People Before Profit blog

20,000 march against Arizona's SB 1070

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:37:00 +0000

MILWAUKEE- As part of a series of national protests against Arizona's SB 1070 law, more than 20,000 people marched here April 29 in Voces de la Frontera's annual May Day march.

The Arizona SB 1070 law, whose constitutionality is in question in the U.S. Supreme Court, has been widely criticized for promoting racial profiling and undermining public safety by forcing police to take the role of federal immigration officials and check the immigration status of anyone they may have "reasonable suspicion" to believe is undocumented.

As Executive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz has described it, "The court's landmark ruling, expected in June, will determine whether our nation will uphold the historic gains of the civil rights movement or revert back to a pre-civil rights era of second-class citizenship. This racist law only serves corporate interests: the private prisons, private bond companies, military companies at the border, and corporations that contract prison labor for less than the minimum wage."

Jennifer Martinez, a Manitowoc woman whose husband Jaime Martinez was deported to Mexico last month, gave an emotional testimony to the crowd about the cruel impact our immigration enforcement policies have had on herself and her four children when immigration ripped Jaime away from his family.

Voces was joined by a coalition of groups including those representing labor unions, faith, LGBT, and more. Prior to the march, gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Falk and NAACP President James Hall made statements in solidarity outside the Voces office, in addition to other elected officials and community leaders. All candidates for governor in Wisconsin's upcoming recall election were invited to the event, including Governor Scott Walker.

At the main stage in Veteran's Park after the march, Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois fired up the crowd with a speech on family unification and the importance of Latinos participating in the voting process, and of politicians defending the rights of all people in the country.

"We have to lift our voices, regardless of party, and speak for the immigrants who live here," he said.

Crowd coordinators measured the crowd filling ten full blocks at the height of the march.

Photo: Last year thousands march in Milwaukee's May Day demonstration. (PW/Scott Marshall)

Ohioans fight war on women

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:37:00 +0000

Chants of "women's rights, human rights!" and "Our bodies belong to us, not you!" echoed off the walls of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus Apr. 28, as hundreds rallied, demanding an end the Republican "War on Women." This was one of many such events organized nationwide by the newly launched grassroots organization UniteWomen.

"You are standing on historic ground," stated Brian Rothenburg, Director of Progress Ohio. "96 years ago today, thousands of women stood right here, without the right to vote, with no health care, no voice and no rights; they came to this building and stated that 'they are Americans, too!' Because they fought, we have a voice today. But the heirs of those who barred women from voting then are again trying to take our votes away, take our rights to health care away. We stand here united to say again: We are Americans, too, and we won't go back!"

Eleven separate bills aimed at restricting women's access to reproductive health care have been proposed in the Ohio legislature since Jan. 2011, and four have been signed into law by Republican Gov. John Kasich, said Jaime Miracle of NARAL. A bill proposed this month would defund Planned Parenthood, effectively removing access to cancer screenings and prenatal care for many thousands of Ohio women.

"Planned Parenthood is where I found out I was pregnant," said Marie Hlavin, standing with her 6-year old daughter. "It is where I've been able to get health care, and they are trying to shut it down. That's wrong!" She also found a lump on her breast on a visit to the agency. "While it was negative, just think of all the women who wouldn't find out until it was too late if they close Planned Parenthood."

Nancy Pitts of Women Have Options blasted Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for saying he hopes to "get rid of Planned Parenthood," despite the devastating consequences for the health of working class women across the country.

The right to abortion has been severely restricted by Ohio legislators, she added. Low-income women are hardest hit by the restrictions because of the 24-hour wait rule and the fact that 91 percent of Ohio counties have zero providers.

"Republicans are trying to take away rights that we've already fought for and won," said Donna O'Connell, a Dublin teacher and candidate for Representative in the 21st District. "I just couldn't sit back and let that happen! We shouldn't have to fight again for the rights our mothers and grandmothers already have won!"

At the edge of the statehouse rally tables were set up with petitions against a voter suppression bill, for a neutral body to do redistricting, against growing gun violence and supporting a measure to permit recall of state officials.

Ohio state senator Charletta Tavares told the crowd, "We have to unite and elect more women and men who will allow women to be free citizens."

"The Republicans were elected calling for jobs, but have passed eight bills attacking women's health care, and refuse to do anything about jobs," said State Representative Mike Stinziano.

"They are really afraid of us," said Chyrstal Obiukwu, a Junior Social Work student at Ohio State University. "The reason they are passing legislation attacking women's rights is because they are trying to take away our ability to be involved in public life. They will not succeed!"

As the crowd chanted, "We won't go away!" the rally ended just as a storm brought thunder and hail to the statehouse steps.

Photo: Anita Waters

Arizona rallies against war on women

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:42:00 +0000

Over 300 women and men braved the hot Arizona sun on Apr. 28 to call for an end to the the Republican Party's "war on women."

The rally at the state capitol in Phoenix was one of dozens of similar actions planned for all 50 state capitols and other cities across the country.

Arizona protesters came by bus and car from from Tucson, Flagstaff, small mining towns, mountain resorts, and the vast Phoenix metro area. They were united by their anger at the Arizona legislature's attacks on reproductive rights, public education, and health care. They were also angry that similar attacks are taking place throughout the country.

Speaking at the rally, Wenona Benally-Baldenegro, Candidate for Congress in Arizona's Dist-1, summed up the mood of the day by reminding us that so many women fought hard for the gains now under attack: "It's important not to let the Right Wing roll back the clock." she said, adding that the Arizona legislature's attacks on Planned Parenthood, is particularly dangerous given that Planned Parenthood is often the only organization that provides services in some rural areas.

If elected this November, Benally-Baldenegro will be the first Native American woman ever elected to the US Congress.

This new and growing movement called Unite Against The War On Women is saying "enough is enough," and mobilizing women and men to push back. Their ability to organize the Phoenix and national actions in just a few short weeks is inspiring. They are a vital part of the broad peoples' coalition needed to turn the ultra-right out of Congress and our state legislatures next Fall.

Photo: Planned Parenthood Facebook page.

Philly school "restructure" plan meets stiff opposition

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:58:00 +0000

PHILADELPHIA - As this city's School Reform Commission prepares to roll out a plan for the radical "restructuring" of one of the nation's largest school districts, resistance and apprehension are building among education activists and supporters. The plan calls for the closing of 64 of the district's 249 schools over the next five years; it would increase the number of charter schools in the district and decrease the number of schools directly under the supervision of the central office.

In fact the central office would be virtually dismantled and much of the district's operation would be conducted by local "achievement networks" of 20 or 25 schools, which could be run by private contractors, universities, or local groups.

