Labor & Employment Law

K Street Marchers Sent Strong Message: Pass Wall Street Reform Now!

By James Parks

The 3,000 marchers at yesterday’s Showdown on K Street included a cross-section of union members, community activists and allies from across the country?with some traveling from as far away as Minnesota to take the battle to K Street, where Wall Street’s highly paid lobbyists scheme to stop Wall Street reform.

AFT members were out in force, calling for Pink Hearts, Not Pink Slips in the union’s campaign to stop slash-and-burn job cuts among teachers. A contingent of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) members marched behind a large banner: Good Jobs Now! Make Wall Street Pay (see video).   

Members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Screen Actors (SAG) interviewed rally participants from several unions and allied organizations (see video), including Chelsea Carr with Jobs with Justice, who says she turned out in the Washington, D.C., rain to demand the Big Banks that created the financial crisis be held accountable.

Emily Parish, another marcher, summed it up, saying she was here because of her two children, ages nine and 12:

“The banks have taken our country and sinking all our money into taking care of Wall Street and not taking care of the people. It’s time to stop it.” 

Kenneth Wiley, an unemployed member of the Sheet Metal Workers (SMWIA) told Washington’s ABC 7 News he marched because Wall Street’s greed led to a recession that resulted in his being out of work for the first time in 20 years:  

“Every day you’re thinking about what am I going to do? How much savings have I got left?”

Thousands of people also watched the event via live webcast and commented live throughout, many expressing solidarity with the marchers and outrage that Big Banks have yet to be held accountable. Some of the comments included:

Leslie: I wish I was with you in DC. Sack Goldman Sachs, take away their bonuses. They are too rich already. Get rid of “too big to fail.” Regulate them to the eyeballs. Make them lend?from their bonuses.

Support from Albuquerque: Support to All on K-street from Albuquerque. Let’s reclaim our voice and power of the people and the local communities and re-establish business/corporations in positions of service to the betterment of communities of people, Nature, and especially in service to our precious Planet Earth. Any destructive or potentially destructive behaviors in that damage this higher purpose needs to be extinguished immediately.

Pegi: End the greed now!

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler made it clear at yesterday’s event that Wall Street needs to pay for the jobs its reckless practices destroyed.

Americans are fed up. $700 million in bank bailouts. We have $1.4 million being spent every day to kill this legislation.

We stand for holding Wall Street and K Street accountable. We stand for rebuilding our economy with good jobs, and we want Wall Street to pay its fair share. The 11 million jobs lost in this crisis were stolen. You might say that these jobs were collateral damage. The casualties of K Street and Wall Street.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on May 18, 2010 (boomark / email).