Unions join Wall St protesters
Unions lent their muscle to the long-running protests against Wall Street and economic inequality yesterday, with their members joining thousands of protesters in a lower Manhattan march as smaller demonstrations flourished across the US.
Protesters in suits and T-shirts with union slogans left work early to march with activists who have been camped out in Zuccotti Park for days. Some marchers brought along their children, hoisting them on to their shoulders as they walked down Broadway.
“We’re here to stop corporate greed,” said Mike Pellegrino, an NYC Transit bus mechanic from Rye Brook. “They should pay their fair share of taxes. We’re just working and looking for decent lives for our families.”
Of the camping protesters, he said: “We feel kinship with them. We’re both looking for the same things.”
People gathered in front of the courthouses that encircle Foley Square, then marched to Zuccotti Park, where they refuelled with snacks and hurriedly painted new signs as the strong scent of burning sage wafted through the plaza.
Previous marches have resulted in mass arrests. Police said there were about a dozen arrests last night, mostly for disorderly conduct. But at least one arrest was for assaulting a police officer; authorities said a demonstrator knocked an officer off his scooter.
The protesters have varied causes but have spoken largely about unemployment and economic inequality and reserved most of their criticism for Wall Street. “We are the 99%,” they chanted, contrasting themselves with the wealthiest 1% of Americans.
Susan Henoch, 63, of Manhattan, said she was a “child of the ’60s” and came out to the park for the first time yesterday. She held a sign that read “Enough”.
“It’s time for the people to speak up,” she said. “Nobody’s listening to us, nobody’s representing us. Politics is dead.
“This is no longer a recognisable democracy. This is a disaster,” she said.
The Occupy Wall Street protests started on September 17 with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds have set up camp nearby in Zuccotti Park and have become increasingly organised, lining up medical aid and legal help and printing their own newspaper.
Several Democratic lawmakers have expressed support for the protesters, but some Republican presidential candidates have rebuked them. Herman Cain called the activists “un-American” yesterday at a book signing in St Petersburg, Florida.
“They’re basically saying that somehow the government is supposed to take from those that have succeeded and give to those who want to protest,” the former pizza company executive said.
“That’s not the way America was built.”
