A National Occupy Strategy

Here's a strategy that the folks at Training, Education, Strategy and Tactics for Nonviolence (TESTN) team have come up with. It's a work in progress, so let us know what you think of it!


National Strategic Plan (plan for all Occupies):

Stage 1 - Jan-May 1, 2011

1. Build Neighborhood Assemblies and begin outreach to communities on local and state issues, and issue of "corporate personhood", publicly-funded elections, and instant runoff voting.
2. Hold local campaigns on issues that can easily be won, and then tell it to the world.  That will begin to build public credibility for Occupy as a force to be counted on to push for change.
3. Hold several Direct Action Days on theme of "corporate personhood" pointing toward a constitutional amendment.  Use humor to ridicule of the concept "corporate personhood".
4. Decide on wording of the amendment (possibly to include all 3 issues in step 1.1).
5. Media campaigns in support of the amendment begin in each state.  Online campaign begins to raise money for "Occupy on the Road".
6. Begin "Occupy on the Road" resulting in occupations of state capitols to lobby as long as it takes for legislatures to pass supporting resolutions for the amendment.  The idea here is to prepare in advance for a quick endorsement process for an amendment passed by Congress.
1. All Occupy on the Road units should be from 50-200 persons each.  Every participant should have nonviolence training,
2. Occupy on the Road campaign involves travel by "greenest" methods possible to state capitols.  
3. Occupy Expo:  Each occupation should reflect "best practices" learned from original encampments, and should showcase and teach the public about alternative economics with emphasis on localization and supporting local organizations already working on alternatives. The campaign should introduce the idea of living without benefit of corporate credit arrangements, and build the idea that a return to local credit structures is needed.
4. When Occupy leaves the capitols, the public should have a much greater understanding of the dire economic times we are facing, and how alternatives will help us get through in better shape.

May 1st - 3rd:  3-Day Nationwide General Strike Against Corporate Greed.

1. Target corporations that engage in massive campaign contributions.  Encourage public to boycott those companies, but to shift money to the local economy by buying from locally owned businesses that also support the local economy. Encourage workers to call in sick or just stay home.  They should not strike locally owned businesses.  They should not strike if they are likely to be fired, but can participate as in #2 below.
2. Encourage general public to participate by:
1. Working, walking, driving slowly all 3 days.
2. Engaging in a nightly "banging of pots" between 8pm-10pm in a show of support for the strike.
3. The strike will not have to be completely successful in halting corporate business.  That is not its purpose at this point.  The point is to send a "shot across the bow" of Wall Street and corporate America to show them we have considerable strength and support from the public.  The strike will be on everyone's mind.
4. Begin an Occupy Your Debt campaign that encourages the public to think of their vast numbers and their debt as strengths to be used for systemic change.  The campaign will lay the groundwork for a "debt strike", if needed to force the financial sector to respond to the public's will.  The public will need to have adopted the idea that local credit is superior to corporate credit. 

Stage 2 - May 4 - July 4:  National Occupy on the Road

1. Begin a phased migration from all parts of the country, some units traveling toward Philadelphia to arrive by July 4 in time for the Occupy National Convention.  The rest should arrive in Washington, DC by July 7.  Occupy on the Road units (maintaining size limits as much as possible) will travel to towns and cities along their route to bring the Occupy Expo to as many people all over the country as possible.  As more people join Occupy on the Road, new units will be trained and sent out on their own.
2. Upon arriving in Washington, DC, Occupy on the Road will occupy the Capitol Mall and hold a National Occupy Expo while pressuring Congress to pass legislation approving the amendment(s) to the Constitution.  The threat of a "debt strike" will be used to encourage them to drop all the stall tactics.

Stage 3 - July 4 - Election Day:  Campaign Season

1. All of this will be happening during the 2012 Presidential Campaign, and hopefully will distract the public from "business as usual".  There will without doubt be many ways that we will be able to take on the Republicans and Democrats around campaign issues, but my hope is that we will be able to shape the nature of the national debate.
2. A possible outcome of the Philadelphia Convention will be a new Occupy Party.  If that is the case, local campaigns can use the national action to their advantage.
3. It is critical that the Occupation of the Capitol Mall be as peaceful as possible.  We should teach the public about what happened to the Bonus March.  That must not happen to us.  That is one reason for having continual nonviolence training.  If there is violence, let it come from the opposition.  The "blow back" would be devastating.
4. Everything that Occupy does, particularly during this stage, but also earlier, should be lighthearted and fun.  The public should look forward to each new thing we do.
5. Occupy will give Congress a generous amount of time (until Election Day) to pass the amendment legislation.  

November 17, 2011:  Debt Strike

1. If Congress has failed to act on amendment legislation (or has passed a significantly weakened amendment), Occupy will launch the Debt Strike.  Three pillars support the economy:  credit card debt, student loan debt, and mortgage debt.  Without their support, the economy will tank.  The Debt Strike will encourage the public to abandon corporate credit all at once through refusal to pay any of the three kinds of debt to the debt holders.  They will be encouraged instead to pay it (or what they are able) into their local economies to support the development of new businesses: collectives, cooperatives, and employee owned.
2. To be determined:  It might be useful to phase in the Debt Strike, beginning with student loan debt.  That might cause the economy to collapse more slowly.  We will only know the truth of that when we see how the NYSE reacts.
3. Reminiscent of the signs I have seen of the Monopoly figure looking despairingly at the words "Game Over", I like the idea of a campaign theme like "I've Left the Game.  Have You?"
4. The Debt Strike will only be successful if we are able to convince enough people to abandon the consumer credit economy.  That can only happen if Occupy is able to promote a viable alternative economy.