Month: July 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, July 23, 2012

Daybook/Assignment Desk

City of Sacramento Considers New Law Tuesday to Bar Protests at City Hall Without the City’s Approval; Civil Rights Lawyers, ACLU Board, Occupy Members to Voice Opposition

SACRAMENTO – Civil libertarians – including civil rights lawyers and members of the ACLU Board of Directors – will join Occupy Sacramento and other groups at a hastily-called news conference Tuesday (July 24) to announce opposition to a proposed City of Sacramento ordinance that will all but eliminate truly free speech on City Hall property.

The news briefing will be held at 2:45 p.m. in front of New City Hall TUESDAY (7/24/12).

The City Council Law & Legislation Committee holds a hearing at 3 p.m. on the legislation that would require a permit, fees, insurance and other requirements before free speech events can take place on City Hall property. (http://sacramento.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=21&event_id=21&meta_id=387073)
 
Currently, constitutionally-protected events can take place on City Hall property for 24 hours a day. The proposed law, recommended for approval by City staff, would halt that without the City’s approval.
 
The move is largely seen as an attempt to silence Occupy Sacramento, which holds small, peaceful demonstrations daily in front of Old City Hall.
 
Similar actions by cities – to create laws to limit an Occupy group’s rights after they have been established by law – have been thrown out by the courts.
 
The City has made 110 arrests of Occupy Sacramento activists since last year, and all of the cases have been tossed by the District Attorney, the courts or by the City itself, which has spent at least a $500,000 in tax dollars enforcing a curfew ordinance at Cesar Chavez Park.
 
The new proposed ordinance will now restrict and criminalize protest activities on other City property.

Join the national day of action, Tuesday, July 16, to:
• Demand that TIAA-CREF divest from Israel’s occupation of Palestine;
• Ask CalSTRS to use its influence to push TIAA-CREF;
•Tell Macy’s and other stores to stop selling SodaStream, which is made in an illegal Israeli settlement on land stolen from Palestinians.

TIAA-CREF, the mega-pension fund for many public employees and academics, is holding its annual meeting July 16 in Charlotte, N.C. But shareholders will not be voting on a resolution put forth by the national We Divest coalition asking the fund to end all investment in companies that “substantially contribute to or enable egregious violations of human rights, including companies whose business supports Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.” TIAA-CREF rebuffed a petition submitted by hundreds of shareholders; and the federal Securities and Exchange Commission ignored established law to allow the fund to keep the resolution off its agenda.

Around the country, activists are protesting at TIAA-CREF offices or other sites. In Sacramento, we’ll deliver a letter to the State Teachers’ Retirement System, one of the nation’s largest pension funds in its own right, which offers TIAA-CREF to its members as an option for retirement savings. We’ll ask CalSTRS to pass the message on to TIAA-CREF that it shouldn’t invest in occupation and other human rights violations.

While we’re at it, we’ll remind CalSTRS that some of its members are asking it to take a look at its own stock and bond portfolios, and to divest from companies guilty of complicity in the same acts. See http://www.israeldivestmentcampaign.org/

11 a.m.: Meet at the Macy’s mall entrance on Level 1 of Downtown Plaza (extension of K Street), the women’s clothing store just west of 5th Street (not themen’s/furniture store at the east end of the mall). Parking is free for three hours below the mall with validation from any business. We’ll proceed past the SodaStream display in Macy’s and give the store manager a letter asking Macy’s to stop selling the tainted fizzy water gizmo. We will then proceed across the river to the CalSTRS building, a few blocks away at 100 Waterfront Place, West Sacramento.

Noon: Assemble in front of the CalSTRS entrance (river side, between E and F streets) for a news conference and to deliver a letter to the fund’s CEO.

4:30-6:00 p.m.: Boycott SodaStream bannering at 16th & J. (Part of the 18-month+ local effort to ask stores to stop selling SodaStream and educate the public bybannering and leafleting Macy’s, Target, Costco, Walmart, Kohl’s, Staples, Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy, JC Penney, Sears, Emigh Hardware and Williams Sonoma.

Sacramento Jewish Voice for Peace and other supporters of the We Divest campaign: sacramento@jewishvoiceforpeace.org

SATURDAY, JULY 20, 11:00 am, Blow the whistle on Bank of America at the Oak Park branch, 3810 Broadway (near 5th Ave.). Whistles and signs will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. Mr. Monopoly will make an appearance, as may BofA CEO Bryan Moynihan.

Background: Recently, BOA employee whistleblowers said that the bank regularly rewarded employees with gift cards and cash bonuses for sending struggling homeowners into foreclosure. Employees were told to lie to homeowners, “lose” documents, falsify information—whatever it took to boost up foreclosure rates. Why? Because banks make lots of money in fees from “servicing” foreclosed homes, and sometimes lose money on modifications.

Join us on July 20 as WE blow the whistle on BOA, and demand justice for BOA homeowners who lost their homes, criminal prosecution of BOA officials, and a moratorium on foreclosures. (Carpool to Anaheim will leave after this protest.)