Author: Bill Balderston

Bill Balderston is a long-time teacher in Oakland and works organizing for the Oakland Education Association. He is a founding member of Occupy Oakland Labor Solidarity as well as Occupy Education NorCal. In addition, he is a member of the socialist/feminist organization Solidarity. Earlier versions of this article appeared in Against the Current.

Occupy Oakland and the Labor Movement

The relationship between the Occupy movement and segments of organized labor, in their varied institutional and ideological forms, has been a source of much speculation on the left. While there have been strong linkages created in other cities such as New York, many see this interaction as most focused in the East Bay (Oakland, Berkeley) of California. This article is a personal account of the growing dialogue between the labor movement and the Occupy organizing as seen by someone heavily involved in attempting to build these linkages.

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