Today is the day for a planned general strike in Oakland – the first of its kind since 1946.
Occupy Oakland is calling on workers in the city to stay home today – and join in on a march to shut down the Port of Oakland – the nation’s fifth busiest port. The Oakland Longshoreman agreed to participate in the strike – as well as several labor unions – and a number of schools across the city are also planning to shut down.
City officials wrote a letter to Oakland business owners encouraging them to deadbolt their doors to prepare for the general strike. And Oakland mayor Jean Quan gave the go-ahead for public employees to stay home from work and participate in the strike too.
But Mayor Quan also has a mutiny on her hands, as Oakland police released an open letter to the mayor yesterday criticizing her actions in the crackdown against Occupy Oakland that left an Iraq War veteran in the hospital with brain damage. In the letter – the police say they are “confused” by the mixed signals she is sending both to the police and the demonstrators.
Things are getting very interesting in Oakland.