Occupy Winston-Salem

We will have a meet-n-greet prior to the teach-in @ 7pm featuring local activist Janet Owen. EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT AMENDMENT ONE PLEASE ATTEND THIS MEETING! IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT AMENDMENT ONE ABSOLUTELY ATTEND THIS MEETING!! We will be discussing ways that local activists long-time and new can work together to educate and mobilize the greater Forsyth County public about this upcoming statewide vote on May 8! Click on the flyer for more info:

Several Occupy Winston-Salem members will be protesting NC House Speaker Thom Tillis this afternoon, WED Mar. 7 for his connections with A.L.E.C. (American Legislative Exchange Council) and his championing recent regressive, pro-big business, anti-worker legislation.

Wednesday, March 7th

Lewisville Elementary

150 Lucy Lane,

Lewisville, NC  27023 Rally starts between 4:30 PM and 5:00 PM. Town Hall starts at 6:00 PM

This is not an official Occupy Winston-Salem event and we have not, as a coaltion, chosen to endorse any specific party or candidate- however this will be an EXCELLENT opportunity to continue to expose the depth of corporate dominance over our political process.

For more on ALEC in NC: http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/a-primer-on-alec-its-influence-and-its-presence-in-north-carolina/Content?oid=2666829

 http://alecinnc.wordpress.com/

For in-depth coverage of ALEC: http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

Recent WSJ coverage: http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/dec/07/wsmet01-tillis-clarifies-no-new-funds-for-pre-k-ar-1685942/

RAIN OR SHINE FOLKS!!! Our day has had a BEAUTIFUL start (despite the serious faces in the screnshot haha! ) when we protested in fron of Wells Fargo and had another People’s Assembly at City Hall (right across the street).

We will see you ALL sometime 4-6. If you can only come for a bit come 4:30-5:30!!

RAIN PONCHOS PROVIDED! PEACE, LOVE, AND SOLIDARITY!

By the summer we hope to have visited every ward of Winston-Salem at least once if not several times. In response to the media negative hype that the Occupy movement ‘does not have a message’ we will bring specific demands to the Winston-Salem communities and hearing stories of how each aspect of global/national economic injustice affects our region. Every 99 days we will be focusing on several of our Points of Unity and connecting them with the wards that have been affected by these issues. Of course, this does not mean that many of us will not also be involved in other issues such as Foreclosure Prevention, however this campaign will help to ground us and push us to reach out to the Greater Winston Community instead of expecting everyone to always come to us. The 99 day strategy will also help to focus our resources, especially during the colder months and have a ‘road map’ of sorts that we can plan around. We will also be participating in several regional, national, and solidarity actions during this time.

PHASE I: FEBRUARY 14 – MAY 22

#1 Stand Up for Social and Economic Justice!

#2 We the People not We the Corporations!

#3 Free Speech is No Longer For Sale! (Money is not Free Speech!)

(Examples of possible future 99 Day projects could be: Money for Schools not Bombs: Stand Up Against War Profiteering and Education Cuts, Quality Healthcare is a Right not a Privilege, etc. )                                                        (please click image to enlarge)

The Sixth Annual Historic Thousands on Jones was by far the largest ever and a truly blockbuster event! One of the fantastic things about it was that we heard numerous slogans made famous by the Occupy Movement, which is exactly what we are about: galvanizing others to take a stronger stand on corporate greed, corruption, and economic and social injustice! The world is listening- have courage! Onward friends! North Carolina has People Power, yawl!

MEET 4-6p TODAY 2/10 AT REYNOLDS ON MAIN ST TO PROTEST UNFAIR LAYOFFS. If we approach 25 person capacity we will have another group picket further down 4th St!!

http://www.wxii12.com/news/30406698/detail.html
http://www.csnews.com/top-story-reynolds_american_sees_earnings_increase__begins_layoffs_at_tobacco_plant-60440.html

Sometime over the next week, OccupyWinstonSalem.org will be suffering some DOWNTIME. We are migrating control of the domain name to a different server, and this will require a short period where the website will not be functioning.

Not to worry, all of the current content should be retained without any trouble.

