9-8-09 LOC meeting at MWRO Office

DLOC Meeting 9.8.09

Notetaker: Dessa Cosma

I. Introductions: skipped for times-sake

II. Community Agreements: read by Rocio

III. National Update on Budget

a. Rocio: How do committees get budget to work? Ask work groups or NPC? We heard from Resources Committee (George Friday) with a template budget. Rocio will forward on to committee chairs to create budget. There is a $5,000 cap, but this doesn’t mean that you have $5,000. Some will need more and some will need less. Anchors decided that there will be a submission process to get money. Political aspect: want to make sure that people are working to raise their own money, and that the revolution is funded. We will be taking donations at meetings (jar is passed a the meeting), we’ll be asking churches for $49 each (if we get all of them to participate that will be over $250,000). Our message has to get beyond the DLOC- this table isn’t big enough to raise money or do the work.

b. Chairs were sent questionare today from Rocio and it is due back in two weeks (9.22.09) with a budget proposal from each committee.

IV. Labor Day Recap: Thanks to everyone who came out, we did a lot of outreach.

a. Ric: Signs weren’t big enough for everyone to see. Was it a budget issue or volunteer issue? Maureen: The three signs we had were hand made by Cultural Committee. As we go forward, we’ll have larger signs. 1,000 cards made in Spanish and 1,000 in Spanish and 5,000 in English- most of this got given away. Great crowd on Woodward and people were supportive. Good that we put on Universal Healthcare on there. Tom: we had an obvious presence. We got our message across, and expressed our labor views and we should follow up with local labor unions too.

b. Dessa: did the volunteer coordination of the outreach committee work for people? Would we want to do that process again? Rocio: didn’t know where to pick up materials for Labor Day? Dessa: That had to do with Goodwill printing closing and us getting our materials later than planned. Quintin: apologized for missing Labor Day due to Transportation.

V. Political Conversation: We’re not capitalizing on Obama being president even though he’s not where we’re at exactly) and we’re not being everywhere where we need to be (eg. Bus rally)

a. Maureen: we need to have a calendar of events, like the Hansen Clarke Health Care

b. Tom: we are working on a calendar of events in the Outreach Committee. Confrontation draws people in- we need to get in people’s faces.

c. Quintin: Saturday the 20th anniversary of the ADA is happening in DC. We want to outreach to the Disability Community better.

d. Ric: the amount of stuff going on is huge- how do we decide what to go to and why (Political)? Everyone’s got so much going on.

e. Maureen: we need to pull together a calendar of events with all the events going on – but we can’t get to all of them, so we need to pick and choose where we need to go- but we need to know what’s going to be able to do this. We can’t respond to all of the things going on. We need to be seen as a group of folks on the right path. We can divide up the task of getting to everything.

f. Michelle: the calendar is a great tool, email database, one line slogan to repeat at meetings we all go to create a buzz.

g. Reg: not everyone does public things- we have to be able to find them too. How do we put together a master list of orgs to outreach to? We are gathering a good name for ourselves and need to keep going.

h. we can say something about “helping to make the change happen” to tie ourselves to Obama in the best way.

i. Nisa: Outreach has been working on both the calendar of events (physical and online) and a list of organizations we need to reach out to.

j. Rev. Row: We can decided to do civil disobedience, but we need to decide how- we need to prepare, train, etc.

k. We have a slogan: Another World is Possible. Another US is Necessary. Another Detroit is happening. This may not be an invitation though- we need to make sure that what is said includes an invitation.

l. Marion: we have to let people know about the suffering people are experiencing. We have to quit suffering quietly. We can have a tribunal to have people talk about health care and our need for it. We got to be more raw and show people that this government needs to be indicted for taking advantage of our misery.

m. Bill WK: we bring together Movements at the USSF and the People’s Assembly comes up with the political agenda. But there are two ways of looking at it- and both make sense.

n. Julio: to what degree of organizing the USSF are we deciding it’s political nature?

