MO JwJ and Allies Rally and March with Occupy St. Louis
Missouri Jobs with Justice and allies joined Occupy St. Louis for a "We Are One - We Are the 99%" Rally and March downtown this past Friday, October 14. Four hundred rallied in Kiener Plaza, and a thousand strong marched to the Bank of America, then to the Arch grounds, and back to Kiener Plaza.
At Bank of America, their role in the 2008 financial crises and ensuing rampant foreclures were highlighted. At the Arch grounds, nearby bridges that need repairs were pointed out as a way to put millions of Americans back to work - by public works projects repairing our public structures.
Gary Elliott, of MOJwJ member organization Eastern Missouri Laborers’ District Council, was quoted on KSDK,
"I think banks are sitting on a lot of money that they’re not wanting to put out. They’re basically squeezing the small businesses that everybody agrees is the economic engine of this country, yet they won’t give them loans. They give super loans to the big companies, but yet we had the bank bailouts."
Steve Johnson, Organizing Committee Co-Chair for St. Louis area Jobs with Justice and Organizer with Teamsters Local 688, summed it up nicely: "I think people are tired of their houses falling into foreclosure while the rich are getting richer,"
The rally was the first big event organized with Occupy St. Louis and labor groups in St. Louis. Earlier in the week, several unions endorsed the overall message of Occupy St. Louis, which sees widespread negative effects of corporate greed, a widening gap in equality, and over 30 years of stagnated wages (when adjusted for inflation).
The event was organized by MO JwJ, Occupy St. Louis, Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE), Missouri AFL-CIO, St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council, St. Louis Labor Council, SEIU and other unions.
The rally and march was covered by many major media outlets in the city. Read the articles by Channel 5 KSDK, Channel 4 KMOV, the Post-Dispatch, and the Beacon.
