Post by vicki on Dec 5, 2011 21:16:27 GMT -7
Minutes
Occupy Montana General Assembly
Saturday December 3, 2001 at 3 pm
Location: a tent on Missoula County Court House Lawn
I. Introduction to GA process, including hand signals and agenda item categories. Agenda items were:
Announcements
Work Group Reports
Proposals
Discussion
Those present introduced themselves and said where they live. There were about thirty occupiers at this second Occupy Montana GA; we came from Helena, Great Falls, Superior, Stevensville, Arlee, and Missoula.
II. Announcements
A. Events planned for the rest of the weekend:
Pot Luck dinner on the Court House Lawn at 6 pm today (Court house Lawn)
Consensus Decision Making Workshop at Noon Sunday (Court house Lawn—moved to Union Hall due to cold and wind)
Occupy Missoula Facilitation Work Group Meeting at noon Sunday (Union Hall)
Occupy Missoula Forum at 1 pm Sunday (Union Hall)
Occupy Missoula GA at 2 pm Sunday (Union Hall)
B. Demonstration in support of US Postal Service workers at 7 pm on Tuesday November 29th in the Sentinel High School Gym was attended by 500 people. The USPS proposes to solve their budget problems by closing mail sorting facilities through-out Montana. If this proposal were implemented, the USPS would ship our mail to Spokane for sorting, and then ship it back for delivery. Many people in Montana would lose their jobs it this happens, but the action wouldn’t really save much money and would slow mail delivery. USPS budget problems are due in part to a 2006 requirement that the USPS fund their pension system for 75 years.
C. Occupy Oakland sent a message asking for coordinated action on December 12th when they plan a mass mobilization to shut down ports on the West Coast. The message was read aloud. A Declaration of Solidarity with this action was passed at the Tuesday Occupy Missoula GA. Since we don’t have ports in Montana, some occupiers plan a demonstration focused on rail transport.
D. Occupy North Carolina is pushing for an Occupy America event in Philadelphia on July 4th. They suggest that each Congressional District send two representatives.
E. Wednesday December 7th at 7 pm, Missoula Public Library Small Meeting Room. A CD of Paul Cienfuegos' talk, We the People, will be played. Paul is an international activist with a special interest in stopping corporate manipulation of communities and their resources.
F. Occupy UK. Two million people and 37 unions were in the streets protesting changes in pension plans.
G. Also on Wednesday December 7th, the Consensus Teach-in will take place in the Union Hall basement conference room. This Teach-in usually happens at 7 pm but this week it will be held at 5:30 pm to allow folks to hear Paul Cienfuegos speak at 7.
III. Work Group Reports
A. The Occupy Montana Tech On-line Work Group. To date, this is the only Occupy Montana Work Group. It was formed at the first Occupy Montana GA which was held in Helena on October 29th. They have obtained the domain name occupymontana.org and have established facebook and Twitter accounts. There has been collaboration between tech on-line folks from Missoula, Superior and Helena; they will expand in the future.
B. Occupy Great Falls will hold its first GA on December 7th at a local coffee shop. Carol knew of seven people in Great Falls who are involved.
C. Occupy Superior. Tim has been participating through Tiny Chat and has been working with Tech On-line. A software developer, he is interested in software applications that will enhance collaboration. He states that we need to expand beyond Missoula.
D. Occupy the University of Montana. They have applied to “be a group on campus” and are trying to get students at other Montana institutions of higher learning to organize Occupy groups.
E. Occupy Missoula Encampment Workgroup. Meetings will be held on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 11 am at the Encampment on the Court House lawn. The first meeting of this work group was held yesterday. They sent a funding request to Occupy Wall Street to buy more big tents, etc. The information booth at the gazebo is secure at night. The Encampment has to be secured at all times. This limits the camper’s ability to leave the Encampment. To solve this problem, the campers have developed a 72-hour shadow to allow others to become familiar with camp security concerns.
F. Occupy Missoula Consensus Workgroup. The group meets at 7pm in the Union Hall basement and has been studying the book On Conflict and Consensus: A Handbook on Formal Consensus Decision Making by C.T. Butler and Amy Rothstein, 1987-2007. The group will write up a proposal for the GA to adopt formal consensus.
G. Occupy Missoula Finance Work Group. Models from OWS were modified to develop proposals for financial operations. The proposals can be viewed on the Occupy Missoula website forum.
