Notes from Healthcare for the 99% Weekly Meeting • April 1, 2012

(submitted by Mark Hannay – subject to revisions)

Agenda:

• ·         Reports back:  HC99%; other OWS
• ·         A19 People’s Power Breakfast #2
• ·         A25 ACT UP anniversary action
• ·         M1 OWS-wide “Day Without the 99%”
• ·         Announcements

Attendees:  Josh, Jen, Danny, Heloise, James, Annette, Josh, B, Mark, Maureen, (may be others I can’t recall)

Location:  James’ apt. in Brooklyn Heights (moved from Cadman Plaza because of rain)

Reports back – HC99%:

• ·         M28 “Never Mind the Mandate – Medicare for All”  press event/speak-out with Healthcare Now re: SCOTUS

o   Held late morning in Union Sq.

o   Modest press turnout (101.9 FM news)

o   Small group

o   Street theater: Lady Liberty infused/injected with Medicare

o   Attracted good attention from passers-by

o   Used as outreach opportunity

• ·         M29 Candlelight vigil outside Interfaith Hospital (Crown Heights)

o   Organized by local community groups – part of all-day rally

o   Small turnout

o   Some local ethnic press (Haitian)

o   Some people from local Community Boards (2 & 3)

o   Some people from Occupy Brooklyn and Occupy Bushwick

o   HC99 had banner

• ·         A1 Brooklyn bridge march

o   Strong HC99 presence

o   Impromtu speak-out on Brooklyn hospital crisis

Reports back – Other OWS

• ·         None

A19  — “People’s Power Breakfast #2”

• ·         Title:  “Crain’s Health Care Symposium: Reinventing Health Care – The Road to Reform”
• ·         8-11 a.m. , at Jumeriah Essex House, 160 Central Park South, Manhattan
• ·         Sponsored by Crain’s New York (business community magazine)
• ·         Co-sponsored by Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield (a for-profit health insurer) and Morgan Construction Enterprises (builds facilities within hospitals)
• ·         Tickets = $299
• ·         Keynote speaker:  Dr. Nirav Shah (NYS Health Commissioner)
• ·         2 panels:

o   One on best practices for hospital boards, featuring one advocate (Nisha Agarwal, formerly with NYLPI) and various hospital board members (Wycoff, NYU, Continuum, Invemed)

o   One on hospital innovation, featuring various hospital CEOs  (HHC, Lutheran, Mt. Sinai, NYU)

• ·         HC99 plans:

o   Like J11:  hold a PPB outside – serve coffee, juice, fruit, pastries

o   Hold press conference and speak-out outside — (Josh, James, Mark, B)

o   Reach out to unions at J11 PPB #1 and Save Our Safety Net Campaign (SOSC) (Mark)

o   Contact Phil Shipman with Food Rescue Committee (Danny)

o   Do more research on co-sponsors and speakers (Danny and James)

o   Have someone(s) go inside to witness, video, speakout/ask a Q? (James and Danny to coordinate)

o   James to reach out to local community boards in Brooklyn

• ·         SOSC is convening a Brooklyn stakeholders’ group meeting this Thurs. eve A5 @ 6 p.m. at Brooklyn Borough Hall; HC99ers from Brooklyn are urged to attend to represent HC99

Also on A19:

• ·         Seniors and disability groups may also be doing an action that day around mid-day outside a Marriott-owned hotel in NYC (TBD)
• ·         Spearheaded by the “Restore the American Promise” campaign – a community-labor effort across NYS that defends social contract and safety net; promotes tax fairness, economic recovery, job creation; opposes a “politics of austerity”; here in NYC has focused on actions in NY-13 (Rep. Michael Grimm, Staten Island and SW Brooklyn)
• ·         Part of a statewide day of action that day at Marriott-owned hotels, just prior to GOP Prez primary on Tues. A24
• ·         Marriott CEOs are among the top donors to Romney’s SuperPAC
• ·         Romney is absolutely Mr. 1%
• ·         Romney has publicly supported Ryan 2.0 budget proposal (which passed House last week) which would end Medicare and Medicaid as we know them (privatize the former, block-grant/cap the latter)
• ·         Romney has also voiced support for “cut, cap, and balance” approach to federal budget deficit that would decimate a whole variety of social programs for the 99%, including Social Security
• ·         HC99 may decide to show up in solidarity (TBD at a future meeting)

