for action

6:00 CLOSING:

Eat some free pizza(!); announce a follow-up meeting to discuss the response to the Teach-In and actions coming out of March 4th

UMass Boston Banner Drop to Kick off March

A banner with clear demands hangs from Wheatley Hall

On the first school morning of March, activists representing the UMass Boston Committee to Have Fun dropped a banner from the Wheatley building reading “No Paycuts or Tuition Hikes.  March 4th!” as a sign of things to come this week as schools across the country prepare for the March 4th day of action to defend public education.

The banner was hung one story above a parking garage in Wheatley that has been rendered unsafe due to dilapidated conditions, in the same building with ceilings that leak water into classrooms and hallways when it rains.  Wheatley is the campus home to departments such as the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Public and Community Service, the Labor Resource Center, African American Studies, and other such cultural and progressive programs.  UMass Boston just bought the Bayside Expo Center for $18.7 million, but somehow has had an issue with keeping the buildings we use now safe and up to their fullest potential.  We as students, faculty and staff demand that UMB direct funding towards improving current facilities and abandon all paycuts and tuition and fee hikes, as local students are being priced out of the University of Massachusetts system and quality staff and faculty face less pay for more work, to make up for their laid off colleagues.

March 4th at UMass Boston will be a big day on campus.  A rally and speak-out will be held outside Campus Center from noon-2pm, followed by a Teach-In from 4-7pm in McCormack, 3rd floor, old cafeteria.  The teach-in, organized by students and union faculty and staff will address issues such as democracy in educational systems, affordability and accessibility, where the money for UMB projects come from, who distributes it, and what programs and staff get cut.  There will also be a presentation on the response to education cuts in California and what tactics they have successfully employed, as well as the logic of escalating campaigns to achieve our demands.  Afterwards will be a strategy session for students and workers to come together and discuss how to mobilize our campus and community to fight for quality, affordable public education.

On March 4th and beyond, the UMass Boston faculty, staff and student bodies demand:
-Respect negotiated contracts – we can’t afford any less!
-No tuition or fee hikes!
-No to privatization!  Privatization and outsourcing are union busting.
-An expansion of high quality programs and services.
-Tax big corporations to pay for affordable public education for all.

Occupy Boston

As “youth,” there is no future presently worth working or studying for. We study in hopes of getting jobs, even while lost in the mazes of precarity. We work in hopes to make enough to live, despite the guarantee of needing to work for the rest of our lives.

As “adults,” we face the same problems. We work forever in order to give our children the chances of getting their own job upon graduating. This of course is for the “lucky” ones with parents able to help out.

The present future offers us nothing other than the uncertainty of whether we are able to continue to live; we are left worrying about food and money. The only assurance we have in the present future is uncertainty. The uncertainty of whether we are able to complete college. The uncertainty of getting a job after graduating. The uncertainty of having enough food to feed ourselves. The uncertainty of living life. Only these uncertainties are for certain.

Yet, in these uncertainties is also the assurance for the need of a new world. In order to break the illusion of this future that is laid out before us we must to take matters into our own hands. To break the illusion, we must take what we need. No more asking politely. We are to take and appropriate. We are to occupy and live.

March 4^th is not just a National Day of Action to Defend Education. It is also the National Day of Action to Stop Police Brutality. It is also the National Day of Action Against Capitalism. It is also the National Day of Action to Fight for Our Lives: To Fight for Our Futures.

We are with you California and New York and everyone else (you know who you are).

Occupy Everything for Everyone

See you March 4th

-occupyboston