Sorry for the inconvenience,
Ethan Smith

There will be NO MEETINGS on Thursday 1/19/2012!!

Please join us at 5:30 City Hall (101 N. Main St.) as the Public Safety Committee reviews City Council Member Dan Besse’s proposal to amend city ordinance 38-3 pertaining to open-air public meetings. This is a concern to all citizens, since the proposed changes severely encroach upon First Amendment Rights to Free Speech.

Show your support against limiting free speech by helping us pack this meeting tonight.The meeting will be held in room 239.

Hope to see you there.

OK folks, it’s go time. Walkupy will arrive in Winston between 1 and 3pm tomorrow (12/31). Here’s what we know, and here’s what you can do to help.

I. Walkupy arrives in Winston at the Besthesda Center between 1 and 3 pm and will immediately move into feeding the homeless (as many as 50 people).

http://occupywinstonsalem.org/events/location/bethesda-center-for-the-homeless/

II.  After the meal we will walk from the Bethesda Center to City Hall, to arrive at City Hall around 4:00. This is not an official “march” or “parade” so be sure to obey all traffic laws (eg, wait for a green light to cross intersections). We will hold a rally (officially called a “picket”), and we have received a permit for up to 100 people; if more show than we can accommodate by separating into smaller groups. This will include a Mic-check stating our particular local and national concerns.

http://occupywinstonsalem.org/events/event/walkupy-ows-peoples-forum-at-city-hall/

III.  Following the rally there will be a potluck dinner at Marvin United Methodist Church. 4401 Indiana Ave, Winston-Salem, NC 27105-2513

IV. Later in the evening there will be a New Year’s Eve party, TBA.

What can you do?

1. We need your presence!

2. Invite friends

3. For the homeless meal:

a. Agree to bring one or more of the following:

1. plates, cups, forks, napkins

2. Sandwiches of all sorts

3. potato salad, cole slaw

4. drinks (soda, water, tea)

5. ice, trashbags

6. dessert

7. other

b. Agree to serve

4. For the walk: Agree to walk and bring a friend

5. For the rally at City Hall: Agree to participate, and bring a friend!

6. For the Pot Luck: Agree to bring food and drink.

7. Contact civic groups and/or churches to get more support.

Please email Mike McGuire right away and let me know what you are committing to for this event (e.g., “I will bring 25 ham and cheese sandwiches”): http://occupywinstonsalem.org/members/01234mike/ (call him if you already have his #!)

I’m sorry the specific times could not be better calculated, but it is hard for Walkupy to be exact due to the nature of the movement, ie, walking long distances.

Remember, what YOU do right now will make or break this event!

We are planning to be a part of Walkupy as they travel through our area. Below I will post the email I sent them and the response I received.

———- Forwarded message ———-

From: Ethan Smith

Date: Sat, Dec 24, 2011 at 10:08 AM

Subject: Walkupy in Winston-Salem

To: contact@walkupy.org

Cc: a_thomas_57@yahoo.com

To Whom It May Concern;

I am a member of Occupy Winston-Salem and am seeking information from you folks about your scheduled arrival in Winston. We established a working group for this event, and a man by the name of Thomas Garner is supposed to be getting in touch with you guys in order to help facilitate planning between you and us; however, as time is very short, I thought I would go ahead and contact you as well.

I have several questions that we need to have answered;

Do you folks have any plans for what to do in Winston and how you are going to do it?

How many folks do you have?
What are the approximate times for arriving and departing?

Do you already have a chosen route (into and out of Winston)?

Since we had not already spoken with you folks about it, we are planning a several things. We need to know from you ASAP to make sure we are on track:

We are attempting to locate a suitable place for you guys to camp (again, how many will there be?)
We are working on cooking meals during your stay

We are planning a parade/march to accompany you into and out of Winston.

Thanks!

Ethan Smith

Walkupy Mobile Occupation Headquarters walkupation@gmail.com

12:30 PM (30 minutes ago)

to me

Thanks Ethan,

You may get more than one response from us also. This is Garth writing here. I do finance and web administration for Walkupy. To answer your questions:

Plans for WInston-Salem are uncertain.

