Chanting “Money for Jobs and Education, Not for Banks and
Corporations,” 5,000 workers and students converged on a
corporate executive’s summit in Chicago on June 14. The streets
outside the meeting, which was being held at a downtown Hyatt
Hotel, were shut down for over an hour.
The streets were blocked by protesters and 25 people were
arrested. Numerous community organizations and unions organized
the mass action, including Stand Up! Chicago, SEIU and the
Chicago Teachers Union. The protest was dubbed, “The Give it
Back Rally” by organizers.
While the bosses of McDonalds, Motorola, IBM and others met in
the lavish hotel, on the streets outside the workers demanded
that Wall Street give back the money used to bail them out and
the billions of dollars in tax breaks they’ve robbed from the
people during a time of financial crisis and “budget austerity.”
“Federal government bailed out the banks, the major
corporations, the cars – they can’t bail out the teachers for
our students? Come on. Where is the money? Give it back to us.
Give it back to us. That is all we’re asking. Give us a fair
chance,” said Chicago Teachers Union member Alonzo Hoskins.
(ABCChicago.com)
The mass protest is one in a string of large protests organized
by Chicago and Illinois unions and allies as the state and city
have waged war on unions and democrats and republicans alike
have slashed city, county and state budgets—all while the
rich are being aided by the government in taking advantage of
the crisis to expand their share
of the wealth in society.
The June 14 street action showed once again that workers are
ready to struggle with the billionaires over wages, social services and rights. A fighting
labor movement that helps unite the struggles of poor people,
immigrants, women, workers and all oppressed people can help
escalate the fight back and turn the
tide against the class war being waged on the people by Wall Street.
