FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                            CONTACT: Robbie Clark
June 9, 2015

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

Oakland Community Groups, Residents, Unions Culminate Daylong Campaign of Direct Action

Residents and workers call in mayor, city council to reinvest in communities, workers and vital services ahead of the june 30th budget deadline

OAKLAND:  After a contentious three weeks in which the city has seen a ban on nighttime protests, uproar over proposals to sell off public land to build a luxury housing development and ongoing budget negotiations, residents, tenants’ rights groups, fast food workers and supporters are coming together for a “day of action” calling on city leaders to “ReInvest in Oakland.”  The day will focus attention on  the upcoming two year budget at a time where Oakland residents are experiencing rising housing costs, driving families out of the city, increased inequity in distribution of city services and a protracted battle with City Leaders over a “curfew” that limits the voices of residents to peacefully protest. 

The day will include events that begin @ 8am and stretch well into the evening.  The full schedule is as follows:

8am:  Tenants organizing with Causa Justa::Just Cause (CJJC), are coming together to demand the enforcement  of laws to protect the rights of tenants against the threat of bad acting landlords and the City of Oakland ahead of a decision that could deprive Oakland renters of enforcing a recently passed “Tenant Protection Ordinance.” 
Time & Location:  8am @ Telegraph & West Macarthur Blvd.  
Contact:  Robbie Clark—510-693-0605

11am:  McDonald’s and other fast food workers from across Oakland will be rallying to call on the City to actively enforce the recently passed, Minimum Wage & Paid Sick Days Bill.  Workers will be sharing stories then entering city hall to call on city leaders to take immediate action.
Location:  Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, on the front steps followed by workers filing live complaints and calling for action inside city hall
Contact:  Jennifer Alejo—213-924-5046

3:30pm:  Residents from flatland neighborhoods across Oakland will be calling on the City to reinvest in Public Services.  This comes as some roads in Oakland’s most impoverished communities are literally crumbling and neighbors are continuing to battle chronic illegal dumping that has turned some parts of the City into a public health hazard.
Location: Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, on the front steps followed by residents bringing pictures of illegal dumping and hazardous road conditions inside city hall
Contact: Anya Svanoe—612-412-7262

4:30pm:  Community groups, tenant rights’ organizations, private and public sector workers will be gathering on the steps of city hall to hold a short press conference and lay out a “community budget” platform ahead of a June 30th vote @ the Oakland City Council for the upcoming, 2 year budget.
Location:  Steps of Oakland City Hall

7pm:  Black Youth Project 100, along with the Black Lives Matter Bay Area Chapter will join with allies, residents and supporters for a “Whose Streets? Our Streets” Rally and March to call attention to the city continuing to marginalize the voice of activists across the city calling on an end to the War on Black Lives and a series of demands related to police accountability and a fair and equitable budget. 
Location:  Oscar Grant Plaza in downtown Oakland 
Contact: Robbie Clark-510-693-0605

Background: The Oakland City Council is weeks away from negotiating a budget that could impact thousands of residents, tenants and workers.  So far the city has failed to commit the resources needed to fully enforce a number of recently passed laws that aim to protect and enhance the lives of tenants and workers including the “Tenant Protection” Ordinance and the voter approved, Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Days Initiative.  Additionally, as the need for increased public services continues to rise, city workers are still grappling with recession-era wages that have not been restored amidst an upturn in the economy and a growing number of permanent, part time workers that currently outnumber full-time employees.  Organizers of Wednesdays events see much of this rooted in a lack of institutional equity and are also calling for the creating of a Department of Race & Equity, especially as the city’s historic black and brown populations continue to be pushed out of the city due to high cost of housing and a lack of adequate jobs. 

The ReFund Oakland Coalition is comprised of over 15 community, faith and labor organizations representing thousands of residents and workers from across the city. 
 

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