A hand-made sign from a February 2012 protest outside an MBTA public forum on proposed fare hikes and service cuts (Photo: Doug Enaa Greene)
This story is from the Occupied News Wire. It was originally published in the Boston Occupier.
By Dan Schneider
On March 3rd, 2012, the General Assembly of Occupy Boston passed a resolution which calls on Occupy groups in the United States to stage protests in support of public transportation services. The national day of action is set to take place on April 4th, giving occupiers a month to rally support, communicate with other groups and strategize.
The decision to announce the day of action comes in the middle of a fierce debate over the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) plan to potentially raise fares and cut services for millions of Bostonians and daily commuters.
Since the two potential plans were announced in January, the MBTA and related government agencies have faced a massive public backlash, with hundreds of activists, students and commuters swamping public hearings held around the greater Boston area.
Below is the text of the Resolution from the General Assembly of Occupy Boston:
The General Assembly of Boston calls on occupations, general assemblies and people’s movements across the country and around the globe to mobilize on April 4th, 2012 to demand public transportation for the 99%. In Boston and in cities around the country, our hard-won and necessary transportation systems are under attack. Their viability is being threatened by savage cuts and fare hikes in a calculated push towards privatization by corrupt and unresponsive politicians and their corporate benefactors.
Public transportation is a right and must be accessible to all. Service cuts and fare hikes will have a devastating and disproportionate impact on low-income communities, communities of color, students, workers, seniors and the environment. We say NO TO PRIVATIZATION of our common resources and NO MORE EXCUSES! We will not accept any funding strategies that attempt to divide the 99% against each other or shift the burden onto the backs of the 99%: the poor and working classes. End the wars and tax the rich!
On April 4th, we will stand together to demand public transportation for the 99%. If our call is not answered and the necessary funds redirected, it will only add to the growing body of evidence that our government no longer represents us.
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