The district's plan is not winning wide approval. Teachers' union president Jerry Jordan branded the proposal a "cynical right-wing, market-driven" attempt by the SRC to hand off the main responsibilities of running a public school system. Two active student organizations - Youth United for Change and the Philadelphia Student Union - issued a statement expressing their "deep concern about the direction the district is taking," and about the possibility of recycling the now-discredited privatization plan of a decade ago.

The school district's proposal is being driven by its inability to fund the program currently in place. In March, the district put forward a $2.5 billion budget with a projected shortfall of between $185 and $218 million. The origins of the district's financial problems lie, in part, in a decade of state management.

In 2001, the state legislature eliminated the local nine-member school board and replaced it with the five-member School Reform Commission, appointed by the governor. Republican Tom Ridge, governor at the time, claimed that the action would cure the district's fiscal and educational performance problems.

Another part of the state's proposed solution was to allow for the establishment of charter schools to operate at public expense within the Philadelphia school district. While the charters are located in the district and are nominally public schools, each one has its own school board and is largely exempt from district oversight. Its teachers may organize a union but they may not join the 18,000-member PFT, which represents district teachers, librarians, counselors, secretaries, classroom aides, and others.

After a decade of state control, the district's financial condition is worse than ever. The district now includes 80 charter schools, which enroll approximately 25 percent of the city's K-12 students.

In a recent op-ed piece in the local press, teachers' union president Jordan detailed the increasing costs to local districts that the state's approach was having on school budgets. He pointed out that the state had, for the previous eight years, partially reimbursed local districts for the cost of charters, but that the administration of new Republican governor Tom Corbett had ended this practice last year. In fact, the Corbett Administration has imposed steep cuts in the general education budget for all school districts across the state in the last two years, another immediate cause of the current crisis.

The SRC has, over the past months, been revealing its agenda and its approach to finding "solutions." It has made no secret of its hiring of the Boston Consulting Group to make recommendations for "overhauling" or "restructuring" the district.

In December, 47 school nurses were laid off, and many schools were left without nursing services or coverage. The district has issued layoff notices to the members of SEIU Local 32BJ, District 1201 who make up a good part of its non-teaching staff: bus drivers, custodians, building engineers, and others. These workers would be rehired only if they agree to work for the lower prices quoted by outside bidders according to the District's "Chief Recovery Officer" Thomas Knudsen.

It has not escaped the notice of many in the labor movement and their allies that, of the district's current shortfall, $110 million is listed as "new debt service," which means payments to banks. In other words, workers are getting layoff notices while the banks will get paid.

This bizarre history has left many activists in the community unconvinced that the current funding shortfall cannot be solved short of dismantling the school district. Long time activist and parent Helen Gym addressed Knudsen and the SCR in a recent blog:

"You're not speaking to me when you'll go to any extreme to radically transform 'education delivery,' yet the most basic things parents and staff and students have called for-more teachers in our schools, bilingual counselors, nurses in every school, librarians, fresh food in the cafeteria, new buildings and playgrounds-are completely and utterly absent from your plan."

A leaflet issued by the labor group of Occupy Philadelphia said, "Wrong-headed priorities and a tax system designed to benefit the rich are the reasons we don't have the resources to provide quality education for all."

School nurses have organized weekly rallies outside the school district headquarters to protest the layoffs.

As of this writing, a town hall meeting has been called at the historic Mother Bethel AME Church to give parents and educators a chance "to express themselves about the plan."

The proposed changes must still be presented and approved by the SRC at a future meeting, where the Commission will have to face the sentiments and hear the concerns of the Philadelphia school community.

Photo: Students rally to stop their elementary school from being closed. PW

Chicagoans organize to keep health clinics open

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000

CHICAGO - On Apr. 26, Linda Hatcher, a mental health patient, protested the closing of the Woodlawn Health Clinic, declaring, "It will put our people out on the street, where the police will grab them - and maybe kill them." She spoke at a press conference put together by Southside Together Organizing for Power, who are occupying the clinic and demanding all 12 of the city's mental health centers stay open.

Patient advocate N'Dana Carter chaired the conference. She reminded everyone that the clinic was closed three years ago, but reopened under the influence of a powerful community protest. Similarly, she feels confident that the STOP occupation could keep the clinic open now.

Hatcher and other thriving mental health patients praised what they called the "life-saving services" of Woodlawn.

"The clinic gave me my stability, confidence, and mental health back," said patient Dianne Adams. And, in response to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's claim that the closings will save $2 million, Adams added, "Our health is more important to us than money."

Ron Johnson, another eloquent patient, agreed, putting it this way: "Billions of dollars go to the wars. And now they say our cities are broke."

Alice Johnson, program director of the Illinois Nurses Association, agreed with Carter's optimism, and pledged the support of INA's 5,000 nurses. "I'm here to demand that all 12 mental health centers stay open," she remarked.

The Mental Health Movement recently released the report "Dumping Responsibility: The Case Against Closing CDPH Mental Health Clinics," wherein they outline why they believe shutting down the facilities will negatively impact both patients and the public.

According to the report, of the 5,300 affected patients, 2,549 of them will have to travel to other cities or seek private care, because the city has no other facilities in which to place them.

Patients and community supporters originally occupied the clinic on Apr. 12, using cement, fencing, chairs, vending machines, and chains to barricade themselves inside. Outside, meanwhile, 100+ supporters sat in front of the doors to protect the occupation. This support included nurses, clergy, local residents, and other allies.

Soon enough, about 14 Chicago police vehicles - plus several County Sheriff's Department cruisers - moved in to smash the occupation.

Police arrested 23 occupiers. The protesters moved across the street and set up tents in an empty lot. Twice, however, the police seized the tents and protesters' personal property, arresting over 20 more people. Yet still, the 24/7 protest continues out in the open, with no protections from the Chicago weather.

STOP is now demanding that...

...All 12 public mental health clinics be kept open, fully staffed, and fully funded.
...Plans to privatize services at Chicago's neighborhood health centers are stopped.
...More doctors, nurses, therapists, and social workers are hired to service the communities.
...The drug assistance program is reinstated.
...The public mental health safety net is expanded to cover unmet community needs.

Emanuel's date for six clinic closings is Apr. 30. A massive demonstration has been called for 5 p.m. on that day, at City Hall.