H. Occupy Missoula Facilitation Workgroup. The group meets during the hour before the GA’s to develop the agenda and identify roles.
I. Curtis states that a Local Business Forum or Expo is in the discussion stage.
IV. Proposals
A. An individual proposed that there be more collaboration among Occupy groups in Montana via the Internet.
B. Declaration of Solidarity with Occupy Oakland’s a mass mobilization on December 12th to shut down ports on the West Coast is proposed.
C. A person proposed that Occupy Montana as a whole do more actions.
D. A person proposed that Occupy groups in Montana demonstrate solidarity with the West Coast Port Shutdown.
E. A person proposed that we begin talking about and planning a Spring Occupy festival or event (either statewide or local.)
V. Discussion
This is the second meeting of Occupy Montana. Occupy Montana has not yet adopted a formal consensus decision making process or “official GA”. As such, this GA should not make decisions for all occupations in Montana. That being said, workgroups can be formed (which is what the Occupy Montana Tech On-Line folks did at the October 29th GA in Helena) and those workgroups can develop proposals for consideration at a future Occupy Montana GA.
It was suggested that Occupy Montana develop a process to discuss and get consensus on state-wide decisions. For example, it may be best if Occupy Montana decides whether to participate in the July 4th Occupy America event in Philadelphia and which two representatives would represent our Congressional District.
Formation of a Spokesperson Council to streamline state-wide decisions was suggested.
GA participants agreed that this GA should not make decisions for Occupy Montana (as only a few occupations were represented); we discussed the proposals and related topics, but made no decisions on specific proposals. Discussions included:
A. Tech On-Line workers in Missoula, Helena and Superior committed to continue their efforts to coordinate state-wide Occupy on-line collaboration. These folks already do a great deal of work and could use some help. Email occupymissoula@gmail.com or occupyhelena@gmail.com if you can help.
B. The Occupy Missoula GA consensed on Tuesday November 29th to make a Declaration of Solidarity with Occupy Oakland’s mass mobilization to shut down ports on the West Coast.
C. Individuals at the GA agreed that Occupy Montana could do more actions together.
D. Individuals at the GA will demonstrate solidarity with West Coast Port Shutdown through direct action.
E. Individuals at the GA thought it’d be great to get together this Spring for a party.
GA adjourned at 5:45 pm.
Occupy Montana General Assembly
Saturday December 3, 2001 at 3 pm
Location: a tent on Missoula County Court House Lawn
I. Introduction to GA process, including hand signals and agenda item categories. Agenda items were:
Announcements
Work Group Reports
Proposals
Discussion
Those present introduced themselves and said where they live. There were about thirty occupiers at this second Occupy Montana GA; we came from Helena, Great Falls, Superior, Stevensville, Arlee, and Missoula.
II. Announcements
A. Events planned for the rest of the weekend:
Pot Luck dinner on the Court House Lawn at 6 pm today (Court house Lawn)
Consensus Decision Making Workshop at Noon Sunday (Court house Lawn—moved to Union Hall due to cold and wind)
Occupy Missoula Facilitation Work Group Meeting at noon Sunday (Union Hall)
Occupy Missoula Forum at 1 pm Sunday (Union Hall)
Occupy Missoula GA at 2 pm Sunday (Union Hall)
B. Demonstration in support of US Postal Service workers at 7 pm on Tuesday November 29th in the Sentinel High School Gym was attended by 500 people. The USPS proposes to solve their budget problems by closing mail sorting facilities through-out Montana. If this proposal were implemented, the USPS would ship our mail to Spokane for sorting, and then ship it back for delivery. Many people in Montana would lose their jobs it this happens, but the action wouldn’t really save much money and would slow mail delivery. USPS budget problems are due in part to a 2006 requirement that the USPS fund their pension system for 75 years.
C. Occupy Oakland sent a message asking for coordinated action on December 12th when they plan a mass mobilization to shut down ports on the West Coast. The message was read aloud. A Declaration of Solidarity with this action was passed at the Tuesday Occupy Missoula GA. Since we don’t have ports in Montana, some occupiers plan a demonstration focused on rail transport.
D. Occupy North Carolina is pushing for an Occupy America event in Philadelphia on July 4th. They suggest that each Congressional District send two representatives.
E. Wednesday December 7th at 7 pm, Missoula Public Library Small Meeting Room. A CD of Paul Cienfuegos' talk, We the People, will be played. Paul is an international activist with a special interest in stopping corporate manipulation of communities and their resources.
