Bay Area Protests and Picket Lines Planned For May Day
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — Occupy protesters, workers and activists in the Bay Area and across the nation plan to take to the streets Tuesday as part of May Day.
A planned strike among Golden Gate Bridge District employees has forced the cancellation of Golden Gate Ferry service for the Tuesday morning commute. The workers have been without a contract since June 30th. Service is expected to resume at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
In Oakland, one of the major focal points of the Occupy movement, protests are slated to begin at 8:30 a.m. at Snow Park on 22nd and Telegraph and at 4th and Broadway in downtown.
KCBS' Holly Quan Reports:
Tony Marks Block with the Anti-Repression Committee said they'll be holding street theater at City Hall at 1 p.m. to protest the way city officials have come down hard on some activists by issuing stay away orders.
"We're going to be wearing masks of individuals who have stay away orders. They're trying to prevent the individuals from going to City Hall of all places."
Block said City Hall is where people should be able to assemble and utilize their First Amendment Rights.
As for reclaiming Frank Ogawa Plaza for an encampment, he said there are no concrete plans, but "you never know."
Meanwhile, 4,500 nurses are set to walk off the job at eight Sutter hospitals for one day according to Nurses Union Spokesman Chuck Idleson.
"We're certainly in communication with the Occupy folks. We know that some of them will probably join the nurses on the picket line. This historically has been a day that workers have stood together," he said.
480 replacement nurses have been called in at Alta Bates Summit Medical in Berkeley and Oakland. That contract guarantees five days of work, which means nurses that walk out tomorrow won't be able to return until Sunday morning.
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