TODAY In Portland---Support Occupy!

From Portland Jobs with Justice

Dear JwJ Activists,

As you are probably aware, Mayor Adams is threatening to shut down the
Occupy Portland encampment at midnight on Saturday. JwJ has signed on to
the following statement, and encourages everyone to show your support by
heading downtown on Saturday. For the full schedule of the day's events, go
to
http://occupyportland.org/2011/11/11/open-invitation-occu-fest/


Labor groups will meet at 6:45pm for a Labor and Community Support Rally
at the Labor Tent (SW 3rd and Main). Hope to see you there!

-----------------------------------------
Statement in Support of Occupy Portland

We support the Occupy Wall Street movement in Portland and around the world. It is a commendable and much-needed response to the corporate greed and government corruption that negatively affects so many people in our communities and beyond.

As organizations advocating for economic and social justice, we owe the men, women and youth of this movement a great deal of gratitude for the tremendous shift they have created in the national debate. After years of effort, the nation is finally beginning to consider the root causes of the nation's economic woes rather than seek out scapegoats. This positive momentum must be continued.

Obviously, the movement's successes have made it a target for those who prefer the status quo. We acknowledge that the Occupy Portland encampment is not without problems. That said, it would be wrong to suggest that the homelessness, mental illness, substance abuse and violence so often highlighted by the corporate media and certain public officials was created by the encampment. Putting the many hardships associated with poverty on public display should be a step towards addressing them, not an excuse for political repression. Volunteers within Occupy Portland have done an amazing job trying to address these issues and they deserve far more help and credit than has been given them thus far.

We urge the City to reconsider plans to forcibly remove demonstrators from Lownsdale and Chapman Squares, and to instead work with Occupy Portland to address whatever legitimate concerns exist regarding health and public safety. There is no shortage of peaceable and respectful actions the City could take to achieve those goals, while also protecting demonstrators' First Amendment rights.

We put the City on notice that we will not tolerate violence in any form against peaceful protestors.

(if your organization would like to sign on to this, please email
karikochs@gmail.com )