Tag Archives: Zuccotti Park

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Occupy Wall Street movement

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They can take away the tarps and the tents. But they can’t slow down the Occupy Wall Street movement.

There have been police raids on Occupy Wall Street in Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Denver; Albany, N.Y.; Burlington, Vt.; and Chapel Hill, N.C.—and now, last night in New York’s Zuccotti Park—orchestrated by politicians acting on behalf of the 1%.

But the 99% is undaunted. Occupy Wall Street’s message already has created a new day. This movement has created a seismic shift in our national debate—from austerity and cuts to jobs, inequality and our broken economic system.

Send a message of solidarity to the Occupy Wall Street protesters—which will be delivered by Working America this week.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has been committed to peaceful, nonviolent action from its inception. And it will keep spreading no matter what elected officials tell police to do. But that doesn’t mean these raids are acceptable. In fact, they are inexcusable.

As former Secretary of State Colin Powell put it, these protests are “as American as apple pie.” Americans must be allowed to speak out against pervasive inequality, even if the truth discomfits the 1%.

The AFL-CIO will do everything in our power to make sure the free speech rights of these peaceful protesters are protected.

Click here to send a message of solidarity directly to the Occupy Wall Street protesters—Working America will deliver it this week.

We are the 99%.

In Solidarity,

Richard L. Trumka
President, AFL-CIO

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Department of Justice … Jim Dean


“The universal rights of assembly and free speech must be protected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.” — President Barack Obama.

You may be thinking the above quote from President Obama was talking about the Occupy Wall Street protests — but he wasn’t. He was talking about the protests in Iran this past year.

Yet every morning, we read another story from a DFA member involved in an Occupy Wall Street action — stories about how protesters are struggling with authorities just to be able to exercise their basic rights. Every day we hear about some new dirty trick being pulled in an effort to stifle and break up the movement.

The tactics are varied. Some days it’s the Mayor of New York attempting to forcibly evict protesters from Zuccotti Park under the guise of “cleaning” or taking away the power supply. Other days, it’s mass arrests in Boston in the middle of the night. And just days ago it was the horrific story of police firing dangerous weapons on unarmed peaceful demonstrators in Oakland — and even seriously wounding a United States marine who served in Iraq.

The truth is: the universal rights of Occupy Wall Street protesters to free speech and assembly are not being protected right now. It’s time for our nation’s top law enforcement agency to stand up and defend its own civilians who are under attack — from New York to Oakland and every occupation in between.

Tell the Department of Justice to make a statement protecting the rights of Occupy Wall Street protesters to demonstrate in safety and peace. Sign the petition now.

At other pivotal moments in American history, the Department of Justice and the President have taken action to protect its citizens engaged in protest from injustice and police brutality.

We need that same leadership again now.

President Obama has stood up and showed great leadership in demanding that all governments worldwide protect the rights of their people to peacefully protest without harassment. It’s time for the Obama administration to lead again by demanding those exact same protections for peaceful protestors here in the United States of America.

Add your name to the petition now. Tell the Department of Justice to protect the rights of Americans to assemble and speak freely.

Thank you for everything you do,

– Jim

Jim Dean, Chair

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Last week HCAN activists joined a half million people across the country


Last week HCAN activists joined a half million people across the country to prevent New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the owner of Zuccotti Park from evicting thousands of Occupy Wall Street protesters. As a result of your quick action, Mayor Bloomberg and Brookfield Inc. backed down and the Occupy movement continues to grow.

Thanks to the rapid response of AFL-CIO, CREDO, MoveOn.org,
Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Rebuild the Dream, The Other
98%, USAction and dozens of other groups,
 Occupy Wall Street
supporters generated 500,000 petition signatures and thousands of calls
and tweets.

Watch and share this great video from MoveOn.org as the 5,000 protesters celebrate word of their victory.
 

Video from MoveOn.org of Occupy Wall Street Victory
Today
marks one month since Occupy Wall Street began. In only four weeks the
Occupy movement has gone global, spreading from Wall Street to 100
cities across America and an incredible 951 cities in 82 countries.
Occupy support could be found even in a remote corner of the Alaskan
tundra and on a Hawaiian beach.

Last week was an important victory and the battle of the people versus
unbridled corporate greed continues. We will keep you posted on our next
steps in the fight for The 99 Percent.
In Solidarity,

Melinda Gibson

Health Care for America Now

P.S. Join us in Washington DC on November 4th for the Koch Brothers Guerrilla Drive-In.