We will have 15-20 walkers.

We should arrive in the late afternoon on Dec 31st and leave by 9AM on the morning of Jan 2nd.

The exact route in and out of the city is not finalized.

About your plans……

A camping spot would be great. We are looking for a place that is suitable for holding a New Years Eve party where we would invite area Occupations. We will not publish the address but rather give it out individually to anyone who calls asking for it. The location does not necessarily have to be “legal”. If we don’t have official permission to be there then it will just have to be somewhat hidden from the road or inhabited structures. If you do not know of a suitable location then we will send our scouts ahead to look for a place.

Meals would of course be…..awesome!

An entrance and exit march would also be awesome.

Thanks Ethan. My number is 618-***-****. Call anytime.

Garth

We got shut down by the Winston-Salem Police Department.

He didn’t care about the ordinance. DO NOT GO TO CITY HALL TODAY. A video copy of this has already been sent to the ACLU. We will be looking for legal recourse beginning TOMORROW.

A sad sad day for THEIR ‘democracy’ but an awesome day for OURS.

**This post has been corrected to reflect that it was the Police Department who evicted the protestors, NOT the Sheriff.**

Hi all- We’ve had a great turn-out for our people’s forum. We were told to leave by the city manager and the police, but we STOOD OUR GROUND and won! This is a major victory…Power the people… We’re talking, singing, and hanging out on the lawn at City Hall. We’re staying up all night! PLEASE JOIN US IF YOU CAN!!

Hi all- The employment march this past Saturday in Greensboro went well. Total we had around 100 participants in the march.  The drumming group that came to our Wells Fargo CEO protest participated also. It was an excellent event. Well done everyone!

Occupy Winston will be CARPOOLING on Sat. Dec. 10th  from Thruway Shopping Center where Borders used to be at 10:30. We will be heading to the GREENSBORO PUBLIC LIBRARY. The March in Greensboro begins at 11:30 at the Library: 219 North Church St, Greensboro, NC 27402. Families are welcome to attend!

Event Info:
Meeting at the Greensboro Public Library heading to Governmental Plaza Saturday December 10th assembling at 11:30 in front of the downtown library, marching through Greensboro to end at the governmental plaza for a rally with speaker from organized labor, the community, and youth. NC has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs since 1990, lost 70k 2009 alone which is the 8th highest loss of manufacturing jobs of any state in the US. The current efforts at economic development paid for by our tax money to attract businesses is broken because it leads to business coming and leaving in unpredictable cycles that devastate the working class. For instance, Greensboro celebrates the arrival Honda Jet while at the same time mourning the departure of American Express. This so called jobless recovery has meant growing poverty and despair for far too many of the people who make up the 99%. We need to imagine and create new ways of developing businesses that are rooted in our community; that producing jobs and community wealth; paying living wages that keep up with inflation; and not polluting the environment. This march is the beginning of our ongoing local efforts to draw together the employed, underemployed, and unemployed in a community wide effort to build a new economy.

On Sat. about 40 of us from Occupy marched for homeless children as part of the Holiday Parade. It went well and the participation turn-out was great! We had about 45 show up for our GA on Sat. at the Central Library. We discussed occupying and foreclosure.

Hi all- Today we had a spirited crowd of about 40 protest John Stumpf CEO of Wells Fargo in front of the Benton Convention Center today. Members from Occupy Greensboro and Charlotte joined us as well as an awesome drumming group that vamped the atmosphere of the protest up!!!  It was a great event and went very well. The response to us from the public was mostly positive, so pat on the back for everyone who participated and well done!

We will be having a facilitation meeting at 5:30 on Thursday Dec. 1st at Krankies.

We had a successful meeting at City Hall on Monday night. As many of you know, we declined the occupy site the city offered. We gave the council a counter offer to occupy Civic Park. We are now in negotiations with the city in regards to our new site.

Hi all- We need a strong presence at the City Council Meeting this Monday from 7- 9pm. We will be discussing the Occupy site. Please join us! Come early to get a seat.