Photo: Mayor Rahm Emanuel. U.S. Army Public Affairs Midwest // CC 2.0

Despite negativity of some, metal fans join in today’s struggle

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:10:00 +0000

When Dave Mustaine (frontman of thrash metallers Megadeth) in February made a number of homophobic comments and supported GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, much of the metal community was in uproar, fearing Mustaine's words would paint an unrealistic picture of metalheads or even youth as a whole. But this year's Communist Party USA National Conference ought to have cleared up that misconception.

The two-day event saw a large number of Communists gathering to talk about the upcoming election and discuss plans for the future - and many of the faces present belonged to youth. Of those, a large number were music fans. One of them, Tory Smith (22), had a few things to say on how he became interested in the Party, and on metal's sometimes-abrasive relationship with politics.

Smith, who works in grocery markets as a Pepsi salesman, is Chairman of the Nevada Communist Party. "I live in Las Vegas, where I moved in 1996," he said. "I've been in the Communist Party for six months. I studied history in school - I've always really been into history, but what particularly inspired me was the Cuban Revolution - you know, how a small country could rise up to American imperialism like that."

So how did he become more politically involved?

"Well, not having any outlets to be active in politics, I went researching and reading books on the subject. Once I graduated from high school, that's when I started coming across Marx and Lenin.

"After a while, I wanted to find other people that I could relate to - so I googled 'Communist Party of America.' Now, I read the Peoples World and Political Affairs...I think it's a great online source of information; [a way to get] outside the garbage on FOX News."

The ongoing fight for the rights of undocumented citizens is also an important aspect of the struggle to Smith, who noted, "I'm half-Hispanic, so the immigration issue touches me very strongly."

Later, this reporter - an avid metal fan himself - reminded Smith of Mustaine's unpleasant words:

When asked during a radio interview with Seattle Sounds whether he supported gay marriage, Mustaine replied, "Well, since I'm not gay, the answer to that would be no." When asked if he would at least support the legalization of gay marriage, he remarked, "I'm a Christian. The answer to that would be...no."

Mustaine added to his seemingly skewed perspective when asked whom he would support in the 2012 election: "I'm just hoping that whoever is in the White House next year is a Republican. I think Santorum has some presidential qualities, and I'm hoping if it does come down to it, we'll see a Republican in the White House, and that it's Rick Santorum." Of course, this was said prior to Santorum dropping out of the race.

After the musician's worrying statements, metal musicians seemed eager to clear up any misunderstandings outsiders may have. Greg Puciato, frontman of the Dillinger Escape Plan, dealt directly with Mustaine's statement:

"It's frustrating that the United States leans so much on Christianity, politically," he replied. "It's a religion that, at its fundamental core, teaches complete intolerance toward homosexuality."

In an interview with LA Weekly, Nergal (vocalist of death metal outfit Behemoth) stated, "Everyone has their reasons for getting involved with metal. To me, it's the rebellious spirit, attitude, and life philosophy of the music...,. But I'm sure when you talk to Dave Mustaine, he'll give you the opposite angle of the situation."

Since Smith, the young Las Vegas Pepsi salesman at the Communist conference, wore a band shirt (displaying black metal artist Burzum), it was pretty clear he was a fan of the genre. And so, the inevitable 'metal question' arose: How did he view the political positions - or non-positions - of some metal bands today? How did he view the genre as a whole?

He clearly disapproved of Mustaine's outlook, as so many others in the metal community do. "I listen to a lot of European, traditional metal," he said, "and I also listen to a lot of punk music. But metal is becoming a little more political now.

"And you've got bands like [death metallers] Molotov Solution - I mean, they're just straight politics."

In closing, Smith agreed that the presence of so many youth and music fans at the CPUSA conference was a very good thing. "I'm really excited about the conference," he said. "It's great."

Photo: Tory Smith talks music and politics at the CPUSA conference. Blake Deppe/PW

Justices skeptical about parts of Arizona immigration law

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:55:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared to be skeptical about the worker penalties included in Arizona's anti-immigrant, anti-Hispanic law, SB1070, even as their questions suggested other parts of the statute might be upheld.

In long oral argument on April 25, several justices seemed to agree with Arizona that it was trying to carry out federal law, which bars undocumented workers from entering the U.S., and, by inference, individual states.

But where Arizona and federal laws differ is that Arizona has higher penalties against only the workers and presumes they're undocumented, forcing them to prove their legality. Indeed, SB1070 bars them from seeking work at all.

The justices heard the arguments on SB1070's constitutionality as unionists and their allies massed outside the Supreme Court to emphasize that everyone should be treated equally under the law, regardless of his or her race, color or immigration status. Not doing so amounts to racial profiling targeted at Hispanics, the unionists said. (See separate story.)

The same radical right-GOP cabal that has pushed anti-worker laws through state legislatures nationwide, and that is pushing anti-worker laws through the GOP-run U.S. House, also pushes the anti-immigrant laws targeting undocumented workers.

Besides Arizona's, such laws have been approved in South Carolina, Utah, Georgia and Alabama, and the Obama administration has challenged all of them in court on constitutional grounds. Unions have sided with the administration. But the justices were skeptical of the constitutional argument for federal primacy in the field.

Several justices weren't skeptical when they felt Arizona stepped over the legal line in penalizing the workers, including mass detention and deportation.

Arizona "does seem to expand beyond the federal government's determination about the types of sanctions that should govern the employment relationship," Chief Justice John Roberts told Paul Clement, Arizona's lawyer and a top former Justice Department official for the anti-worker GOP Bush government.

"The federal government, of course, prohibits the employment, but it also imposes sanctions with respect to application for work. And Arizona, in this case, is imposing some significantly greater sanctions," the chief justice added.

"Well, it's certainly imposing different sanctions," Clement replied. "I mean, you know, it's kind of hard to weigh the difference between removability, which is obviously a pretty significant sanction for an alien, and the relatively modest penalties imposed by" the Arizona law.

"But I take the premise that (Arizona's law) does something that there is no direct analog in federal law. That's not enough to get you to preemption, obviously," where federal immigration law would override SB1070, Clement claimed.

Donald Verrilli, who as Solicitor General is the government's top lawyer, told the justices that SB1070 is unconstitutional - including in its tougher penalties directed at undocumented workers - because immigration is a field where the federal government pre-empted the states, to set up one uniform law for the country.

"Arizona is pursuing a policy that maximizes the apprehension of unlawfully present aliens so they can be jailed as criminals in Arizona unless the federal government agrees to direct its enforcement resources to remove the people that Arizona has identified," Verrilli said. The feds may have other priorities for removing people from the U.S., he pointed out.

"It's worth examining specific judgments Congress made" in its 1986 comprehen-sive immigration law, Verrilli told Justice Antonin Scalia, who minutes before had suggested rounding up undocumented workers and deporting them back to their native lands.

