Occupy Boston and Occupy MBTA at the board meeting of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation demanding that MBTA have no cuts, no hikes, and no layoffs and a comprehensive transportation plan for the state.
Join us to protest MBTA service cuts and fare hikes at the public meeting of MassDOT with the MBTA Board of Directors! 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116.
At this meeting, the MBTA Board of Directors will discuss their final solution for covering the MBTA’s $161 million deficit. This will almost certainly include fare hikes, service cuts, and layoffs, all unacceptable ways of forcing working people to pay for a problem that they didn’t create. Join with Mass Senior action to denounce these short-sighted and damaging proposals.
More info on the meeting here: http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/public_meetings/?id=23169
12:30-1:30 – lunch break flash-mob / Street theater ‘Traffic Jam’ outside the hearing
3 pm – Visit your state representative to hand over demands
5 pm – Occupy the commute, flyering, mic-checking, and singing on the MBTA/commuter rails
Occupy Boston plans ‘flash mob’ protest
Group members are staging a pre-arranged “flash mob” protest at 12:30 p.m. today in front of the state’s Transportation Building.
Today’s lunchtime rally will be the controversial group’s first major public action since police ousted several hundred occupiers from their encampment in Dewey Square on Dec. 10.
Group members say the T protest dovetails with their anti-Wall Street platform. They say banks that received government bailouts now hold most of the T’s debt and want to see the debt forgiven or restructured to spare people who need the T to get to work. Occupy Boston member Gunner Scott said other plans are under way for an April 4 rally at the Massachusetts State House.
http://tinyurl.com/7v79af3
The new urban militarism of local law enforcement in Western society
Many observers were surprised and even shocked by police methods used to subdue various “Occupy” demonstrations across the U.S. and Europe. There seems to be increasing dependence on methods of local policing that is eerily similar to how western militaries behave in the battlefield.
We took a look yesterday at the city of Chicago’s exploding surveillance camera systems. Today, we broaden the discussion with a look at increased militarization of local law enforcement in Western-societies. Stephen Graham is professor of Cities and Society at Newcastle University in the U.K. He examines the increasing influence of military technology on domestic police forces in his book Cities Under Siege: The New Military Urbanism.
http://tinyurl.com/7yj4vpr
What Has Occupy Been Up To? 6 Great Actions You Can’t Miss This Spring
The early days were beautiful, they were inspiring, but it is now that we are being deliberate, that we are building relationships with each other and with our communities, it is now that we are building our infrastructure, it is now that we are doing the internal work that we need to do in order to be smarter, faster, better at bringing people together, better at sustaining ourselves as a movement, it is now that we are more committed then ever. And we have been planning for the spring. So below I present you with a list of things to look out for from Occupy in the coming weeks and months and as it goes from winter, finally, to spring:
http://tinyurl.com/6n4jt4t
Continue reading “The OB Media Rundown for 3/14/12” »
Help stop this costly and harmful bill before it is too late: the “Justice System” is Unjust and the time for action is now! We will rally on the State House steps and then enter the building to visit our elected officials.
Why speak out against 3-strikes
- Incarceration breaks apart families but does not deal with the real causes of crime
- This dangerous bill will expand an overcrowded prison system
- It costs $48,000 a year to jail a prisoner; these funds could be used for jobs, schools, housing and transportation
- Stand up against mandatory sentencing and demand fairness in the criminal justice system
What will happen if this bill is passed?
Under this proposed law, individuals convicted of three violent felonies would become ineligible for parole or any reductions in sentencing for their third conviction — regardless of circumstances — and would receive the longest mandatory sentence for that conviction. Additionally, anyone convicted of three felonies would be classified as a habitual offender and required to serve two-thirds of their sentence before being eligible for parole. In some circumstances, this has included juvenile convictions.
Who will be affected by this bill?
There are approximately 11,800 people incarcerated in the Massachusetts prisons. Of these, about 5,500 prisoners are serving time for crimes that would qualify as 3 Strikes crimes. Based on a conservative analysis of sentencing data provided by the Massachusetts Sentencing Commission, between 150-250 of these offenders would likely be sentenced under 3 Strikes.
What’s the alternative?
Aaron Tanaka, writing to the Boston Globe: “We should leave the power of harsh sentencing to the judges, not some automatic system that disregards the details of the offender, the wishes of the victims, or the evidence of rehabilitation. We can be smart on crime by tackling drug addiction, fighting poverty, improving reentry services, and challenging a culture of violence. Beating our chests and promoting draconian and unthinking laws only reveals the Legislature’s tendency for political pandering over sensible solutions. In the case of a trial, judges come to understand all of the circumstances of the crime and the convicted felon’s history. So the judge is in the best position to set the sentence and to protect the citizenry.”