PLEASE Join Us Sat. Nov. 19th @ 1 pm for the weekly General Assembly at the Forsyth Co. Public Library Southside Branch (near Parkland High School, not downtown…). Address= 3185 Buchanan St. Winston-Salem, NC 27127. Phone: 336-703-2980.

 We will be discussing breaking & evolving events including physical Occupy encampment updates, a support local winston businesses initiative & planned upcoming rosa parks (BIG support) and john stumpf/W-S CoC (wells fargo ceo- BIG protest) demonstatrations !!

Note: PLENTY of neighborhood (directly across street) ‘overflow’ parking available for southside library!

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE !!!

There is a communications meeting scheduled at 7pm for Thursday, Nov. 17th at Krankies. Hope to see you there..

Occupy Winston-Salem has received a proposal from the City of Winston-Salem per our request for a space to occupy. The following proposal will be brought before the Public Safety Committee meeting Monday, November 14th 2011 at 5:30PM at City Hall in Winston-Salem. If the proposal passes through that Committee, then it will be added as an agenda item for the next City Council meeting on the following Monday, November 21st at 7:00PM at City Hall in Winston-Salem. All Occupy Winston-Salem members are encouraged to review this proposal and be present at both of the meetings at City Hall. ***PLEASE TAKE NOTICE OF THE USAGE RESTRICTIONS AS THEY ARE PROPOSED***

City Council – Action Request Form

November 14, 2011

Mayor Allen Joines and Members of the City Council

Lee D. Garrity, City Manager

Council Action Requested:

Consideration of an Encroachment Agreement for Occupy Winston-Salem.

Summary of Information:

The Occupy Winston-Salem group has requested that the City provide them public land in order
to camp. A review of available public land that would satisfy the groups desires: visible, close
to downtown, near public facilities, and close to major roadways found that very few suitable
public sites would work. The one site that could work is the parking lot at the intersection of
Seventh and Marshall Streets. A map of the potential camp site is attached.

Staff from the Police Department and the City Attorney’s Office have concerns about
authorizing any group to camp on City-owned land. The Police Department concerns all relate
to safety and security and are based on the problems other cities have had at Occupy type camp
sites recently. Another primary concern of the department is the possibility that the camp site
could create the need for more City and more WSPD resources.

The City Attorney’s primary concern is the precedence this approval would set and the
obligation it would therefore place on the City to approve camp sites for other groups regardless
of who the group is and regardless of its message. A second concern from the City Attorney is
the City’s liability for any injuries or property damage which might occur in the camp area. This
concern is being addressed with a liability release requirement.

RESOLUTION APPROVING AN ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT
FOR OCCUPY WINSTON-SALEM

WHEREAS, the Occupy Winston-Salem Group has requested that the City authorized

their group to use designed public land for a camp site; and

WHEREAS, the Occupy Movement is a nationwide initiative which has requested

camps in many major cities in and beyond North Carolina with some cities approving and some

cities denying these requests; and

WHEREAS, the decision on approval or denial of these requests in other cities has

generally rested with the elected governing body; and

WHEREAS, the City of Winston-Salem does not have a mechanism or policy that would

allow City staff to grant permission for the usage of public property for a camp site; and

WHEREAS, there are staff concerns about the precedent that granting approval for this

use that cannot be appropriately balanced against the public needs of this group without the

direction of the governing body; and

WHEREAS, an encroachment agreement approved by the City Council could be a

mechanism for the City Council to use in giving direction and granting a permission; and

WHEREAS, an encroachment agreement can place restrictions on the use of the City

property to address health, safety, security and property damage issues; and

WHEREAS, the Occupy Winston-Salem Group has agreed to maintain the area

designated by the City in a safe, secure, clean and healthy manner and to remove all equipment

and clean the site upon leaving.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Winston-

Salem does hereby authorize the City Manager or his designee to issue a 30-day encroachment

agreement that may be renewed by the City Manager for additional 30-day periods as long as

both the City Manager and the City Council remain of the opinion that the restrictions on the use

are being met and that the continued use is in the best interests of the City.

