MAY DAY – A DAY FOR THE 99%

A DAY TO CELEBRATE, EDUCATE, AND AGITATE IN HONOR OF THE Millions of workers who have given their energy, their sweat& even their lives for the Freedoms you enjoy and the rights we respect and demand!

12 -12:45pm
Rally @ city hall

• Many of the 99% make very low wages. We call upon our representatives in Albany to RAISE the MINIMUM WAGE! (currently only $7.25 an hour)
• Even with a raise, the minimum wage is not enough for working people to live on! We need a LIVING WAGE, and the City of Rochester took a valuable step forward when it passed a living wage ordinance a few years ago. But far too few workers under contract with the City are actually receiving these wages. We call upon Mayor Richards to close the loopholes and pay all City workers the living wages that they deserve!
• Our public services are being taken away. We demand protection of our public services and their workers!

1- 4:15pm
May Day Teach-In @ The Metro Center
(55 St. Paul Street)

1pm – Keynote/Welcome from Dr. Serravallo (Expert in Labor Relation Issues from RIT)
1:15 – 2:05 WS Session I
2:10 – 3:00 WS Session II
3:05 – 3:55 WS Session III
4-4:15 closing speech by a Public Worker

Workshop Sessions will include:

*History of May Day*Growth of Economic Inequality*Know Your Worker Rights*

Immigrant Worker Rights * Woman Worker Rights * Housing Rights * History of Sit-Down Strikes*

4:30-6pm
Voices of the 99% – “Speak Out” @ the Liberty Pole

Proclaim, celebrate and recognize the variety and diversity of working people and their daily experiences with the voices of the 99%!

Topics will include:

*Immigrant Rights * Farmworker Solidarity * Workers Dignity- why workers need unions * Worker Justice: taking on Wage Theft * LGBT equality * Labor’s role in fighting Racism* Worker Cooperatives *

  Occupy Your Health III:

    Community Health Fair & Swap Meet

Occupy Your Health:

Rochester’s Alternative Health Fair and Community Swap Meet, hosted by Rochester Greenovation at 1199 E. Main St

Focusing on Western & alternative medicine, natural healing, bodywork, & holistic approaches to the health care system. A number of local practitioners, herbalists,nutritionists, therapists will be present. Also practitioners and teachers of Yoga, Tai Chi and Reiki.

This is a community organized event looking to offer a location where people who are interested in natural medicine and alternatives can come and learn without the pressure of denting their wallet. This is a FREE & open to the public.

Here’s the Official List of Participants

M.K. Gandhi Institute of Nonviolence                                         Wendy Burwell (Qi-Gong)

Rochester Greenovation                                                            Now & Zen

Rochester Take Back the Land                                                  Black Label Athletics

Terri Tubolino LMT                                                                      Teresa Principe

Len Mackey (Reiki/ Yoga)                                                            Blackfoot Soap

The Lobby                                                                                    Frank Boehm LMT

Smugtown Mushrooms                                                               Max Steinberg (Reiki)

Dr. Gregory Peechatt ND PhD (Naturopath)                              R-CAUSE (anti-hydrofrack)

Band of Rebels                                                                           Planned Parenthood

Rochester Metro Justice                                                            Rochester ECOpy

Health-E-Telemedicine                                                               Dayna Emmings

Highland Family Planning                                                           Occupy Rochester

St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center                                             Estella Verdouw ND

Rochester Single Payer                                                             Thermography Rochester

Jesse Ames LMT                                                                        Alex Landry LMT

Alternative to Violence Project                                                    Sue Maio

Desiree Sale L.Ac(Points of Harmony Acupuncture)                 Sample Soap

…AND MORE!

LIVE MUSIC BY:

Frank Boehm

The PickPockets

DJ Muerta Motora

between live sets

Rough Schedule for our FREE classes & presentations which are located in three separate areas for you to choose from:

Bring comfy clothes, your yoga mat, towel and anything to make you move!

Lets get in touch with the options we have available to us that aren’t driven by insurance company sick care ideologies.

There will be representatives from about 30 local practitioners, non-profits, clinics, advocacy centers, farms, and other social justice groups.