"On the employer's side -- and, after all, this is a situation in which the employer is being the exploiter and the alien being the exploited -- Congress said states may not impose criminal sanctions," he noted. "Even the federal government will not impose criminal sanctions for the hiring of employees unless there's a pattern or practice.

"It seems quite incongruous to think that Congress, having made that judgment and imposed those restrictions on the employer's side, would have left states free to impose criminal liability on employees merely for seeking work, for doing what you and I would expect most otherwise law-abiding people to do, which is to find a job so they can feed their families.

"So I think that's a significant problem," Verrilli concluded.

The justices will rule on SB1070's legality by the end of June.

Foreclosed tenants tell bank: Let us stay!

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:13:00 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO - A U.S. Bank branch in the Mission District was the site of a different kind of anti-foreclosure protest April 26, as three families who are tenants in a foreclosed building, accompanied by some 100 supporters, demanded the bank collect their rent and let them stay in their homes.

Though legal papers to evict them have yet to be filed, the bank, which now owns the building, is pressing the families to leave. The families - all single mothers with young children - say they don't have the resources to move, and have no place else to go.

The families and their supporters, including Causa Justa/Just Cause, a grassroots organization building community leadership among low-income people, are calling on U.S. Bank to "be a responsible landlord," collecting rents from the families and making needed repairs to the building.

They are also asking that Interim San Francisco Sheriff Vicki Hennessey not proceed with any eviction if the bank does go ahead and file paperwork with her office.

"I am here to ask the bank to acknowledge us as legitimate tenants," said Maria Mendoza, addressing the crowd in Spanish. "I am a single mother of two children who have disabilities, and I need to stay in my home."

Mendoza said the families took their children out of school for the day, so they could participate in the protest.

The young daughter of one of the families, speaking in both Spanish and English, told the crowd, "We don't want to leave this house. How would people from the U.S. Bank or people that are against us, feel if they were without a home? Please don't put us out; we are really worried."

Though attention is usually focused on owners of single-family homes whose mortgages have been foreclosed on, many foreclosures involve tenants who are current in their rents and often don't know the buildings they live in have been foreclosed on until they get an eviction notice.

In a statement, Supervisor John Avalos, who represents the district where the families live, said the families' plight "shows the urgent need for sweeping state and federal measures to attack the foreclosure crisis, and keep our families, whether homeowners or tenants, in their homes." He called on the bank to stop its eviction efforts.

When bank officers refused to receive their handwritten letter, the children of the three families posted it on the bank's front door, to cheers from the crowd. "We are giving you a chance to do the right thing," they wrote. "Please don't kick us out!"

Causa Justa said the action, which came on the heels of the massive San Francisco action against Wells Fargo, is a continuation of actions by the labor-community-environment-immigrant rights coalition 99% Power, now mobilizing actions across the country at other big banks and corporations.

Photo: Marilyn Bechtel/PW

Gov. Scott ramps up war on women

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:36:00 +0000

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - While the GOP was opposing the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in Washington, D.C., Florida's tea party governor slashed $1.5 million from the state budget for 30 rape crisis centers, and all of this during Sexual Assault Awareness month.

On April 23, 2012 Governor Scott vetoed the $1.5 million saying the state already funds sexual violence programs. In an article in the Huffington Post, Scott's press secretary Lane Wright wrote, "Governor Scott approved funding for many projects that have statewide impact and do not duplicate programs already funded by the state." Wright went on to say, "This new funding of $1.5 million would have been duplicative, since, as a state, we already fund sexual violence programs. There was no information suggesting any needs in this area weren't already being met. The state already provides about $6.5 million for rape prevention and sexual assault services. That is in addition to the funds available for domestic violence programs - $29 million to be specific. Many victims of sexual violence seek refuge at domestic violence shelters."

The director of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, Jennifer Dritt, told the Huffington Post, "We say 'here's the need, here's the need, here's the need,' and frankly, nobody's paying any attention. We gave them information about the number of new survivors we have and we showed them that these rape crisis centers have waiting lists."

Dritt continued, saying, "Survivors are having to wait weeks, sometimes six weeks, (and) in some programs three months to be seen. We included quotes from the programs about the waiting lists and what services they weren't able to offer because of a lack of money. There is clearly an unmet need."

The "unmet need" that Dritt is talking about mostly impacts staffing services, such as those necessary in meeting victims at hospitals, answering crisis hotlines, and counseling victims. According to an article in the journal Women & Criminal Justice, "When rape crisis centers/ programs experience reductions in funding, staff positions are eliminated, remaining staff and volunteers are over-worked, efforts to recruit and train volunteers are compromised, [and] services for victims are reduced [....]"

Florida is certain to hold onto its ranking of 47th in the nation for rape crisis programs with Governor Scott's veto.

Photo: Gov. Scott. AP Photo

Wal-Mart Mexico scandal has echoes in U.S. operations

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:23:00 +0000

Wal-Mart conducted a massive, illegal, $24 million bribery campaign in Mexico to aggressively expand its operations there, and then, when presented with the evidence, moved to cover up its actions, the New York Times reported April 22.

But even as the company was conducting phony internal investigations and citing its record of corporate ethical responsibility, it was conducting a similar campaign, involving lavish use of funds, to force itself into another untapped market: Chicago and in particular its African American communities.

In the Mexico bribery scandal, the Justice Department is looking at charging Wal-Mart with violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it a crime for American corporations and their subsidiaries to bribe foreign officials.

But in this country, says Chicago labor activist James Thindwa, there are no laws to criminalize Wal-Mart's practice of "open bribery," often targeting key community groups and state and local legislators with "donations," to help the company advance its agenda.

In 2006 it set up "Working Families for Wal-Mart," hiring civil rights legend Andrew Young at a reported $1 million a year, to press support for Wal-Mart and opposition to living wage ordinances and unions in low-income communities. Participants recruited by the group, the New York Times reported at the time, "have, among other things, spoken in favor of Wal-Mart at zoning meetings and testified before a federal agency reviewing Wal-Mart's application to open a bank."

Thindwa says Young "moved around the country neutralizing African American organizations" who might have supported labor-backed "living wage" bills aimed to protect the community against Wal-Mart's notorious low-wage practices. In Chicago, Young hosted a lavish "clergy luncheon" to help enlist black ministers to Wal-Mart's side.

On July 20, 2006, prominent South Side black pastor Leon Finney turned out 1,000 community members to rally against a City Council living-wage bill. The Chicago activists say Finney and/or his organizations received $50,000 worth of donations from Wal-Mart. In fiscal year 20007-8, Charles Holley, a Wal-Mart executive vice president, wrote Finney's community service group the Woodlawn Organization a company check for $25,000, the Chicago Reader reported.

