by Mike Hall, Mar 17, 2010 (from the AFL-CIO Blog)
JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was found guilty yesterday of conspiracy to wreck the economy, destroy jobs and the immoral use of taxpayer bank bailout money for millions in Wall Street bonuses.
The courtroom was on a Madison Wis., street in front a JP Morgan Chase bank branch and the jury included dozens of union and community activists. The street theater was part of the AFL-CIO union movement’s two weeks of action across the country to Make Wall Street pay to create jobs and fix they economy they ravaged.
Jim Cavanaugh, president of the South Central Federation of Labor which organized the curbside drama says:
We bailed out Wall Street now its time for Wall Street to bail out Main Street.
More than 200 “Good Jobs Now, Make Wall Street Pay” actions are planned through March 25. The rallies and marches will demand that the Big Six Wall Street banks–Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wachovia-Wells Fargo–take the following actions:
- Pay their fair share to restore the jobs their actions destroyed.
- Stop their multi-million dollar lobbying blitz to kill financial reform.
- Start lending to communities, small businesses and others starved for credit.
Also yesterday, union members distributed leaflets in front of JP Morgan Chase branch in Baton Rouge, La., and rallied at a Bank of America office in Charleston, S.C. Today union activists in Butte, Mont., will march in the town’s St. Patrick’s Day parade carrying “Make Wall Street Pay” signs and banners. This afternoon, the West Virginia AFL-CIO, along with community allies, staged a rally in front a Wells Fargo/Wachovia Bank in Charleston.
Find out about events in your area here. If you take part in an event, be sure to send us your photo or video here.
You also can tell Wall Street executives to pony up and create good jobs by sending a letter urging them to do the right thing. Just click here.