Health Care for all

NO MATTER WHAT

Bring your Trash and make it someone else’s Treasure to:

A SPRING SWAP MEET / Clothing exchange

Books, books, books, clothing, shoes, seeds, tools, music,

tinctures, herbs, comic books, zines, art, movies, treasures and trash

BRING IT DOWN

to exchange or give away

You can even bring it down early the days before the event…during business hours..

If the weather permits local artists Thievin’ Stephen, CRUK, and BILES will be painting the Greenovation Van out in front…

Get ready for awesome raffle prizes and our silent auction too!

Bring a dish to pass too! Community Potluck!

See you then…

This Sunday

April 29th 11am-5pm @ 1199 E. Main St

visit us online

http://www.occupyyourhealth.tumblr.com/

http://www.occupyrochester.org/

http://www.facebook.com/events/366994463342690/

Occupy Your Health: Our Second Alternative Health Fair and Community Swap Meet, hosted by Rochester Greenovation at 1199 E. Main St

Focusing on alternative medicine, natural healing, bodywork, & holistic approaches to the health care system. A number of local practition…ers, herbalists,nutritionists, therapists will be present. Also practitioners and teachers of Yoga, Tai Chi and Reiki.

This is a community organized event looking to offer a location where people who are interested in natural medicine and alternatives can come and learn without the pressure of denting their wallet. This is a FREE & open to the public.

Lets get in touch with the options we have available to us that aren’t driven by insurance company sick care ideologies.

There will be representatives from about 30 local practitioners, non-profits, clinics, advocacy centers, farms, and other social justice groups.

Health Care for all
NO MATTER WHAT

Community
Food
Demos
Tea
Art
Music
Classes
Herbs
INFO

Not to mention!

A SPRING SWAP MEET

Clothing exchange

Books, books, books, clothing, shoes, seeds, tools, music,
tinctures, herbs, comic books, zines, art, movies, treasures and
trash
BRING IT DOWN
to exchange or give away

visit us online

http://www.occupyyourhealth.tumblr.com/

http://www.occupyrochester.org/

http://www.facebook.com/events/366994463342690/

Rally against the criminalization of poverty and homelessness!

https://www.facebook.com/events/201107026666198/

Street music, educational speakers, and demonstrations raising awareness and demanding real change-

because an injustice against one is an injustice against all.

Imagine you are cold, hungry, and alone.
Maybe the banks foreclosed on your home. Maybe your medical bills finally overwhelmed you. Maybe you’re a veteran struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
You’re not the only one in this situation, and the shelters are full for the night. You find a quiet corner in a park, under a bridge, in an abandoned tunnel- wherever you can, and try to sleep.
Not too much later, you wake up with a flashlight in your eyes. You didn’t know this, but sleeping in a public space is illegal. Here’s a ticket you can’t pay. Here’s a court date you’ll struggle to make. Here’s an eventual bench warrant and criminal record.
Welcome to an ever-worsening cycle of poverty and desperation.

Now move along.

Loitering laws, anti-panhandling laws, and “quality of life ordinances” punish people for their economic status, and offer no solutions.
In major cities across America, feeding the homeless is now illegal. While we pour taxpayer dollars into the enforcement of these unjust laws, we slash funding to housing and other aid.

Human rights are being violated every day, sweeping the needs of our community under the rug and out of our sight. Let’s bring it back to the light and tell City Council and the Police Dept that we won’t stand for it anymore.

What is their Word Worth?

What happened to independent redistricting lines?

In front of the Rochester Convention Center, at 9:30am on Friday, March 16, 2012, the Electoral Reform Working Group of Occupy Rochester will hold a People’s Press Conference to inform the public of the false promises made by GOP legislators while campaigning in 2010. We will specifically highlight the fact that thirty nine Republican law makers signed a pledge calling for independent redistricting in New York State and then later reneged on those promises. “The Pledge,” sponsored by former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and NY Uprising, committed these legislators to create “non-partisan districts drawn with meaningful independence and transparency.” Since taking office, at least three bills promoting independent redistricting have been proposed, yet none of these same 39 Republicans have offered their support.