Eventually, backed by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley and other powerful forces, and some of those same clergy, Wal-Mart succeeded in opening its first Chicago store. Subsequently, in opening another store in the Lakeview neighborhood, home to a large gay and lesbian population, the company bestowed donations on a number of well known gay and lesbian community organizations. It has moved as aggressively to expand in the city as it did in Mexico, with plans to open some 100 stores in Chicago.

In Mexico, says the Times, "They targeted mayors and city council members, obscure urban planners, low-level bureaucrats who issued permits - anyone with the power to thwart Wal-Mart's growth." The bribes, a former Wal-Mart de Mexico executive told the Times, "bought zoning approvals, reductions in environmental impact fees and the allegiance of neighborhood leaders."

Janel Bailey, campaign coordinator for Chicago Neighborhoods First, said in response to the Mexico bribery allegations against Wal-Mart, "When we see the means by which they are getting that done, it is raising questions about what is being done in Chicago."

Chicago Neighborhoods First is a labor, community and small business coalition seeking to "preserve and amplify neighborhood voices in how economic development proceeds in their communities."

The group says, "Neighborhoods need to be proactive in ensuring their community reflects their needs, rather than the wishes of outside corporations. One of the biggest threats to local living economies is the entry of global retail corporations."

On April 25, coalition members and Wal-Mart workers went to the office of local Wal-Mart board member Linda Wolf to present her with a "D-Day" disciplinary action slip for her negligence as a board member. The group says Wal-Mart's cover-up actions, even promoting the man who was the ringleader of the Mexico bribery, "shows that Wal-Mart doesn't care if its actions are ethically or legally wrong - as long as there are profits."

Bailey called Wal-Mart's approach "predatory capitalism," undermining workers' living standards and putting small businesses out of business in pursuit of ever-higher stock prices.

Bloomberg/AP notes that Wal-Mart's Mexico scandal "follows more than a decade of allegations that the company violated laws on illegal immigrant workers, overtime, gender bias and preservation of evidence in pursuit of larger profits."

In Congress, Reps. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Henry Waxman, D-Calif., are investigating Wal-Mart's bribery scandal and the company's possible role in trying to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. With public pressure, perhaps they will also turn their attention to Wal-Mart's seemingly legal "donations" and influence-purchasing here in the U.S.

Photo: Brennan Cavanaugh // CC BY-NC 2.0

Eighteenth Democratic lawmaker quits ALEC

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:21:00 +0000

Last night Pennsylvania State Rep. Harry Redshaw became the 18th Democrat to resign from ALEC, the right wing outfit behind the rash of anti-union, ant-immigrant, vote suppression and pro-gun laws all over the country.

"The dominoes continue to fall," said James Ploeser, Pennsylvania's state organizing director for the Progressive Change Committee, one of the groups leading the drive to get companies and legislators to abandon the group. "ALEC's voter suppression, union-busting agenda can't withstand scrutiny and that's why after days of calls by local PCCC members, Pennsylvania Rep. Harry Redshaw became the 18^th Democrat to dump ALEC. Eighteen down, 58 to go. We will keep the pressure on."

It was just last Friday that the PCCC launched a nation-wide campaign against the 76 ALEC Democrats who held office in state legislatures across the country.

"It's a sham to project that ALEC is bipartisan in nature," said New York State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, one of seven state lawmakers playing a leading role in the PCCC. "And no Democrat should give aid and comfort to this organization by participating in it, to promote its alleged 'bipartisanship'."

In the last 48 hours Redshaw and other ALEC Democrats in Pennsylvania have received dozens of calls from PCCC members in the state, encouraging them to leave ALEC.

Over 80,000 have signed petitions demanding that AT & T, State Farm and Johnson & Johnson cancel their membership.

Other groups, including Color of Change and CREDO action, have run similar petition campaigns with more than 375,000 signatures.

In addition to Proctor & Gamble, McDonald's, Wendy's, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Kraft, Intuit and the Gates Foundation have all dropped their membership.

Grijalva, immigrant rights leaders discuss Supreme Court hearing

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:15:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D, Ariz, and immigrant rights leaders held a press confeence here today to shine a light on Supreme Court deliberations on Arizona's controversial immigration law and to warn of the dangerous implications of Mitt Romney's promise to make the Arizona law a "model" for the nation.

A vicious backhand to undocumented people, Arizona's SB1070 is a law that allows local police to detain and arrest anyone, due to so-called 'reasonable suspicion' of being "illegal." It is generally viewed as extreme racial profiling, and an attack on hard-working undocumented citizens.

The previous day, as the justices heard opening arguments on the legality of the law, about 400 protesters had gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court building.

"Every day, I talk with undocumented folks on the ground who really suffer the consequences of this," said Erika Andiola, Arizona Director of the DRM Capitol Group, a political advocacy organization. "This is not the right thing to do, and it should not be the model for the nation."

"SB1070 as the model for this nation goes against every American value we have," said Grijalva. "It creates a legal separation for a class of people - one that says, 'you're not part of this whole.' That attitude, which Romney" and those who endorse him "have...it is the most extreme, harsh policy America has ever seen.

"This is very frightening. It separates society in a very racial, profound, linguistic way.

"1070's very obvious agenda is to keep the [so-called] racial 'balance' in this country at a certain percentage. These are harbingers of really ugly politics, and we should all be very concerned."

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said yesterday that SB1070 and similar laws "are tearing families apart. These laws have legalized discrimination, encouraged racial profiling, and sanctioned egregious violations of civil and human rights, and labor laws.

"Arizona's attempt at state-level immigration lawmaking is unconstitutional."

Romney, in addition to glorifying SB1070, has promised to veto the DREAM Act, which is legislation intended to provide U.S. residency for the undocumented, on the conditions of arrival in the U.S. prior to adulthood, and high school graduation.

"Ever since Jan. - ever since Romney said he would veto the DREAM Act, we have been declaring that we're not going to tolerate it," added Cesar Vargas, managing partner of DRM Capitol. "And we're going to make sure everyone knows what Romney's position is. We are talking to undocumented youth [who are affected], and they're listening to us."

In the coming days, Vargas declared, "We're going to be pushing ahead more aggressively. We're gonna be letting everyone know that Romney is not on the side of DREAMers, and not on the side of America."