o. Tom: we have to relate the USSF to everyday issues. We have to dramatize a few things: this is a devastating thing going on, the USSF is a good way to deal with it, and you don’t have to wait for the USSF to do it.

p. Quintin: what do we mean by confrontation?

q. Tom: we need preparation with our confrontation. We need to be direct. Context and Timing.

r. Rich: urgency to act now, don’t just wait for the Social Forum. We can put forward alternatives and resistance. We need to figure out what acts of resistance to engage in. Can the USSF be more than a place where people share what they’re doing? Can it also be a place where there are events that build toward the USSF itself?

s. Maureen: Yes. Don’t divorce the USSF from the work we’re doing. We use it to reach people. We don’t want the USSF to be just about talking. The People’s Movement Assembly is the decider of what the USSF’s political decisions are. But we bring in our work into the process of planning and getting peole to the USSF itself.

t. Reg: confrontation is varied, not just direct action. A tribunal is confrontation. Email and phones can be confrontational. We have to look at the different forms of confrontation.

u. Julio: we have to confront the issues, give it passion. There are different ways of doing things, we do advocacy, but we need to get people involved in the work that benefits them too. Build momentum through advocating for issues and engaging more people.

v. Tom: we need to dramatize the issue and frame according to the USSF.

w. Rev.Row: where does this conversations go from here? Do we pick some issues to put the USSF name on?

x. Rocio: this movement is about sustainability. Bring these ideas back to committees and at the next DLOC we can report back about ideas. We’ll have to plan

VI. Report Backs

a. Religion-Bill WK: didn’t mean since last meeting, but has refined copy of mission. Has subcommittees that will meet with other committees: action, logistics, outreach and program.. Sub-committees are meeting in the next week.

b. Logistics: no new hotels have been confirmed, but some are being signed on in the next week. Looking at meeting rooms at U of D Law School, etc. Waiting for return calls about security. New committee member does coaches. Youth encampment: looking at areas that will work. They have two resumes and the committee will discuss. Next Meeting here at 5:30 next Tuesday.

c. Sustainability: not here.

d. Communications- Reg: finalized hiring process for national communications coordinator. 3 resumes have been considered. Closes Friday. Recommendation will be done by Friday. Also worked on Labor Day hand out.

e. Technology-Lou: Working on registration forms for groups and individuals who want to be at USSF.

f. Culture and Programming-not here.

g. Outreach/Potluck-Nisa: State of The Schools potluck is the 17th. We need to provide tables and chairs to the site, program is finalized, students will facilitate conversation- in an effort to help spring the youth committee. Next potluck is Oct. 15th- theme, LGBT (National Coming Out Day) Let Outreach know if you have contacts we should invite, include. DLOC orientation schedule: are people cool with Outreach managing this process? (Yes!)

h. Labor-Rich: Labor meeting was powerful. Julio: TRW issue relates as well.

i. Disability- Quintin: want to network out to disability community about the USSF and want a focus to be disability issues. Next meeting is 9.22.09 at 3 pm at MWSRO. Janice: people on the Disability committee can be mentors to other committees to make sure they are not overlooking these issues. What is the way to make this happen? Quintin: people with disabilities are often invisible and we want to work to help people realize that people with disability are valuable to our diversity.

j. Immigration-Michelle: have been discussion outreach in the Latino Community particularly, safety issues, youth, creating narrative about the USSF, group is in development stage, creating a pamphlet to use for outreach.

VII. Committee Structure Questionare: Rocio passed out. Filling this out will help close gaps and stop overlap.

VIII. Questions and Announcements:

a. Nisa: What is the process of having a committee get input from other committees. This should be part of the DLOC meetings.

b. TRW Prep meeting next Tuesday at St. Peter’s Church.

c. This Saturday at two there is a rally at a woman’s house who’s being evicted.

d. Rocio needs notes from committees so everyone has access- not just those with internet.

e. We’ll have a discussion about the policy of the listserv at the next DLOC meeting (Tuesday the 22nd).