As Alice said in wonderland, It gets couriouser and couriouser.
Occupy Oakland members vote to deposit $20,000 with Wells Fargo
Occupy Oakland has voted to deposit $20,000 with Wells Fargo Bank -- just days after Occupy protesters shattered windows of one of the bank's downtown Oakland branches during the group's attempt to stage a general strike in the embattled East Bay city.
The decision was posted at Occupy Oakland's site for its general assembly. According to the link, the group made the decision to deposit the $20,000 with Wells at a meeting on Monday night.
Wells Fargo quickly trumpeted the decision.
"If this report is true, it demonstrates that even Occupy Oakland understands -- first-hand -- the value and service that Wells Fargo provides its customers," Wells spokesman Ruben Pulido said in an e-mail to this newspaper.
The general assembly voted 162 to 8 to approve a proposal to place the money with Wells Fargo. The assembly minutes indicate that placement with Wells Fargo, to which the group has referred to as a "bankster," might be only temporary.
Occupy Oakland intends to eventually place the funds with a credit union. The money, the minutes indicate, was donated by OSW, an acronym for Occupy Wall Street, a protest effort
that sprouted in Lower Manhattan.
It wasn't immediately clear if the funds have been deposited with Wells Fargo.
The cash is to be used to assist in helping individuals who might have been jailed in connection with Occupy Oakland actions, the minutes of the general assembly stated.
Occupy Oakland has delayed placing the funds into a credit union because the group is maneuvering to be considered a specialized type of organization. It wants to become an "unincorporated association," according to the Occupy Oakland minutes.
The group has filed papers with California's Secretary of State to gain that status. An unincorporated nonprofit association is formed for the purposes of an ad hoc common effort, which can range from a bake sale to major group activities.
State officials don't approve the formation of those associations immediately. Occupy Oakland legal representatives estimated it can take two weeks to be approved as an unincorporated nonprofit association.
Some members of the assembly, during the meeting, raised concerns about using Wells Fargo for the group's bank.
Ok, this is about parking the money somewhere while they work out legal arrangements. For the OO GA to open a new account at Wells Fargo they would probably need the same legal status they do for the credit union. Therefore, it sounds like the idea may be to place it in an existing account at WF that is held by another organization. That is not made clear from the article.
However, this does not look like a very good move. It certainly provides fertile material for pot shots at the general assembly. Couldn't they have found a temporary arrangement at a smaller bank?