In Person Activism

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/15814967

This is a friendly reminder to show up at your public meetings and advocate for the positive change that you want to see in your community. Because morons like this will be there and in some places they're the only voice your municipality hears on active transportation.

A group of friends is currently planning to approach the local council about getting to rent or being ceded some kind of facility to use as community space and find out about other support options that might be available for such a project.

While working with local government (or depending on them) has its risks and might turn out to be the wrong approach, we will at least consider it in the beginning - it might be surprisingly easy to get a space in this way, considering the many empty and abandoned properties where we live. Stepping in with a project the council deems support-worthy could really get us started.

So for that, I would like to design a small brochure or presentation with our ideas and find that rather hard. I have a list with what we would possibly include in such a space, but could do with some inspiration as to how to present it so it highlights how the community will profit from this project.

Has anyone ever designed such a document, or knows of one they could share? Or has any ideas to share? Successful recipes could and should be copied, documented, passed on.

So far, imagining loads of space and a factory-sized building, the ideal community space could have:

Space for Community, Collaboration, Cooperation

Compost and growing

Outdoor event space

Metal/vehicle workshop

Community Kitchen

Office and collaboration space

Wood/Electronics workshop

CNC/3D printing/Hacker space

Indoor event space

Storage

Mushroom lab

Good Work Strike

One of the biggest problems for service industry workers is that many forms of direct action, such as Slowdowns, end up hurting the consumer (mostly fellow workers) more than the boss. One way around this is to provide better or cheaper service -- at the boss' expense, of course.

Workers at Mercy Hospital in France, who were afraid that patients would go untreated if they went on strike, instead refused to file the billing slips for drugs, lab tests, treatments, and therapy. As a result, the patients got better care (since time was being spent caring for them instead of doing paperwork), for free. The hospital's income was cut in half, and panic-stricken administrators gave in to all of the workers' demands after three days.

In 1968, Lisbon bus and train workers gave free rides to all passengers to protest a denial of wage increases. Conductors and drivers arrived for work as usual, but the conductors did not pick up their money satchels. Needless to say, public support was solidly behind these take-no-fare strikers.

In New York City, USA, IWW restaurant workers, after losing a strike, won some of their demands by heeding the advice of IWW organizers to "pile up the plates, give 'em double helpings, and figure the checks on the low side."

Never heard of that type of action. Sounds very effective.

Archived Version

This zine provides suggestions on how to defend pride eventsin an era of increased attacks against queer people in the United States. It looks at potential far right threats (Proud Boys, Neo-Nazis, far right media), how to organize (using affinity groups), the logistics of how to protect events, and how to look out for each others safety.

Archived Version

Documented actions that shared the spirit of of the zine (Archived Version)

Event in the Netherlands.

...non-profit organization with a mission: to repurpose technology and discover sustainable solutions while providing educational resources. Our ultimate aim is to foster a vibrant community where individuals are empowered to unlock their full potential. Through our dedicated efforts, we strive to transform the world by leveraging technology, sustainability, and education to create a brighter, more inclusive future, where every individual has the opportunity to thrive and make a meaningful impact.

Free Geek’s goal is to divert technology that would otherwise be recycled or thrown away, refurbish it, and give it back to our community at no or low cost.

Free Geek has created a unique circular model which points two existing societal problems - excess electronic waste in need of sustainable reuse and recycling, and lack of access to basic technology among vulnerable populations - back at each other to reveal innovative solutions.

Archived Version

Here is a map of current free stores in New York.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1LiHVRiKFOtkx0LwDIczp4KoseLhdDg9n&ll=40.75095081144914%2C-73.95967585&z=12

Also a similar project called the freecycle network lists towns across the world.

https://www.freecycle.org/find-towns

Lignite mining, express highways, gravel mining, parking decks, lime pits, and candy factories all have something in common that might not be obvious at first glance. Capitalists need to cut down forests to make way for them. But all around Germany, people are mobilizing to stop them. Over the past decade, forest occupations and forest defense actions have proliferated to such a point that we can now reflect on the movement as a whole.

Archived Version

Anti-fascist groups, often called “antifa,” are popping up all around the United States, and a number of people have asked us for advice on forming a group. Because antifa work is different from other forms of radical organizing, and because the antifa groups themselves are changing, we have written down some of our suggestions, based on years of experience. However, this article has been written in a very fluid political situation (February 2017), and some of these specifics may or may not be relevant in the coming months and years.

Archived Version

Even though we provide meals and groceries to thousands of people, we are not a charity. Food Not Bombs is trying to inspire the public to participate in changing society and focus our resources on solving problems like hunger, homelessness and poverty while seeking an end to war and the destruction of the environment. We are also showing by example that we can work cooperatively without leaders through volunteer effort to provide essential needs like food, housing, education and healthcare. When over a billion people go hungry each day, how can we spend another dollar on war?

A guide to building a successful solidarity network along the lines of the Seattle Solidarity Network, written by two SeaSol organisers, in text and PDF pamphlet format.

Archived Version

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/2463969

Archived Version

I got mad at all the "don't vote" meme propaganda, and went to look for how to volunteer with the Biden campaign, and instead I found this.

• IT Systems Engineer $90k-100k
• Data Engineer $95k

And so on.

Everything You Need to Know to Blanket the World in Posters

Archived Version