Unions, Nurses Protest Wall Street Greed in Washington

by Jon Melegrito  |  November 03, 2011

AFSCME members joined more than 1,000 nurses, other union members, students and community activists at Lafayette Square to protest Wall Street greed. (Photo by Jon Melegrito)

“Wall Street, Wall Street, you can’t hide. We can see your ugly side!”

That was the chant uttered loudly today in Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Square as AFSCME members joined more than 1,000 nurses, other union members, students and community activists in solidarity with the International Day of Action: Occupy G-20/Make Wall Street Pay.

Waving “Heal America—Tax Wall Street” placards, nurses from National Nurses United led the chanting and cheering as speakers called on Congress and Washington policy makers to stop catering to banks and financial interests. Speakers also called for a Wall Street Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) that could help create jobs and public services.

Today’s rally coincides with the annual summit in France where leaders of the G-20 nations are meeting to deal with Europe’s financial crisis. European workers have also been advocating for a financial transaction tax that could raise billions of dollars annually to help combat poverty.

Saul Schniderman, a registration specialist in the copyright office of the Library of Congress and president of AFSCME Local 2910 (Council 26), was among the demonstrators who gathered at noon across from the White House.

“As federal employees we consider ourselves to be part of the 99 percent,” he said. “And as union members we believe in the principle of social justice—that everyone needs to pay their fair share. This includes Wall Street corporations with their record profits and their CEOs who receive skyrocketing salaries. We rally today with Occupy DC and other unions to defend our country and its institutions from the modern-day robber barons.”

Because of Wall Street’s reckless pursuit of profits at the expense of working families, AFSCME and other labor unions have thrown their support behind the Occupy Wall Street protests since they broke out in September.

“What has been happening on Wall Street is a Main Street movement in the spirit of the protests in Madison, Wisconsin,” AFSCME President Gerald McEntee and Secretary-Treasurer Lee Saunders said in a joint statement. “Just as a message was sent to politicians in Wisconsin, a clear message is now being sent to Wall Street: Priority No. 1 should be rebuilding Main Street, not fueling the power of corporate CEOs and their marionette politicians.”