Occupy Wall Street

[Frank Szabo]

Why did the union choose to support the Occupy Wall Street without asking it's membership?

... because, other than collect dues money, the twu international has no use for its dues payors and could care less re: any ideas we might have.

 

[Buck]

... because, other than collect dues money, the twu international has no use for its dues payors and could care less re: any ideas we might have.

It would be interesting to see how the entire membership would of voted on the OWS issue. Left or Right?

 

[Birdman]

It would be interesting to see how the entire membership would of voted on the OWS issue. Left or Right?

The OWS movement was recently spawned from "anti-consumerist" thought. There is merit in the notion that "stuff can't make you happy", but this movement has accumulated so much baggage that premise is lost. Nothing short of an alien invasion will unify conservatives with the likes of Obama, Sharpton, Moore, Sarandon, and all the other ultra liberals promoting this bloated cause.

 

[Frank Szabo]

It would be interesting to see how the entire membership would of voted on the OWS issue. Left or Right?

Not that the International would care, but that would also give them an idea as to the feelings/thought/positions of their membership in general - left or right.

I do believe the boys at the top would be rather surprised - I'm beginning to see a decided starboard tack.

 

[Tater Salad]

As the subtitle of my post states, Is this where my dues should go?

With the Poll asking the Question.

"Do you oppose using your TWU dues for Occupy Wall Street?"

Here is a list of demands posted at Occupy Wall Street (this list is not a official list but posted by a member.)

Is this where my dues should go?

Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending “Freetrade” by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.

Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.

Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.

Demand four: Free college education.

Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.

Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.

Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America’s nuclear power plants.

Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.

Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.

Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.

Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the “Books.” World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the “Books.” And I don’t mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.

Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.

Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.

As you state this is an unofficial statement given by ONE member that attended OWS. Here is the one and only official statement made and endorsed by OWS.

Declaration of the Occupation of New York City
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

*These grievances are not all-inclusive.

 

[7days]

If occupywallstreet is standing with the unions, they'd be better off standing with the banks. Check the campaign donations folks.

 

[Birdman]

If occupywallstreet is standing with the unions, they'd be better off standing with the banks. Check the campaign donations folks.

I believe it's the unions that are standing with "the movement", based on agreement with a couple of talking points, rather than the other way around. The American people as a whole are not stupid and will ultimately take a stand at the ballot box.

 

[7days]

You just cant make this stuff up:

Protesters make love as well as class war with sex and drugs on tap | Mail Online http://t.co/KnpB040q

Convicted Bank Fraudster Leads Democrats, OWS Against Bank of America: http://t.co/WbP2devv

Think before u chant: “you can have sex with animals or whatever” http://t.co/TkvTZBfr

 

[Barfbag]

If occupywallstreet is standing with the unions, they'd be better off standing with the banks. Check the campaign donations folks.

The banking system stands today only because of taxpayer bailouts.

 

[Birdman]

The banking system stands today only because of taxpayer bailouts.

You paint all banking with a very broad brush. My mom has been in banking for over 40 years. Currently on the Arvest BOD, neither they or any of her past employers ever took bailout money. It's called responsible and ethical business practice.

 

[strikeforce]

You paint all banking with a very broad brush. My mom has been in banking for over 40 years. Currently on the Arvest BOD, neither they or any of her past employers ever took bailout money. It's called responsible and ethical business practice.

The BOA's, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, Goldman Suchs, and Wells Fargo have paid billions in fines to settle the mortgage mess....if they weren't guilty of screwing people they wouldn't be paying fines. They most likely used the taxpayer bailouts to pay these fines. It's not really hitting them in the pocketbook....they're just shuffling our money around, and now they'll recoup that money with all these fees. What a scam! On with the protests!!!!

 

[Buck]

The BOA's, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, Goldman Suchs, and Wells Fargo have paid billions in fines to settle the mortgage mess....if they weren't guilty of screwing people they wouldn't be paying fines. They most likely used the taxpayer bailouts to pay these fines. It's not really hitting them in the pocketbook....they're just shuffling our money around, and now they'll recoup that money with all these fees. What a scam! On with the protests!!!!

Curious, does anyone have a loan with the above mentioned banking institutions?

 

[JAFA]

As you state this is an unofficial statement given by ONE member that attended OWS. Here is the one and only official statement made and endorsed by OWS.

Declaration of the Occupation of New York City
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
<-- Bottom line have the payments been kept up? No? Then that's what happens!!!