F. Occupy UK. Two million people and 37 unions were in the streets protesting changes in pension plans.
G. Also on Wednesday December 7th, the Consensus Teach-in will take place in the Union Hall basement conference room. This Teach-in usually happens at 7 pm but this week it will be held at 5:30 pm to allow folks to hear Paul Cienfuegos speak at 7.
III. Work Group Reports
A. The Occupy Montana Tech On-line Work Group. To date, this is the only Occupy Montana Work Group. It was formed at the first Occupy Montana GA which was held in Helena on October 29th. They have obtained the domain name occupymontana.org and have established facebook and Twitter accounts. There has been collaboration between tech on-line folks from Missoula, Superior and Helena; they will expand in the future.
B. Occupy Great Falls will hold its first GA on December 7th at a local coffee shop. Carol knew of seven people in Great Falls who are involved.
C. Occupy Superior. Tim has been participating through Tiny Chat and has been working with Tech On-line. A software developer, he is interested in software applications that will enhance collaboration. He states that we need to expand beyond Missoula.
D. Occupy the University of Montana. They have applied to “be a group on campus” and are trying to get students at other Montana institutions of higher learning to organize Occupy groups.
E. Occupy Missoula Encampment Workgroup. Meetings will be held on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 11 am at the Encampment on the Court House lawn. The first meeting of this work group was held yesterday. They sent a funding request to Occupy Wall Street to buy more big tents, etc. The information booth at the gazebo is secure at night. The Encampment has to be secured at all times. This limits the camper’s ability to leave the Encampment. To solve this problem, the campers have developed a 72-hour shadow to allow others to become familiar with camp security concerns.
F. Occupy Missoula Consensus Workgroup. The group meets at 7pm in the Union Hall basement and has been studying the book On Conflict and Consensus: A Handbook on Formal Consensus Decision Making by C.T. Butler and Amy Rothstein, 1987-2007. The group will write up a proposal for the GA to adopt formal consensus.
G. Occupy Missoula Finance Work Group. Models from OWS were modified to develop proposals for financial operations. The proposals can be viewed on the Occupy Missoula website forum.
H. Occupy Missoula Facilitation Workgroup. The group meets during the hour before the GA’s to develop the agenda and identify roles.
I. Curtis states that a Local Business Forum or Expo is in the discussion stage.
IV. Proposals
A. An individual proposed that there be more collaboration among Occupy groups in Montana via the Internet.
B. Declaration of Solidarity with Occupy Oakland’s a mass mobilization on December 12th to shut down ports on the West Coast is proposed.
C. A person proposed that Occupy Montana as a whole do more actions.
D. A person proposed that Occupy groups in Montana demonstrate solidarity with the West Coast Port Shutdown.
E. A person proposed that we begin talking about and planning a Spring Occupy festival or event (either statewide or local.)
V. Discussion
This is the second meeting of Occupy Montana. Occupy Montana has not yet adopted a formal consensus decision making process or “official GA”. As such, this GA should not make decisions for all occupations in Montana. That being said, workgroups can be formed (which is what the Occupy Montana Tech On-Line folks did at the October 29th GA in Helena) and those workgroups can develop proposals for consideration at a future Occupy Montana GA.
It was suggested that Occupy Montana develop a process to discuss and get consensus on state-wide decisions. For example, it may be best if Occupy Montana decides whether to participate in the July 4th Occupy America event in Philadelphia and which two representatives would represent our Congressional District.
Formation of a Spokesperson Council to streamline state-wide decisions was suggested.
GA participants agreed that this GA should not make decisions for Occupy Montana (as only a few occupations were represented); we discussed the proposals and related topics, but made no decisions on specific proposals. Discussions included:
A. Tech On-Line workers in Missoula, Helena and Superior committed to continue their efforts to coordinate state-wide Occupy on-line collaboration. These folks already do a great deal of work and could use some help. Email occupymissoula@gmail.com or occupyhelena@gmail.com if you can help.
B. The Occupy Missoula GA consensed on Tuesday November 29th to make a Declaration of Solidarity with Occupy Oakland’s mass mobilization to shut down ports on the West Coast.
C. Individuals at the GA agreed that Occupy Montana could do more actions together.
D. Individuals at the GA will demonstrate solidarity with West Coast Port Shutdown through direct action.
E. Individuals at the GA thought it’d be great to get together this Spring for a party.
GA adjourned at 5:45 pm.