Photo: Students Emmanuel Catalan and Jean Cocco protest Romney's position on the DREAM Act. Charles Dharapak/AP

San Jose council candidate goes to bat for workers' pensions

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:54:00 +0000

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Like many cities, San Jose is struggling with finances. And, like many cities, mayors and the establishment want workers to pay the price. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, together with several council members, has put forward a ballot measure aimed at depriving city workers of their pensions.

But this move is not going unchallenged. Steve Kline, a workers compensation lawyer and longtime community activist, is challenging City Council member Pierluigi Oliverio, one of the most enthusiastic backers of the pension-bashing measure, for the seat in the June 5 municipal elections.

Kline has won the endorsement of elected officials, community activists, police and firefighters unions, the South Bay Labor Council AFL-CIO, and, most recently, the county Democratic Central Committee of which Oliverio has been an active member for several years.

Kline says city unions have made a number of proposals to resolve the financial problems regarding pensions, but the mayor and council have dismissed them, opting for the controversial ballot measure instead. Kline says that the union proposals offer at least a basis for negotiations-but serious negotiations are impossible when the mayor keeps putting forth wildly different figures for the extent to which the city is in arrears on its pension obligations.

Pensions and fair treatment for city workers aren't the only issue on which Kline is running. He and his husband moved to San Jose, located in the heart of the famed Silicon Valley, because it offered an ethnically and culturally diverse community, was among the safest large cities in the country, and had open and transparent government.

Today, Kline says, only the first of the reasons still holds true. Massive layoffs in the police department have greatly increased police response times and left crime victims helpless. (San Jose's police force, though certainly not free of incidents of racist and other mistreatment of citizens, has a better record in that regard than those in most other large urban areas.)

Kline detailed at a meeting with district residents the difficulties he has had in getting even the most basic information on municipal expenditures.

The incumbent Oliverio has accumulated a substantial campaign chest, mostly from Chamber of Commerce members and real estate developers. Kline is running a grassroots campaign, relying on community people doing door-to-door canvassing in the district to point up the differences between him and Oliverio.

Judging from the discussion and enthusiasm of a recent community meeting this writer attended, Kline stands a strong chance of beating the corporate-friendly incumbent and turning the politics of this formerly fairly progressive city around.

Walker makes Wisconsin first in job loss

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:42:00 +0000

Republican Gov. Scott Walker's hoped-for legacy as savior of the Wisconsin economy and his assurances that destroying union rights for public workers would turn the state into a job generating success were smashed for good yesterday.

A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that Wisconsin is the only one of 50 states in the nation to suffer "statistically significant" job loss from March 2011 to March 2012.

Translation into better English: While 49 states are either holding the line or seeing at least some small improvement in the jobs sector, Walker's experiment with using attacks on unions to create jobs is a complete and unmitigated flop.

Since the governor's attack on unions by eliminating the collective bargaining rights of public employees the sate of Wisconsin has lost 23,900 jobs, the largest amount of job loss, by percentage, anywhere in the country. There were 17,800 public sector job losses due to budget cuts while 6,100 workers in the private sector also lost their jobs.

"Voters are certainly going to keep this in mind when they vote this spring in the recall elections," said Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin issued a statement yesterday that said the job loss figure for Wisconsin boils down to loss of a job an hour every single day since the governor launched his attack on collective bargaining rights in the state.

The Democrats also castigated the governor for his national effort to solicit corporate campaign cash: "Scott Walker can't credibly defend his job loss economy to the people of Wisconsin any longer, so he's running around the country begging for sleazy corporate cash wherever he can get it - including a staggering $1 million check from the Koch brothers."

The brothers are the Big Oil billionaires raking in huge profits from holdings all over Wisconsin and across the country.

"While Scott Walker travels the country, Wisconsin families are working harder than ever to keep their heads above water," the statement read. Democrats are urging everyone in the state to sign a petition and tell the governor what they are busy doing all day while he is busy killing a Wisconsin job every hour.

In addition to layoffs over the last 12 months thousands of public employees are faced with pay cuts and increased workloads, taxes have been raised on seniors and working-class families and job-training programs have been cut.

On top of all of that, Walker Republicans have refused to invest in infrastructure. All of these problems, taken together with the governor's extreme partisan agenda, are seen as contributing factors in creating a climate of uncertainty and instability leading employers to hold back on any hiring in Wisconsin.

Walker has made a major issue of how his policies have saved the state from the economic problems faced by people in Illinois, Wisconsin's neighboring state to the south. The same government report, however, that showed Wisconsin last in job creation showed Illinois ranking third among the 50 states in job creation.

Working families oust Altmire in primary

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:27:00 +0000

The national media focused Tuesday night on the duller-than-ever Romney "victories" in the low turnout GOP primaries, but missed the exciting shot heard in every corporate boardroom in America fired by Western Pennsylvania working families.

Workers and their allies showed that boots on the ground can trample even the best-funded pro-corporate SuperPAC operations when they propelled Democratic state representative Mark Critz to victory over his opponent, Jason Altmire

The 12th Congressional District in Pennsylvania saw two incumbents, Critz and Altmire, battle it out for the Democratic nomination for Congress. The new lines were drawn by a Republican legislature determined to get rid of a Democratic seat and, at the same time, hold onto a seat for blue dog Democrat Altmire, who usually voted with Republicans.

Altmire actually won his first term largely because of the support from unions who worked hard for his election.

Once in office, however, he double-crossed the workers who backed him by voting against health care reform. United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard said of Altmire: "He broke his word by his conservative voting record that put him on the side of the opposing political party more often than on the side of working families."

The big issue in the campaign against Altmire was his decision to vote against the health care reform law backed by President Obama. Altmire sided with Republicans, saying it would be too expensive and that it would add to the deficit.

The Steelworkers countered by saying the National Health Care Avt was a big step forward and that eventually even more had to be done. The union said that Medicare for All was the long term solution.

The labor movement was angry too because Altmire voted against job creation programs proposed by both fellow Democrats and the Obama administration and he backed Republican efforts in Congress to curb the enforcement powers of both the National Labor Relations Board and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The USW and a host of other unions put together a campaign low on funds but high in the number of volunteers and showed Almire what can happen to lawmakers who double cross working families.

"One by one we persuaded voters and helped motivate a solid turnout to overcome the advantages in the re-drawn district that was thought to belong to Altmire," Gerard said.

When Critz entered the race he trailed Altmire by 24 points and just before election night he was behind by as much as 7 points in the polls.

"Labor and community allies ran an experienced, smart grassroots field program with shoe leather and sheer determination," Gerard said.

Unions hope to repeat the kind of operation they ran for Critz in districts across the country this year. It involved bringing information about the campaign into worksites, the establishment of union-run phone banks independent of any political party operation, and "labor walks" through various neighborhoods.

