Conference News and Info #4 

Hello, Conference Participants!

We're getting very close to the conference, so here's some logistics and travel information.

If you just registered, please read our previous news bulletins online. They contain important information. Previous bulletins: http://www.usworker.coop/events/conference2010/news.

In this final bulletin:

• More conference site information (wireless, amenities, food, etc)
• Announcing Thursday shuttles from the BART to the conference site
• Even more on Parking and Transportation!
   (including Friday night)
• Other events: the San Francisco Mime Troupe's annual show is on worker coops!
• Auction and Raffle

Site Information

Addresses
 
Clark Kerr Campus
2601 Warring Street
(between Derby and Dwight)
Berkeley, CA 94720

San Francisco Women’s Bldg
3543 18th St.
(between Guerrero and Dolores)
San Francisco, CA 94110

Li Po Lounge
916 Grant Avenue
(at Washington St)
San Francisco, CA 94108

Maps of these locations are available at http://www.usworker.coop/content/conference-news-and-info-4.

Emergency Numbers
Conference Services Front Desk: (510) 642-6290
USFWC Staff: (415) 379-9201

Conference Services: The conference services staff desk is located in the Building 1 lobby, at the top of the parking circle. This desk is open 7 days a week 7am-11pm

Checkin: You can check in to your room starting at 3pm on the day of your arrival.  You must check out of your room by noon on the day of your departure. You can check in with the staff at the Conference Services desk 24 hours a day. The office closes at 11pm but a clerk will be on call - use the call box to contact the clerk.  If you are checking in on Saturday, you will need to check in at the USFWC registration table.

Checkout: Checkout time is noon. Please return keys to front desk. (There will be a $50 charge for lost keys.) If you are departing before 7am you can leave keys in the room.  Checkout time is critical for people housed in building 2 (suites) and 3 (res halls) because another group is checking in that day. Building 4 has a little more flexibility.  Your baggage can be stored in a bag storage room at the conference services desk for free.
 
Wireless Access: There should be wireless internet access on the entire Clark Kerr Campus - in the conference area and the dorm rooms.  Register your computers by using the following link:
http://www.rescomp.berkeley.edu/conferences/

Here are the case-sensitive Login and Password you will need to use when registering:
Login: usworker
Password: 2010

For more information on Ethernet connections:
http://conferenceservices.berkeley.edu/summerconf_ft_compservices_inroom.html

Photocopying: We ask that you bring copies of your workshop presentation with you. There are limited emergency photocopying services at the front desk for 10 cents per page - copies must be requested by a USFWC staffer. The closest copy center is probably Copy Central at 2560 Bancroft Way: http://www.copycentral.com/location.php?lid=2.

Emergency procedures: In case of an earthquake, fire or other emergency, vacate all buildings and gather at the top of the horseshoe drive.
 
Amenities: The front desk has irons and ironing boards, extra linens and towels, pillows, all for free. There are some toiletries for emergencies (toothpaste/toothbrush, etc).  There is a self-service print and email station across the hall from building 1, to check email and print boarding passes.
 
Food: The UC Berkeley campus led the state in implementing sustainable food practices in its dining halls. The salad bar is all organic, meat is free-range, and where possible food is sourced from the 9-county area around the Bay. All conference attendees will be provided with lunch and dinner on Saturday, and lunch on Sunday. Attendees staying on-site in the residence halls will also have breakfast.  Breakfast and lunch are served cafeteria-style in the dining hall. Saturday dinner will be a buffet and will be served in the Great Hall dining area.  Friday member meeting participants and tour registrants who ordered ahead of time will have boxed lunches. You are on your own for Friday dinner. To-go boxes are available from the dining hall for a 50 cent charge.

Hiking: Our conference is nestled right in the beautiful Berkeley Hills nest to the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve, and there are plentiful hiking trails right behind the campus. To access the trails, take the path that leads up the hill just to the Northeast of the Golden Bear running track.  Best access to the trail is near the top of Dwight Way. This trail can get steep, but it has beautiful views. And keep an eye out for wild turkeys! For more information: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/claremont.

Shuttles
Please check our Transportation Page for updates and the most current information.

Announcing Thursday Shuttles!
In addition to shuttles from the BART to the conference center on Friday and Sunday, we will also have a shuttle car on Thursday evening from 5 to 9pm.

Friday BART Station Pick-ups
We will provide a shuttle van between the Ashby BART station and the conference center Friday, August 6th from 9am to midnight. Shuttles will run approximately every 30 minutes from 9am to midnight.