A25 – ACT UP 25^th Anniversary Action:

• ·         Call to action:  “ACT UP and Occupy”
• ·         Title:  “Tax Wall St., End AIDS”
• ·         Demand:  Financial Speculation Tax (FST), used to treat and end AIDS here in U.S. and worldwide
• ·         Basic scenario:

o   11 a.m.  – Gather at City Hall; focus on NYC budget and HIV/AIDs

o   11:30 – begin march down Broadway

o   12:00 – stop for brief rally outside Federal Reserve Bank re: federal govt. action for an FST (in a small square/park at Maiden Lane and Williams St.)

o   12:15 – proceed down to Wall St. area (exact route TBD)

• ·         ACT UP is arranging legal support
• ·         ACT UP has a whole communications team working on outreach materials, using internet/interactive media, and engaging traditional news media
• ·         ACT UP has an outreach team approaching various AIDS service groups re: FST and A25 action
• ·         Report from OWS DA meeting on M27:

o   Mark and Annette attended from HC99

o   Small breakout group held with 2 others from DA + 1 from Queering OWS/ACT UP

o   Marching down sidewalks would likely be no problem; stepping into street likely means immediate arrest

o   Some DA members volunteered to come do a brief tactical training – either on day-of before the action, or beforehand

o   Student Debt OWS group holding action later that same day (that is expected to be the day when U.S. student debt exceeds $1TR)

o   We can list the action on OWS May 1^st “escalation calendar” if we can justify support for it (no real onerous criteria)

• ·         HC99 role:

o   Continue to attend weekly ACT UP meetings to plan and collaborate –every Mon. eve a 7 p.m. at LGBT Center (208 W. 13^th St.)

o   Promote and build turnout

o   Host the OWS contingent in the march

o   Continue to liaison with OWS DA

o   Approach OWS GA and Action Spokes Council

o   Approach other OWS workgroups:  People of Color WG, Queering OWS, Rude Mechanical Orchestra, others TBD (look through list)

May 1^st “Day Without the 99%”:

• ·         People urged to forego any normal/regular activity that day
• ·         During morning and early-mid afternoon, actions will be based out of Bryant Park (6^th Ave. & 42^nd St.) – go there to get people for planned actions
• ·         Individual OWS groups encouraged to plan events for morning/early-mid afternoon at appropriate targets
• ·         Large OWS-wide march in late afternoon-early eve; gather in Union Sq. at 4 p.m.; march to Wall St. area
• ·         HC99 plans:

o   Form a contingent for the big march at 4 p.m.; invite groups involved in ACT UP A25 action and repeat themes re: FST; use same materials

o   Hold a “Community Without a Hospital” action outside site of former St. Vincent’s Hospital (7^thAve. & 12^th St.); try to get enough people to link hands and surround;  replicate HC99 teach-in/speak-out on NYC hospital crisis; planning committee formed (Diane, Louis, Annette, Josh, B, Danny)

Announcements:

• ·         Community Board meetings in Brooklyn:  Mon. A2 and Tues. A3; contact James to join him to help represent HC99
• ·         M15 – International Day of Solidarity with Los Indignados (details TBA)
• ·         HC99 Outreach Committee – Tues. A3, 7 p.m., 455 1^st Ave. (NYC Dept. of Health, bet. 26-27 Sts.), check with security desk in lobby for room #
• ·         A17 – Tax day rally sponsored by Occupy Politics outside Main PO in Manhattan

Next Week’s Meeting:

• ·         NOTE:  HC99 will NOT meet next Sun. A8, since it’s Easter Sunday and many have conflicts or will be out of town
• ·         HC99 will meet next instead on Wed. A11 @ 6:30 p.m. at either Union Sq. or 60 Wall St. (weather permitting) – check website for details (to be posted by Tues. eve A10.)