This is a living document, ratified by the General Assembly on March 6, 2012:

Oppression exists on many different levels. This statement has been designed to address attitudes and behaviors, and we will continue to address the institutional and cultural levels of oppression.

Statement of Commitment to Challenge Oppression

We acknowledge that it is important to honor these values in order to effectively challenge oppression and build a more just and equitable community:

I enter this space with a commitment to mutual respect, conflict resolution, compassion, collaboration, cooperation and direct democracy.

I commit to supporting the empowerment of each person in order to subvert the histories and structures of oppression that marginalize and divide us.

I recognize that I may still have a lot to learn about types of oppression and I commit to learn.

I refrain from violence or threats of violence in this space. I recognize that certain behaviors – such as shouting someone down at a meeting or trivializing oppression – are antithetical to caring communication and can be triggering.

I acknowledge that there are others who may be quieter or less assertive than myself who also deserve equality in the direct democracy process. I may as a result need to remind myself to honor quiet moments to allow those people a safe space to speak.

I acknowledge that for a sustainable community to emerge & continue, I must aid in addressing the
needs of the community, work collaboratively & cooperatively with others & be flexible when suggesting
solutions.

Community Agreement to Commit to Anti-Oppression

We speak only for ourselves, and commit to hearing each other and creating opportunities for all voices to be heard, especially for those that have been historically marginalized or silenced, and for those that continue to be oppressed.

We agree that issues which are not on the agenda may arise during a meeting and need to be recognized. We agree that a way needs to be given to address these issues.  Such priority is needed to create and support an anti-oppressive space.

As a community, we commit to developing creative and transformative ways to address harm. We seek to affirm the experience of those who were harmed while allowing all involved parties to transform conflict and cycles of abuse.

The following proposal passed the General Assembly of Occupy Boston on March 3, 2012:

WHEREAS the Occupy Boston Working Group is performing a dual mission of both providing outreach to the 99% and providing inreach to Occupy Boston participants and working groups; and,

WHEREAS the Occupy Boston Radio Working Group provides a microphone for anyone to use to reach an audience to promote the Occupy mission; and,

WHEREAS the Occupy Boston Radio Working Group provides a critical communication mechanism within the Occupy movement; and,

WHEREAS the Occupy Boston Radio Working Group provides a public face for Occupy Boston and the Occupy movement making a professional appearance imperative; and,

WHEREAS the Occupy Boston Radio Working Group has put in place several programs to become self-sufficient including direct solicitation of listeners, a WePay account, and a Fundraiser to be held March 16, as well as plans for a Kickstarter campaign; and,

WHEREAS the Occupy Boston Radio Working Group has rented space from E5 for a dedicated studio to produce professional quality programming; and,

WHEREAS the Occupy Boston Radio Working Group has been fortunate enough to have members who have purchased and loaned equipment to the Occupy Boston Radio Working Group, incurring costs that should now be reimbursed; and,

WHEREAS the Occupy Boston Radio Working Group has obtained substantial in-kind donations for the E5 radio station build-out, providing public support for our mission; and,

WHEREAS the Occupy Boston Radio Working Group is in critical need of funds to bridge the time gap between now and the time when we are self-sufficient;

NOW, THEREFORE, the OCCUPY BOSTON RADIO WORKING GROUP requests an allotment of $2,000 from the OCCUPY BOSTON GENERAL ASSEMBLY to bridge the gap in funding for rent and other expenses and to further the mission of Occupy Boston and the Occupy movement.

Working groups are strongly encouraged to produce their own shows of 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes in the interest of illuminating every point of light in the OB and the Occupy movement.

The General Assembly of Occupy Boston passed the following proposal on March 3, 2012:

We propose that a maximum of 1/2 hour total, with 15 minutes minimum of that total devoted to discussion, of the March 15 Thursday GA be put toward a presentation on using Fee and Dividend as a means of taxing carbon and reducing overall emissions, while placing the burden of the tax upon corporations. This is proposed with the hope that it will help raise awareness of this method for carbon tax, at a time when understanding options for reducing atmospheric carbon concentrations is crucial.

