tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423590579776359125.post7607129650715977043..comments2022-11-05T06:20:43.490-07:00Comments on Occupy Movement - Occupy Oakland: The Occupy Oakland General Assembly & Autonomous Action EndorsementBella Eiko - Spreading the wordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14157446869881359620noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423590579776359125.post-3001653997703699012012-01-18T18:35:44.564-08:002012-01-18T18:35:44.564-08:00Hi Bella!
Let me clarify about the money we recei...Hi Bella!<br /><br />Let me clarify about the money we received from OWS.<br /><br />First, let me clarify that when I say "we received", I mean every penny of the money from OWS went to our Occupy Oakland finance committee. Tim, from that committee, responded to you above, and the process they have is one of the most professional and transparent amongst the Occupys. That doesn't mean that everyone gets anything they ask for, and there are rules about what the money can go to, but the process is accountable and you definitely don't need to rely on hearsay, you can always find out what was requested / spent / denied from the people who handle the money.<br /><br />So there were two donations from OWS over the last 3 months. Both were earmarked for particular types of expenditures. The first donation came after the first raid on our camp in October. We got $20,000 to put in a bail and medical fund, not to be spent on anything other than bailing folks out and helping injured people get care. We also got thousands of dollars worth of tents in that proposal, but those were bought for and shipped directly to us. I think most of that bail money has been spent, since weve had a lot of folks arrested.<br /><br />Then, the second donation came just weeks ago, when we asked OWS to help defray the costs of the port shutdown. They amended our proposal, and have nowsent $25,000, which has just now been transferred to us. However, not all of that money is designated for OO's general fund. OWS gave conditions, specifying that $5,000 goes to Occupy bail, up to $8000 is a REIMBURSEMENT for 12/12 expenses. This replenishes our General Fund, and can be used for anything Occupy Oakland needs it for. The rest, about $11,000 is slated for Longview related expenses, and of that at least $9,500 of that will be used to reimburse Occupy Longview, Occupy Portland, and Occupy Seattle for expenses related to the upcoming EGT grain ship blockade. Any unspent money will revert to Occupy Oaklands general fund. The reason this money is coming through Occupy Oakland is that people trust our finance committee and the inter-occupy coordination we were able to do for the Port Shutdown.<br /><br />I appreciate the way you lay these concerns out clearly without accusing. At the same time, I worry about where the people who are talking to you get their information. Some of us in the labor solidarity committee have been hearing rumors that accuse us of shadowy financial shenanigans... They see we are moving big finance proposals and OWS is sending all this money, but somehow, Occupy Oakland is still poor. The truth is, compared to OWS and most non profits, unions, etc, Occupy Oakland has always been "poor". <br />But we're making the situation much better, not worse. <br /><br />For the record: anyone who thinks the port shutdown took resources away from Occupy Oakland is wrong. We said, when we asked the GA for funds, that we would seek to cover these expenses later. We worked, very hard, for a month! after the action, to make good on that promise. And the port shutdown is the only OO action project where the working committee managed to completely offset the cost of the action... So we are proud to have delivered on our promise. We should be proud, we coordinated the biggest direct action the country has seen in a long time, and didn't end up costing Occupy Oakland a single penny!krystofnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423590579776359125.post-85265326559196598462012-01-18T14:12:41.676-08:002012-01-18T14:12:41.676-08:00I just wanted to reply and say thank you for addre...I just wanted to reply and say thank you for addressing some points within the blog. I am someone who has not needed to really deal with the finances and so I am writing form the things I hear as far as that is concerned. I am hoping that this can clear some things up for some folks. Thanks again :)Bella Eiko - Spreading the wordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14157446869881359620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423590579776359125.post-30188739853701288592012-01-16T20:11:32.683-08:002012-01-16T20:11:32.683-08:00Hi - Just to clarify This is just in reference to...Hi - Just to clarify This is just in reference to issues about bail - our committee does not have any say over other financial matters in occupy oakland the bail policy for Occupy Oakland - as stated through the Anti Repression Committee that deals directly with bail and court/ jail support is - Unless there is an emergency situation we will only bond people out after their arraignment. The reason for this is that at that time the bail is often dropped or seriously reduced. If people choose to bail themselves or their friends out before the arraignment we do not guarantee any reimbursement. This policy was passed through the GA. Of course its unfortunate and understandably frustrating if folks weren't aware of this policy but we just dont have the money to bail everyone out before their arraignment. if folks have qustions about this they can reach us at antirepression@occupyoakland.org <br />thanks again for your insight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423590579776359125.post-79624011650082997032012-01-16T19:20:56.648-08:002012-01-16T19:20:56.648-08:00Thank you for your reply and putting the contact i...Thank you for your reply and putting the contact info and meeting times on the blog. I will call for details and post them to the blog as well. Thanks againBella Eiko - Spreading the wordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14157446869881359620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5423590579776359125.post-67309213508739167412012-01-16T19:10:27.748-08:002012-01-16T19:10:27.748-08:00Hello,
If you have concerns about the Finance Com...Hello, <br />If you have concerns about the Finance Committee, we are available via email and phone:<br />finance@occupyoakland.org<br />voicemail: 510-239-3935<br /><br />We have posted the financial statement for November on the occupyoakland.org website. You can download all of it here: <br />http://occupyoakland.org/2011/12/finance-committee-financial-statements-nov-30-2011/<br /><br />Additionally, we will release another statement in December, showing expenditures and income. <br /><br />Also, the procedures for requesting funds are posted online as well:<br />http://occupyoakland.org/2011/11/welcome-to-the-finance-committee/<br /><br />Our meetings are each Thursday at SF Pizza on Broadway, from 6:00 pm onwards. We welcome newcomers, so please come if you have questions or concerns.Tim F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08348799705906593084noreply@blogger.com