As engaged citizens of New York, who deeply believe that democracy only works if we can trust our elected officials, we feel that it is our constitutional duty to bear witness to this hypocrisy. For too long, we have seen both Republicans and Democrats say anything to get elected, only to later support legislation which directly rejects their campaign promises. In the case of the 39 Republican legislators who will be coming to the Flour City on March 16^th, we have their promises in writing. They cannot deny the promises they made and New Yorkers have the right to know that these promises have been broken.

Most New Yorker’s believe that voting districts should be non-partisan, contiguous and enfranchise all citizens. We stand with the people of New York and need the media to shed light on this issue and make the public aware of the lies espoused by these Republican legislators. What is their word worth and what happened to independent redistricting?

Republican State Convention is being held right here in our city…lets show them whose boss!

See you at the park or meet us in front of the Riverside Convention Center…!!!!!

Rochester, NY — Today at about 1:00pm members of Occupy Rochester filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court against the City of Rochester. The lawsuit asks for the court to enforce the contract between the City and Occupy Rochester and to order the City not to remove the protesters. Members of Occupy Rochester will be available for comment at 5:30 pm at Washington Square Park.

On November 11, 2012 Occupy Rochester entered into an agreement with City of Rochester which protects peaceful encampment’s first amendment rights to protest in Washington Square Park. The contract states that it “shall be renewed” for period of two months upon “substantial compliance.” Rochester, one of the only remaining encampments, has been a model for the nation in maintaining and using a public park as a center of organizing and protest.

No allegations of “non-compliance” have been issued nor have any other concerns been raised by the City of Rochester during our 4 months in Washington Square Park. Occupy Rochester even offered to end the encampment in exchange for a committment for tangible change on several issues of social and economic justice. Despite this, on Friday March 2, 2012 Mayor Tom Richards indicated to members of Occupy Rochester that he would ignore the contract and remove the protest encampment if it remained after March 11, 2012.

Occupy Rochester, in its brief existence, has brought many long-standing issues of social and economic injustice out of the shadows and into the light of public awareness. Issues like, the effects of the housing crisis, chronic homelessness, environmental concerns, corporate welfare have been championed by our broad, diverse movement, just to name a few.

Instead of working with social movements like Occupy Rochester to make Rochester a Human Rights City, Mayor Richards is bent on attacking the messenger and shoving these pressing issues back into the shadows. After fighting to prosecute us in court, only to have the charges dismissed, the city now seeks to waste more valuable time and resources to silence us again, resources that would be better used to address the very issues Occupy Rochester has been fighting for.

As the demonstrators at Occupy Wall St. boldly declared, “You can’t evict and idea whose time has come.” We stand by our constitutional right to protest (deleted) and will continue to fight for the issues that rallied thousands behind the banner of Occupy Wall St. We are the 99%

MAYOR RICHARDS TO MEET WITH OCCUPY ROCHESTER

March 1, 2012
Rochester NY – On Friday March 2, at 10:00 a.m., members of Occupy Rochester will meet with Mayor Richards at City Hall to discuss the renewal of the agreement and Occupy Rochester’s demands for change in the City of Rochester.

March 11 will mark the four month anniversary of Occupation of Washington Square Park and the Agreement signed between Occupy Rochester and the City. March 11 is also when the Agreement is up for a 2 month renewal. Being in substantial compliance with the contract, Occupy Rochester anticipates the renewal of this historic agreement which has been a model for how peaceful encampment protests can work amicably with city governments.

In the past the Mayor has stated he cannot address any of Occupy Rochester’s issues because it is only national in focus. However, in addition to its national agenda for change, Occupy Rochester has brought local demands for change to the last four City Council meetings. Some of these will be discussed with Mayor Richards including a proposal to make Rochester a Human Rights City in compliance with internationally recognized civil and economic human rights.

A press conference is scheduled after the meeting on the steps of City Hall.

For more information, contact John Smigle at 585-353-6397 or john.smigle@occupyrochester.org or Ryan Acuff 585-455-0961 or racuff@gmail.com