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
<-- Hey our idiot congress gave tem the money, once theirs if there were no restrictions then don't complain. Did you call your Congressman and Sentators to oppose the bailout? No? Did you go to DC to voice your opinion in person? No? Then don't complain. I opposed the bailout, I called both of my Sentators and my Congressman then I flew to DC to voice my opposition in person. What exactly did these whiners do at the time?

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
<-- They? Try we. Discrimination is not practiced my corporations, it is practiced by individuals within them. How many of us have seen predjudice in our workplace, and I don't mean by the executives? What did you do about it? Anyone who wore a Bring Back Freddy card forfeited their right to complain about discrimination.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization. <-- WTF? Undermined? Guess what if we shut down corporate farming we won't have a food supply.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.
<-- And you are wearing what type of shoes today? Did you have meat recently? Have you had a dairy product recently? Yeah, I thought so

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions. <-- And despite these attempts you still have the right to join a union and OSHA protects your workplace safety. Of course a for profit corporation looks out for it's profits, it's called the profit motive. Do you own stock? Did you buy it to make money or to make a donation?

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right. <-- And you're just too good for a SUNY school or to start at a community college like the rest of did?

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
<-- Go back up and see profit motive. I again ask why you bought the stock you own.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
<-- Influenced the courts? Try the courts interpreted the laws as our represtatives wrote them. Don't like the law elect a new representative. That's what's great about this country we get to throw out 1/2 the federal government every 2 years if we want. Oh wait, I forgot less than 1/2 of this country actually votes. I guess playing Paystation really is that much more important than participating in our democracy.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
<-- Oh look that profit motive again. Whay do you own stock again?

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
:down: Oh Look they got one right. Oh wait can't we just vote to make this illegal? Oh that's right I play X-Box tonight, never mind I'll just whine some more about it instead.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
<-- SHHHH, quiet, they'll hear you. Wait a minute then how do we know about these things. Too late they heard you, quuick get the foil hats out.

They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
<-- Oh good we have a another refresher on the profit motive. Still waiting to hear why you bought your stock. On the other hand somehow our government still manages to force hundreds of recall every month. Hell, maybe those yahoos in DC do work sometimes after all.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce. <-- They determine nothing. They convince Congress because no one else bothers to show up for the conversation. I ask again where were you when the bailouts and Obamacare were being debated? I was there, but I am no match for them if no one else showed up to oppose it.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.
<-- Just like I donated to the campaigns of candidates that claimed to agree with my views on issues important to me. What did you do? Who did you support? Whose campaign did you donate to? Whose campaign did you volunteer on? Guess what THEY did show up, donate, support, and volunteer. If you had to then your viewpoint might have been represented.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
:down: <-- Yup, you have 2 now. Of course there is that profit motive again and they have really broken no laws. Maybe we should vote for people that support law changes that would have prevented it.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.
<-- Oops, damn profit motive again, oh and that sticky patent law.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
<--Yes they do. Of course your tax return is as pure a virgins honey pot right? I'm sure every dollar won in a casino is accouted for. Every dollar won on a scratch off ticket, that video game won at the cub scout raffle, all listed on your tax returns right? Just like I'm sure any time you have been given that extra dime in change by mistake you went right back in to the store to return the dime right? Oh look they are fallable humans just like us. Hipocrit, party of one? You table is ready.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
<-- Yet you still found out about it? Damn, they saw us posting, quick the foil hats again.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
<-- What states use private contractors for their executions? I'm not sure I like it, but in a democracy that really is a decision for that state's constituency. As far as I know we do not do that in NY.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
<-- WTF? We have colonies now? Where?

They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
<-- If your talking about defense contractors you have one here.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*
<-- No they create the weapons our military purchases. Like it or not we need to have a military and weapons to kill. Despite von Clausewitz's assertion that war is continuation of policy by other means it should be a last reort because as they say war is hell.

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

*These grievances are not all-inclusive.

 

[Buck]

Again, where are my dues monies going?

 

[eolesen]

You paint all banking with a very broad brush. My mom has been in banking for over 40 years. Currently on the Arvest BOD, neither they or any of her past employers ever took bailout money. It's called responsible and ethical business practice.

Oh, stop throwing facts into this discussion....

Hey, wait. Your mom sits on a BOD. Why aren't you a CEO? 😉