The working groups sponsoring this proposal (Climate Action, Sustainability, and Environmental Justice as well as Free School University) will make information available on the web prior to this GA so people can review them if they want to.

Explanation:

The presentation will be done by Gary Rucinski. Gary is a member of Climate Citizen’s Lobby, an organization working to promote fee and dividend carbon tax. This presentation will be done in preparation of a second, longer, presentation and QA that is being organized by CASEJ and FSU. The longer presentation will focus on both the potential benefits of this tax, as well as the ways in which it could be potentially weakened. There is additionally a discussion panel being planned, that will focus on multiple, progressive, options for taxing carbon.

Fee and Dividend:

Carbon Fee-and-Dividend is a system that places a tax on carbon as it eners the US economy – at the mine, the well, or the port of entry. This money can then be redistributed to the general population, offsetting the increase in energy costs.

Call for a National Day of Action for Public Transportation

Preamble:

Public transportation is a right. It is also an integral part of our sustainable future. Rather than fighting price hikes and service cuts, we should be focusing on expanding service and innovating more sustainable and convenient systems for mass transit that are free for all. The economic downturn has been used as a reason to cut back service, raise fares, and layoff workers in Boston and elsewhere. We are told again and again that there is no money, but we have had enough of this lie!

The money for transportation is in the hands of the 1%, who control more wealth in this country than at any time since before the Great Depression. This money pays grotesquely bloated salaries and bonuses to criminal financial industry executives that produce nothing, even as hardworking people struggle to find food and shelter. Worst of all, it is used to fund criminal wars for resources, record numbers of murderous drone strikes, military aide to brutal anti-democratic dictatorships and private military contractors. The Pentagon budget dwarfs that of investment in education, the arts, medical research, environmental protection, food and drug safety regulation, and transport COMBINED. It is time that these resources are put to use in ways that will improve the lives of the 99%, not pad the pockets of the 1%.

April 4th is the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s groundbreaking speech “Beyond Vietnam: Breaking the Silence” in which he spoke of the connections between war and poverty. He explained his understanding that “America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube”, and that he had become “increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such.” We share this view, and recognize that the fights against war and for public transportation are in fact fronts of the same struggle for a humane society, in which the needs of all come before the profits of the few. Exactly one year after this speech, as he built momentum for a general strike, Dr. King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968.

Let us observe this day and remember a great visionary by continuing his fight for economic equality and an end to war.

The following proposal passed the General Assembly of Occupy Boston on March 3, 2012:

Call to Action

The General Assembly of Boston calls on occupations, general assemblies and people’s movements across the country and around the globe to mobilize on April 4th, 2012 to demand public transportation for the 99%. In Boston and in cities around the country, our hard-won and necessary transportation systems are under attack. Their viability is being threatened by savage cuts and fare hikes in a calculated push towards privatization by corrupt and unresponsive politicians and their corporate benefactors.

Public transportation is a right and must be accessible to all. Service cuts and fare hikes will have a devastating and disproportionate impact on low-income communities, communities of color, students, workers, seniors and the environment. We say NO TO PRIVATIZATION of our common resources and NO MORE EXCUSES! We will not accept any funding strategies that attempt to divide the 99% against each other or shift the burden onto the backs of the 99%: the poor and working classes. End the wars and tax the rich!

On April 4th, we will stand together to demand public transportation for the 99%. If our call is not answered and the necessary funds redirected, it will only add to the growing body of evidence that our government no longer represents us.

The General Assembly of Occupy Boston passed the following proposal on February 25, 2012:

In recognition of International Women’s Day on Thursday, March 8th, the Women’s Caucus proposes that the General Assembly be an evening focused on Women’s Issues and gender-based differential treatment in the workplace, politics, art and literature, health, education and social spheres, and OB.

This evening will be organized by the Women’s Caucus and affiliated groups and will begin with 30 minutes of announcements. The regular GA process will be suspended for that night.

We encourage everyone associated with Occupy Boston as well as new friends to join us this evening.