Support this rally or for questions: (617) 606-3580 /info@bostonworkersalliance.org / BostonWorkersAlliance.org
To read more about sentencing reform: blackstonian.com / CJPC.org / ChurchandPrison.org / Exprisoners.org / FAMM.org / MCLS.net
For a detailed explanation of 3-strikes in Massachusetts, visit: http://bit.ly/yEKS8g
Endorsing Organizations*
Aid to Incarcerated Mothers, Alternatives for Community Environment (ACE), American Civil Liberties Union-MA, APIA Movement, Arise for Social Justice, Arlington Street Church (Social Committee), Artists for Humanity, Asian American Resource Workshop, Black Educators Alliance of Massachusetts, Blackstonian, Boston Workers’ Alliance, Cambridge Peace Commission, Center for Church and Prison, Chelsea Collaborative, City Life / Vida Urbana, Coalition Against Poverty / Coalition for Social Justice, Coalition for Effective Public Safety, Codman Square NDC, Community Change Inc., Community Church of Boston, Community Labor United, Criminal Justice Policy Coalition, Dorchester People for Peace, EPOCA – Ex Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Gavin House, Grove Hall Neighborhood Development Corporation, Hyde Square Task Force, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Jobs With Justice, Lansing Workers Center, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Marcus Garvey House, Mass Alliance of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (MAMLEO), Mass Jobs with Justice, Massachusetts Communities Action Network, MassUniting, NAACP New England Area Conference, National Association of Social Workers-MA, National Lawyers Guild-MA, Neighbor to Neighbor MA, New England United for Justice, Nuestra Community Development Corporation, Occupy The Hood Boston, Oiste Latino Civic Engagement Organization, Partakers, Inc., Prisoners’ Legal Services, Right to the City Alliance Boston, Rosie’s Place, Roxbury Dorchester Labor Committee, SEIU 1199 Healthcare Workers, SEIU 615 Janitors and Security, Side-by-Side Community Circle, Sisters At Work, Social Workers for Peace and Justice, SPAN, STRIVE, Inc., Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Northeastern University School of Law chapter, Survivor’s Inc., The Real Cost of Prisons Project, Union of Minority Neighborhoods / MARC, Unite Here! New England Joint Board, Urban League of Eastern Mass, UU Mass Action, Voices of Liberation, Young Cape Verdean Club
*Endorsement list is growing
After an uprising from the 99%, MBTA General Manager Jonathan Davis announced last night that neither of the agency’s proposals to slash service, raise fare hikes, and layoff hundreds of workers will be adopted. No details for the new proposal have been released. On January 3, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) released two proposals – both a toxic mixture of draconian service cuts and unacceptable fare hikes – to close the MBTA’s $161 million deficit for the coming fiscal year. But thousands of members of the 99% – including members of Occupy the MBTA and other advocates for seniors, the disabled, students, workers, low-income communities, and the environment – flooded public hearings and rallied to tell the MBTA, “No Hikes! No Cuts! No Layoffs!”
The MBTA’s retreat demonstrates the growing power of the 99% movement, but our work is far from done. We will not accept any plan that attempts that attempt to balance the MBTA’s books on the backs of those who can afford it the least. We will continue to demonstrate, speak-out, and Occupy to ensure that the MBTA’s final proposal does not include any cuts to service, layoffs or fare increases and to demand that the legislature develop a comprehensive, affordable, and sustainable transportation plan that works for the 99%. Public transportation is a right and must be accessible to all.Since January 31, over 6,000 people have attended 31 public hearings about the MBTA’s proposals, according to the Boston Globe. In addition, a coalition of organizations including OccupyMBTA, Mass Senior Action, the T Riders Union, Students Against T Cuts, the Save the T coalition, MassUniting, Occupy Boston, Occupy Somerville, Occupy JP and many more have taken to the streets over the last two months to raise awareness and organize opposition to the proposed fare hikes, service cuts and layoffs. Members of these organizations and the broader 99% organized several major marches and rallies, mic-checked on trains, and spread the message through flyering and social media.
Let’s keep the pressure on! Join us today at 12:30 as we rally inside and outside of the MassDot board meeting. And on April 4, we’ll bring our message to the State House (think Wisconsin!) for a people’s hearing and rally as part of our national call to action on public transportation.