The USW says it had 400 members participating in the campaign on a regular basis.

Steelworkers tally sheets show that union members knocked on 5,211 doors the night before and the day of the election.

In an election night tweet, Critz wrote: "Thank you Steelworkers, SEIU, AFL-CIO and all of labor! I couldn't have done it without you!"

"Working people showed the strength of their voice in Pennsylvania's 12th district last night, a model for the path ahead," tweeted AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

Photo: Mark Critz. SalatCalU // CC 2.0

Protesters demand GE pay its taxes

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:41:00 +0000

DETROIT - Chanting "GE, pay your taxes," several thousand rallied in downtown Detroit this morning, the site of the GE annual shareholders meeting.

Participants arrived in buses from around Michigan and as far away as Chicago, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

People expressed disgust at the fact that GE not only hasn't paid taxes, but got a reimbursement from the federal government. Retired teacher Nancy Grady of Troy, Mich., said GE should pay their share so workers aren't continually squeezed to try to balance the federal deficit.

Mark Mittelback came on a bus from Kalamazoo, Mich., with a contingent from Michigan Organizing Project (MOP), a faith-based social justice organization. "Social programs are being cut because there's not enough money. GE's not paying its fair share," he said.

In a "Citizens for Tax Justice" report, GE was referred to as "a long-time champion tax avoider."

Linda Ewing of the United Auto Workers said, "We're outraged that corporations aren't paying taxes while 99% are dealing with falling income and cuts."

Bay City, Mich., SEIU member Sandy Westfall is a home health care worker. She said she was there because "we always have to fight for workers' rights. It's not fair. They should pay their taxes."

With Occupy members and a broad section from many unions, the crowd was lively and disciplined. There were chants on this beautiful sunny morning next to the Detroit River, as the marchers converged on the Marriott Hotel, where the meeting was taking place: "How do we fix the deficit? Tax, tax, tax the rich!"

Peace activists note that GE is a major defense contractor as well, and needs to put more investment in renewable energy.

Photo: Jackie Dick/PW

Workers the real victors in Tuesday primary

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:33:00 +0000

While the national media focused Tuesday night on the duller-than-ever Romney "victories" in the low turnout GOP primaries, the workers of Western Pennsylvania fired a shot heard in every corporate boardroom in America.

Workers and their allies showed that boots on the ground can trample even the best funded pro-corporate Super Pac operations when they propelled Democratic state representative Mark Critz to victory over his opponent, Jason Altmire.

The 12^th Congressional District in Pennsylvania saw two incumbents, Critz and Altmire, battle it out for the Democratic nomination for Congress. The new lines were drawn by a Republican legislature determined to get rid of a Democratic seat and, at the same time, hold onto a seat for a blue dog Democrat, Altmire, who usually voted with Republicans.

Altmire actually won his first term largely because of the support from unions who worked hard for his election.

Breathing life into the old maxim, "the payback is a bitch," the USW and a host of other unions put together a campaign low on funds but high in the number of boots on the ground and showed Almire what can happen to lawmakers who double cross workers.

"One by one we persuaded voters and helped motivate a solid turnout to overcome the advantages in the re-drawn district that was thought to belong to Altmire," said Gerard.

When Critz entered the race he trailed Altmire by 24 points in the polls and just before election night he was behind by as much as 7 points in those same polls. "We and our labor and community allies ran an experienced, smart grassroots field program with shoe leather and sheer determination," said Gerard.

The operation labor ran for Critz is one unions hope to repeat in districts all across the country this year. It involved bringing information about the campaign into worksites, the establishment of union-run phone banks independent of any political party operation, and "labor walks" through various neighborhoods.

The USW alone, says it had 400 members participating in the campaign on a regular basis.

Steelworkers tally sheets show that union members knocked on 5,211 doors the night before and the day of the election.

In an election night tweet, Critz wrote: Thank you Steelworkers, SEIU, AFL-CIO and all of labor! I couldn't have done it without you!"

"Working people showed the strength of their voice in Pennsylvania's 12^th district last night, a model for the path ahead," tweeted AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

Obama pushes for lower student loan rates

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:05:00 +0000

CHICAGO - President Barack Obama is on the road again, this time to warn students about a pending interest rate hike on college loans if Congress doesn't act. Travelling to campuses in politically important presidential battleground states like North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa, the president says he wants Congress to keep the current interest rates.

If the rates are allowed to double on July 1, students will pay on average $1,000 more in interest on government-guaranteed Stafford loans. Students carry on average $25,250 in debt while facing the highest unemployment rate in recent history at 9.1percent, according to projectstudentdebt.org. Two-thirds of college seniors graduated with loans in 2010.

The president told students that he and First Lady Michelle Obama were "in your shoes" and didn't pay off their student loans until eight years ago.

"I didn't just read about this," he said. "When we married, we got poor together."

(Story continues below video embed; President Obama "slow jams" the news on Jimmy Fallon show.)

U.S. student loan debt is estimated at $1 trillion, surpassing credit card and auto-loan debt. Just over 14.5 million people under the age of 30 owe $294.93 billion with a growing number of Americans over the age of 50 - 6.3 million - owing $134 billion.

Shannon Enorense, a computer science major at Northeastern Illinois University here, is a returning student who isn't worrying about loans - this time.

"I've paid for my education out of my pocket, thanks to finding gainful employment in my 20s - something that will be a challenge for the younger generation until we are out of this recession and more jobs are created," she said via email.

After working and going to school for the past 20 years, Enorense graduates next month. The average student debt for graduating seniors in Illinois is $ 23,885.

Enorense said she didn't pay too much attention to interest rates on her student loans when she was younger.

"I signed on the line," she said. "Paying it back was something I would think about 'when I grew up'."

Enorense said she fears the younger generation may be more focused on getting through college than debt after graduation.

Younger students, she said, "may not be paying attention to the loan rates because their mindset isn't on paying it back, but instead just getting through the semester with good grades. I feel sorry for them because the job market is flooded with educated workers, and if you are hired you will likely be paid less than you deserve. Paying back the loans with a higher interest rate will be like signing up for a 30-year fixed mortgage. It seems like it never ends."

Enorense said Congress should definitely keep the rate low.

"It will give students from all economic backgrounds a chance to higher education. With globalization threatening our job market, everyone needs the opportunity for education so they can compete. If it is too expensive, many will forfeit their chance," she said.