Usage Restrictions

Term: This approval shall be for a period of up to 30 calendar days and may be renewed for
additional 30-day periods if the City finds that the Occupy W-S group has complied with the
usage restrictions and the use continues to be in the public interest.

Early Termination: The permission to use the site may be terminated by the City, if the
City finds that the Occupy W-S group or other users of the designated property have violated
any of the use provisions or any City, State, or Federal laws, regulations, or ordinances while
on the site.

The group shall hold the City harmless and release the City from any liability for injuries or
property damage which may occur as a result of the City’s allowing the area to be used.

Safety: The site shall be kept secure and individuals not affiliated with the Occupy W-S
group or not complying with the safety rules of the group or of the City shall be required
to leave the property. Adequate safety personnel shall be assigned to assure the safety of
attendees. The City will install temporary fencing along the perimeter of the assigned area
to aid security and establish one entrance/exit point. The group shall establish access control
protocols to prevent the occupancy capacity of the site from being exceeded.

Crime Reporting: Camp managers will report any crimes which occur in the camp to the
Police Department through the appropriate contact phone numbers.

Public Official Access: The camp area will be open to public officials for inspection and to
Police/Fire Department staff for conducting official business.

Occupancy: No more than 48 people will be allowed within the camp area at any one time.
In addition, only persons leasing parking spaces will be allowed in the remainder of the
parking lot outside the camp area. No more than 12 tents will be allowed within the camp
area, and no more than 24 campers will be allowed to stay overnight.

Heating/Cooking: No heating and cooking devices will be allowed inside the tents at
the camp site. No devices which emit flames, fire or heat or which use any flammable or
combustible material will be allowed in the camp.

Smoking and Fire Extinguishers: No smoking will be allowed in the camp site. Portable
fire extinguishers of quantity and location established by the Fire Marshal shall be placed and
maintained by the Camp Managers.

Garbage Disposal: The City will provide up to five 96-gallon roll-out garbage cans that
will be collected daily. The camp residents and visitors will dispose of all garbage in these
cans. The City will also provide recycling containers, and camp residents and visitors are
encouraged to utilize these for recyclable materials.

Toilet Facilities: The Camp Managers will assure that adequate portable toilet facilities are
rented, delivered, and serviced at intervals adequate to meet the sanitary needs of the campers

Vendor Restrictions: Vendors will not be allowed within the designated camp area.

Emergency Contact Phone Number: The group will establish and keep active an
emergency phone number which connects to group on-site staff so that the City will be
able to contact an on-site individual for answers to any questions about current problems or
concerns the City may have.

Standard Rules of Particular Concern: Although as indicated above the group must
comply with all the applicable laws and regulations, the following specific laws should be
carefully studied by the group to assure compliance.
• The City’s Protest Ordinance
• The City and County Noise Ordinance
• The City and State Firearms Restrictions

Area Appearance and Cleanup: The designated area shall be kept neat and clean. No
debris or debris generating materials shall be allowed. Examples of prohibited materials
include sawdust, straw pine needles, and mulch.

Physical Damage: The driving of posts, anchors, stakes, or other devices into the ground or
through the pavement will not be allowed.

Normal Operation of Remaining Site: The group shall manage their activity and that of
any visitors to assure that normal operation of the remaining parking lot and surrounding
businesses is not negatively affected.

Obstructions: No obstruction to the normal flow of stormwater into the parking lot drainage
system will be allowed.

Hi Occupiers! We need all the support we can get tomorrow (Nov. 11th) at the Veterans Day Parade.. We need to be lined-up no later than 9:30 am. We are lining up on 4th St. We are group number 22. The parade starts at 10 am. Look for us and the WE ARE THE 99% banner! Hope to see you there.

A spirited crowd of nearly 200 celebrated Move Your Money day with a protest march through downtown Charlotte; culminating in a gathering in the heart of their financial district. Occupy Winston-Salem joined with Occupy Charlotte to show solidarity against the banking system.

Kudos to everyone who represented Occupy Winston-Salem well & thank you to all who made donations to Charlotte!

GA Mtg TODAY – Sunday, Nov 6th . Community Arts Cafe 3pm (details ->)

Many exciting topics on the agenda - hope to see you there!