Founding Document

See also our working document articulating shared values of the Omni Collective.

Omni Oakland Commons

Changelog

as put forth by David Brazil (Bay Area Public School) on 11/29/2013

Revised proposal for Omni Oakland Collective 4/2/2013

On August 7, 2014 we unanimously consented to supplement our Founding Document with a Statement of Solidarity.

Text

The Omni Oakland Collective is a group established to acquire and administer a collective property. We are presently pursuing a property known as The Omni, at 4799 Shattuck Avenue. We are committed to a radical commoning of space and resources.

The groups presently recognized as our collaborators are the Bay Area Public School, Sudo Room, Timeless Infinite Light, Livespace, Hacker Spa, Oakland Nights Live, an unnamed film-processing collective, La Commune Cafe & Bookstore, and Counter­Culture Labs.

Each of these groups, will be asked to select a delegate, according to the decision­making processes of each group. These delegates will form the Omni Oakland Collective's Delegate Council, which will be entrusted with making binding decisions on behalf of the groups they represent. Any delegate may bring a proposal to the Delegate Council in order to vote on it. Decisionmaking by this Delegate Council will be by consensus among present delegates.

These delegates will be fully accountable to the groups they represent, and subject to recall by that group, according to the decision­making processes of that group.

The Delegate Council will function like a spokescouncil: delegates will attend the meetings of their groups and report back to those groups from the Delegate Council meetings, while retaining the ability to make executive decisions on behalf of their respective group.

The Delegate Council will meet weekly on Thursdays at 7pm at 2141 Broadway (except for the third Thursday), according to a schedule and location upon which it decides.

Each meeting will be preceded by a half-hour informational session, open to everyone, scheduled weekly at 6:30pm Thursdays (except for the third Thursday) at 2141 Broadway, and facilitated by selected delegates from the Omni Oakland Collective.

All collective meetings will be facilitated and will stick to an announced schedule. Each meeting will be chaired by a rotating facilitator, and should require a timekeeper and notetaker selected from among the delegates. Each meeting will begin with a formal recognition of the delegates present. Quorum for these meetings will be 2/3 rounded down. All decisions of this group will be by consensus.

Meetings will begin by laying out an agenda to which any delegate may add. Proposals may be presented at any time in the course of the meeting.

These meetings are open to the members of the groups listed above, who are invited to join the meeting in a non-voting capacity. Delegates may invite anyone, whether a group member or not, to sit in on a meeting. If it is deemed necessary, any delegate may move to close the meeting to delegates only. The meeting will then be closed based on a majority vote of present delegates.

If other organizations propose to become part of the Omni Oakland Collective, a consensus vote of the Delegate Council is required. This vote will be taken on the spot in a closed meeting of OOC delegates only, without the presence of the applicant. If such a vote passes successfully, the new group will be requested to select a delegate for the Delegate Council.

If a vote is called, any delegate may move to table that vote for one week in order to bring the matter in question back to their group, with the understanding that any vote thus tabled will be voted on, without further delay, at the next meeting of the Delegate Council. Admission of new groups to the collective of collectives must always be referred back to the individual collectives, to be voted on without delay at the next meeting of the Delegate Council.

If it is deemed necessary to expel a group, the group will be given the opportunity to present their case at a Delegate Council meeting after which the Delegate Council may decide upon expulsion by a full consensus vote in a closed meeting of OOC delegates that does not include the group in question.

The Delegate Council is empowered to amend the terms of its own existence, as outlined in this proposal, by consensus vote. We further state a continuous process of critical self-reflection is essential to the health of this project, and ask all members and groups to actively engage in this ongoing task.

Statement of Solidarity

The Omni is an open and diverse community. We love and value every person. To this end, we honor & respect the experiences, center the perspectives, and prioritize the needs of marginalized and oppressed people. For example:

• Poor, working class, unemployed and enslaved people struggling against a world dominated by money and capital;
• People of color struggling against racism & white supremacy;
• People struggling against all forms of colonialism, from Ohlone people whose stolen land we occupy, to people being threatened or displaced by gentrification;
• Women and all gender minorities struggling against sexism, misogyny and male supremacy;
• Transgender & gender-nonconforming people struggling against the gender binary, bioessentialism, transphobia & transmisogyny;
• Queer, LGB and same-gender-loving people struggling against homophobia & heterosexism;
• People with physical & mental disabilities who struggle with ableism & accessibility;
• People of all shapes and sizes struggling against fatphobia and other forms of body hierarchy;
• The survivors of rape, harassment, assault, trauma and exploitation;
• Migrants struggling against nationalism and xenophobia, especially those without documents or citizenship;
• Speakers of all languages struggling against the dominance of English.

This is not a hypothetical exhaustive list of every oppression ever. Rather, it's a proactive recognition of some of the real issues faced by real people in our communities today, an expression of our solidarity and our intent to work side by side building our futures together.

As a community, we agree to be in solidarity with those who are most vulnerable. We are prepared to be held accountable for our social privilege when necessary. We will actively work to hold our spaces to the highest ideals - not just make them safe, but warm, welcoming and loving for everybody.