In response to the president's tour, GOP challenger Mitt Romney got out his Etch-a-Sketch and changed his position on the pending hike. He now opposes it. Yet, House Republicans are balking at extending the 2007 interest rate cut, saying the $6 billion cost would be a burden to taxpayers.

That is short sighted, critics say.

"Republicans would rather pile that burden on the backs of taxpayers-to-be, specifically the 7.4 million students who now have federally subsidized Stafford loans and the millions more who will need them," writes The New York Times in an April 24 editorial.

"House Republicans are far more interested in cutting taxes, largely for the rich, than they are in helping low- and middle-income students get a college education," the editors said.

Photo:President Barack Obama talks with Jimmy Fallon during a taping of "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" at Memorial Hall on the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill campus in Chapel Hill, N.C., April 24. (White House/Pete Souza)

Seniors rally for fairness and dignity

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:20:00 +0000

HARTFORD, Conn. - "The fight for Social Security and Medicare is part of a larger fight for justice and fairness," declared Barbara Easterling at a rally at the State Capitol during Seniors Day, sponsored by the Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans.

She warned that the annual report just issued by the trustees of Social Security will be used by Mitt Romney and the Republicans to try and push through rapid changes that "put seniors at risk while enriching Wall Street."

The federal budget proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan, passed by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, would turn Medicare into a voucher system. Proposals to privatize Social Security have also resurfaced, which would put seniors at the mercy of the stock market for their survival.

Easterling, national president of the Alliance for Retired Americans, urged support of the Rebuild America Act introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, which includes a provision to end the cap on Social Security taxes on high incomes which would insure the solvency of Social Security indefinitely.

In a release responding to the trustees report, the Center for Social Security and Medicare Advocacy pointed out that "recent polling has shown that a majority of Americans support lifting the payroll tax cap to ensure Americans contribute at all income levels."

Calling for an all-out mobilization in the upcoming election Easterling said to applause, "They will spend more money in one year than we spend in our entire lives. Our working days are over, but our fight is stronger than ever."

The rally opened to Elvis Presley's "Rock Around the Clock," as Connecticut ARA president Cal Bunnell pointed to empty rocking chairs arrayed in front of the crowd saying. "These are empty because we are not sitting in our rockers, we are active and working hard."

Chris Donovan, Speaker of the state House and candidate for Congress, called proposals to cut Social Security and for a voucher system for Medicare "irresponsible." He enumerated many measures enacted at the state level to enable seniors to live at home and to cut costs of prescriptions.

Congratulating the Connecticut ARA for its work, John Olsen, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO exclaimed that the goal is "not just a longer life, but dignity in our lives."

The 100 participants who came from all over the state, visited their state senators and representatives to ask their support on three bills that would enable seniors to continue living at home instead of an institution in their later years. All are supported by the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate.

Raised Bill No. 374 would require the Commission on Aging to conduct a study of existing programs and cost effectiveness of home and community based care for the elderly and Alzheimer's patients. Substitute Bills No. 142 and 143 would increase eligibility and funding for home care and Alzheimer's respite care.

In recognition of the fact that many workers no longer have defined benefit pension plans, the Connecticut ARA is also supporting a study commission to offer an affordable, voluntary public retirement plan to expand retirement security and boost the local economy.

The day included many exhibits in the Concourse hallway from groups addressing the needs of seniors. Participants signed petitions in support of raising the cap at the table sponsored by the New Haven Peoples Center.

Breakfast, lunch and transportation were provided, helping to make the first annual Seniors Day at the Capitol a great success.

Photo: At Conn. state Capitol, retirees sign petition to end the cap on Social Security taxes on high incomes so that everyone pays their share. Photo by Art Perlo.

Protesters to Wells Fargo: Make mortgages affordable!

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:51:00 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO - Over a thousand protesters from community, faith, housing, immigrant rights and environmental organizations, unions, and Bay Area Occupy movements thronged the streets around the site of the Wells Fargo shareholders meeting here April 24, demanding the bank work with homeowners to make mortgages affordable, pay its fair share of taxes, and stop investing in the for-profit prison system.

Though they didn't shut the meeting down, their shouts and chants wafted all the way up to the 15^th floor meeting room.

Outside, protesters blocked the building's main entrances, with several chaining themselves together to make it hard for police to separate them.

In the crowd were a number of union, faith and community protesters who had bought shares of Wells Fargo stock - some even having arranged to vote by proxy for other stockholders - so they could participate in the meeting. Most were refused entry, while Wells Fargo ushered other shareholders in through a side door, and reportedly also filled the room with its employees.

Some demonstrators did get into the meeting, and several briefly disrupted the proceedings before being escorted out. Altogether, about two dozen people were arrested during the nonviolent action, and were cited and released.

As participants gathered before marching to the meeting site, Wallace Hill, retired from teaching in San Francisco schools, told the sad story of his involvement with Wells Fargo. Hill said that after he took out a loan to fix up the four-unit building in Oakland he'd owned and lived in for 18 years, his loan ballooned from $300,000 to nearly $1 million. When Wells Fargo wouldn't work out a modification, he filed for bankruptcy.

Hill, who is active with Causa Justa/Just Cause, said he and his tenants continue to live in the now bank-owned building, and are trying, together, to buy it back.

"We need a moratorium on foreclosures, to keep people in their homes," Hill said. "Banks need to work with people, go out to meet with people in their homes, and do their work on the scene."

Tanya Dennis, a leader in the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), said she and her organization were participating in the action "because with all the crimes the banks have committed, no banker has yet been convicted. If we don't stand up for ourselves, who will stand up for us?"

Dennis lived in her home for 23 years before Wells Fargo foreclosed on it. After she was evicted, she later broke back into the home. With plenty of determination, with support from ACCE and from several area elected officials, she finally won a modification of her loan.

Now, Dennis is dedicated to helping other foreclosure victims - including, she said, her 91-year-old mother.

The San Francisco action was part of a nationwide plan put forward by the broad new labor-community-environmental coalition, 99% Power. On the coalition's agenda through early June are a dozen protests around the country targeting the likes of General Electric, Bank of America, Chevron, Target and WalMart.

Wells Fargo is the country's largest mortgage lender and largest mortgage servicer, and leads in foreclosures. It is the second largest U.S. bank in deposits, and the largest in terms of branches. It is also heavily involved in the predatory "pay day loan" business, and according to Just Cause, "has dodged more taxes than any other company since the financial crisis began in 2008."

The financial giant has been the focus of a number of protests, including a recent study by the National Fair Housing Alliance, which found the bank is discriminating against people of color in the way it maintains foreclosed properties it owns.

Photo: Protesters hold stock certificates. Marilyn Bechtel/PW