Friday Shuttles to the Evening Events
We will provide a limited number of shuttles from the Jim Hightower event to the Friday night party at the Li Po lounge in San Francisco. There will also be a limited number of shuttles from the Friday night party to the San Francisco BART, and back to the conference site. Check in at the registration desk for shuttle departure times and locations.

Even More on Parking and Transportation

Driving to UC Berkeley: Here's a link to driving directions, but remember that Clark Kerr Campus is not part of the main Berkeley campus, so you will need to continue on to the intersection of Warring and Derby. http://visitors.berkeley.edu/gethere/traveling.shtml 

Parking: There is limited street parking around the conference center, and it is all 2-hour parking, enforced with citations.  You can park at the Ashby BART station lot for $1/day and take the shuttle to the conference center. A limited number of on-site daily parking permits are available for $14/day from the conference services desk on Friday. Parking is in the Southwest Parking lot (see map of Clark Kerr Campus). There is also a dispensing machine in the parking lot that requires $1/hour ($14/day) in exact change. You can temporarily park your car in the horseshoe drive while you check in and get your parking permit, but please use the loading and unloading zone, not the permitted parking spots.

Parking in San Francisco: If you drive to the Hightower event on Friday night, we recommend parking in the garage at 16th and Hoff Streets. This is right next to the BART station, just off 16th between Valencia and Mission. We do not recommend looking for street parking in the Mission on a Friday night.

Taxicabs
SF Green Cab-- A worker-owned cooperative. Services San Francisco. 415-626-GREEN (4733).
Be sure to tell the dispatcher you'd like a Green Cab. (It's a city-wide dispatch service that uses multiple cab companies.)
Yellow Cab SF , 415-333-3333. Services all Bay Area airports.
Air Express Cab, 510-485-4848. Services the East Bay.
Bay Area Checker Cab, 510-612-6546. Services the East Bay.

Getting Around the Bay
Here are our recommendations for how to get from one event to the next:

Thursday night Movie Night at the Dark Room: Take a BART San Francisco train from Ashby to   the 24th and Mission stop. Walk 4 blocks north on Mission to the Dark Room.

Friday Jim Hightower event at the Women's Building: If you're coming from Clark Kerr, we recommend not driving (commute time on the bridge is no fun and parking in the Mission on a Friday night is even less fun!) and instead you take the shuttle van to BART. Take a BART San Francisco  train to the 16th and Mission stop. Walk one block West (up the slight hill) on 16th to Guerrero. Turn left on Guerrero and walk 2 blocks south to 18th Street. Turn right on 18th and look for the 4-story building covered in bright murals - this is the Women's Building. If you do drive, see parking recommendations above.

From the Women's Building to Li Po Lounge: We are arranging with Green Cab to have several cabs available to take us from the Mission to Chinatown. We recommend you get a group together and split a cab. It shouldn't be more than $5 each. You can also walk back to the BART, take it to the New Montgomery stop, and walk down Kearny street to Chinatown. This is a nice long walk!

From Li Po Lounge back to Clark Kerr: We will run shuttles from Li Po to the BART starting at 10pm and ending at 12:15am. There will be shuttles on the other side to bring you from the Ashby BART station to Clark Kerr. Remember that the BART stops running around 12:20am and there will be limited seating on the last van back.

Resources for Getting Around the Bay
511.org - www.511.org
Useful for figuring out all of your transportation needs in the bay. Includes a public transit trip planner, as well as information on traffic, biking and walking routes, rideshares, and more.
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) - www.bart.gov
AC Transit - www.actransit.org (East Bay)
Muni - www.sfmta.com (San Francisco)

 
The San Francisco Mime Troupe: "Posibilidad, or Death of the Worker"

 Wednesday & Thursday August 4 - 5, 2010
SF Mime Troupe presents, “Posibilidad, or Death of the Worker”
6:30pm - Lakeside Park - Bellevue Ave. & Perkins St., Oakland - free
Watch the struggle unfold as workers find themselves occupying their factory after learning that they will soon lose their jobs and not receive any severance pay.  This is the 51st season for the SF Mime Troupe and it couldn’t be more fitting as a precursor to our conference.  “You don't need professional co-op experience to find humor in the nascent collective's endless rounds of meetings, wince at their struggles against capitalistic indoctrination...” - SF Guardian

p.s. the Mime Troupe is a democratic workplace!

Remember to bring your auction items! We are asking all participants to donate an item to the fundraising auction and raffle. And be sure to bring cash or check to pay for anything you buy at the auction or raffle. We rely heavily on this fundraiser to fund scholarships, and we have some great items this year.