A few months ago, people marching against corporate greed might have been perceived as wasting their time. This weekend in downtown Minneapolis normally disinterested bystanders gave the protesters their enthusiastic backing. The message that “corporate greed is killing us” is resonating with average citizens as government statistics now show the 1% of Americans who control 40% of the wealth are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
The march on October 29, 2011 marked the anniversary of 1929 stock market crash and included about 300 people. It started at the People’s Plaza (Hennepin County Government Plaza) and marched to nearby multinational banks.
This is part of an international day of action against banks and Wall Street that included large protests around the country and the world. The coffins were delivered to U.S. Bank and TCF Bank. The marchers also visited a Wells Fargo drive-in bank before returning to The People’s Plaza.
The People’s Plaza in Minneapolis has been occupied since October 7 as part of the #OccupyMN movement, which is part of the international Occupy movement sparked by Occupy Wall Street in New York.
The banks were targeted for their role in wrecking the economy, jobs, housing, the environment, and people’s lives, while continuing to rake in record profits. Groups from various sectors participated in the march including unions, students, poor people, anti-war, immigrant rights and other contingents.
Minnesota labor leaders spoke at the rally included:
Elliot Seide – Director of AFSCME Council 5, the union of over 40,000 Minnesota public sector workers
Javier Morillo-Alicea – President of SEIU Local 26
Michelle Sommers – President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005
Bernadine Engeldorf – Minnesota Nurses Association 1st Vice-President and National Nurses United Vice President.
Gerardo Cajamarca – International Mission of SINALTRAINAL union of Colombia who spoke about the devastating effect of corporate greed on workers in Colombia and other countries
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