Open letter from a union in support of Occupy Portland; deeply true words...

[Rabblevox]

18th October 2011
Laborers’ Local 483 Municipal Employees:
Letter to Occupy Portland.
Dear Protestors of Occupy Portland,

We are the 900 member public employee union who build and maintain the infrastructure of your City of Portland, including the roads upon which you march today, the wastewater treatment facilities for the public toilets you use, and the parks that you occupy. We support your efforts through our daily labor. More than that, the Executive Board of Laborers’ Local 483 stands in solidarity with the Occupy Together movement to confront the injustice of economic inequality, the scapegoating of working class people, the vilification of labor unions, the exploitation of the unemployed and underemployed, and the corporate takeover of the Americas and the world.

We know you are committed to this fight. We have watched what is unfolding on Wall Street in admiration of the protesters’ courage and in dismay of the apathetic and sometimes brutal response of those in power. We support your “re”-occupation but ask you not to greatly endanger your health and welfare. We need you to stand with us over the coming years. After your occupation is over, it is our deepest wish that you settle in a comfortable place — hopefully a warm, dry home with your friends or family. Your sacrifices won’t be so visible then but your work will be far from over. We ask you to stand up for democracy every single day at your workplaces.

Organize with your rank-and-file co-workers no matter what their political beliefs or background. Form or join a union. If you don’t have a job, join us to demand a public works program with living wages and benefits for education, rebuilding of infrastructure, and public transit improvements. When Occupy Portland is over, we will still be standing with you.

Laborers’ Local 483 unites with Occupy Portland. You are the hope for the future.

In solidarity,
The Laborers’ Local 483 Executive Board.

From Occupy Portland:
http://occupypdx.org/2011/10/21/laborers-local-483-municipal-employees-letter-occupy-portland/

From Local 483:
http://www.liuna483.org/

(we ARE the leaders we've been waiting for!)

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. Hell yeah! k&r nt

[myrna minx]

2. K&R n/t

[L. Coyote]

3. Occupy Cyberspace - Occupy Together

Those warm at home can be busy in cyberspace, where the whole world can be occupied from everywhere at once.

[Rabblevox]

4. I wish I had mad hacker skillz to truly "Occupy Cyberspace", but the best I can do is...

to try and consistently practice my values online. Speak truth to power, be willing to forgive mistakes, look for allies EVERYWHERE, and always think about how our decisions today will affect our great-grandchildren.

In the meantime, I just made a batch of chocolate-chip/peanut-butter cookies that I'm taking to the Occupation (along with hand sanitizer and a spare tarp)

www.occupypdx.org

[PETRUS]

5. Touching. K&R

[L. Coyote]

6. BIG REC

[Rabblevox]

7. kick