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From Wall Street to Main Street
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Wall Street, NYC.
photo: John Catalinotto
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The speakers represented a cross section of progressive New York. Whether it was City Councilmember Charles Barron explaining how Bloomberg climbed up the “wealthiest person” ladder since he became mayor of New York; housing activist Nellie Bailey chiding the landlord domination of local politics; Katrina-survivor supporter Brenda Stokely making it clear that solidarity must begin with the most oppressed; people’s lawyer Lynne Stewart denouncing capitalism; or FIST youth organizers LeiLani Dowell and Larry Hales, mobilizing for future struggles; they had an audience.
A rousing speech was presented by a leader of women steelworkers in South Korea, who have been striking the SIRIUS Corporation for the past three years. Their example of struggle despite hardship may turn out to be one of the important lessons of the rally. Teresa Gutierrez from the May 1st Coalition for Immigrant and Workers Rights; Charles Jenkins, a leader of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; and Bernadette Ellorin from BAYAN-USA spoke on workers’ unity across all borders.
For those distributing literature, there was constant interaction with passers-by, most of it friendly questions. A group of Chinese visitors enjoyed photographing each other beside a sign on the Workers World table that called capitalism the problem and socialism the solution. Media from Spain, France, Venezuela and local Spanish-language TV stations interviewed participants and recorded the rally/street meeting that Bail Out the People Movement organizer Larry Holmes opened and which kept going for more than three hours until Monica Moorehead gave an update on the struggles to save death-row prisoners, Troy Davis and Mumia Abu-Jamal. The final speaker read a message from a Philippines revolutionary to the U.S. working class. It was a new day on Wall Street.
John Parker and Gloria Saucedo in Los Angeles.
photo: Maggie Vascassenno
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In Los Angeles, the Labor/Community Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions held a “Bailout the Workers, Not the Bankers” forum on Oct. 24 and a street protest on Oct. 27. The forum was held at Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, located in Panorama City in Los Angeles County. Led by Gloria Saucedo, Hermandad services the immigrant community with legal assistance and was an initiator of the historic Mar. 26 demonstration for immigrant rights in 2006.
Rosie Martinez, executive board member and chair of the Latino Caucus of Service Employees International Union Local 721, addressed the forum about the need for unity and organization to fight for justice and against our wealth being given away to the banks.
Chito Quijano and Martha Rojas in Los Angeles.
photo: Scott Scheffer
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Martha Rojas, co-coordinator of the coalition, spoke about her personal experience going through foreclosure. One of the demands of the forum was for a moratorium on foreclosures as well as against the raids targeting immigrants.
Detroit
photo: Alan Pollock
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Since interim Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. took office in mid-September, organizers with the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions have sent him three letters demanding a meeting to discuss the state of emergency facing the city and the action he should take. Cockrel ignored the letters until coalition activists confronted him at two “meet and greet” community meetings he hosted on Oct. 21 and 23. Coalition spokespeople received a tremendous response from the audience and the mayor was forced to acknowledge that a moratorium was “a good idea.”
Following those meetings and the continued organizing and outreach done by coalition activists throughout Detroit and beyond, a representative from the mayor’s office contacted the coalition to arrange a meeting. A multinational grouping of 16 activists went to the mayor’s office on Oct. 27 after the demonstration, only to find out that the mayor’s representative was postponing the meeting due to a funeral. The activists were outraged and a confrontation occurred with city police and members of the mayor’s security detail. One senior shouted, “You show some respect! We pay your salary and this is OUR office!”
Coalition members then went to the City Council auditorium and discussed a plan of further action. Calls were placed to the mayor’s representative, who finally agreed to come to the coalition’s office on Oct. 28 and meet with organizers.
Coalition members will present a draft letter for the mayor to send to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, formally requesting a declaration of a state of emergency in the city and asking her to use her emergency powers under the law to impose a two-year moratorium on foreclosures and evictions in the city. Organizers see this as an important step in getting a statewide moratorium passed by the legislature.
Buffalo, N.Y.
photo: Bev Hiestand
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One community activist pointed at the windows all around, and said, “Don’t think this is small, because you can see how many people are paying attention, even in those windows, and standing over there listening and reading our signs. The word will be out to a lot more people by tomorrow.”
The rally and speak-out was endorsed and co-sponsored by Buffalo Forum, Buffalo State College Students for Peace, Center for a Livable World, Citizen Action of New York-WNY, Coalition for Economic Justice, Code Pink Buffalo, Green Party of Erie County, International Action Center (member of the Ad Hoc National Network to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions) and Western NY Peace Center.
In Baltimore, protesters braved pouring rain to gather at the Federal Reserve Bank for a speak-out and press conference denouncing the trillion dollar bailout of the banks and to announce a statewide campaign to demand emergency measures for workers this winter. The speak-out was widely covered by local television and C-Span. Speakers included union delegates, community organizers and student activists.
Among the emergency measures called for are a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions, a halt to utility shut offs, no layoffs and an extension of unemployment benefits, and no budget cuts. The City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland have begun already to announce budget cuts that threaten workers jobs and services.
The speak-out and protest was called by the Baltimore Chapter of the National Network to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions.
Several people gathered in front of a midtown Chase Bank in Tucson, Ariz., on Oct. 26, unfurling a large banner reading “Bailout The People—Not The Banks!” The busy intersection was active with hoots and hollers of support, horn-honking and other signs of approval from passersby.
People feel betrayed by the massive handout to the wealthiest bankers while workers are left to fend for themselves. The state of Arizona needs $2.6 billion to cover its budget shortfall. Less than one-half of 1 percent of the $850 billion guaranteed to bankers would allow the state to continue providing the essential services working and poor people need and would also prevent the planned mass layoffs of state workers. The banks get bailed out and we get thrown out!
On Oct. 25 in Charlotte, N.C., about 50 people rallied in front of the world headquarters of Bank of America, one bank which stands to profit from the deepening economic crisis. A spirited and militant picket included city workers from the Charlotte chapter of UE Local 150; Raleigh Fight Imperialism, Stand Together; Atlanta International Action Center; Charlotte Action Center for Justice; UNC-Charlotte Students for a Democratic Society; and UNC-Chapel Hill SDS.
Demonstrators demanded a moratorium on home foreclosures and evictions, an end to cuts in student loans and a moratorium on state budget cuts. The response to the demonstration was overwhelmingly positive, with many passersby honking their horns, raising their fists and even joining in the picket. As the crisis deepens, affecting more and more working people, organizers expressed a commitment to continue raising these demands against Bank of America and building a working class fight back against the bailout.
Around 20 youth, workers and community activists converged at the Wachovia building in downtown Raleigh, N.C., Oct. 24 to protest the fraudulent bailout of the superrich. Demands to “Bail out the people, not the banks!” and “Money for jobs and education, not banks and corporations!” as well as “no” to massive public sector budget cuts, were met with mixed support from the bankers, but strong support from workers who occasionally joined the protests.
Representatives from Black Workers for Justice; Raleigh FIST; UNC Chapel Hill SDS; UE 150, North Carolina’s Public Service Workers Union; and various community allies picketed Wachovia and marched through the streets to kick off a weekend of nationwide protests against the nearly one trillion dollar handout to the gambling bankers.
The Cleveland Chapter of FIST held a protest and speak-out at the national headquarters of National City Bank, just one day after it had been bought out by PNC Bank. Protesters went inside the bank, passing unhindered by a lone security guard. Later FIST members went to the Public Square area in Cleveland to distribute Workers World newspaper.
Led by youth from FIST and SDS, nearly 30 people gathered for a rally and speak-out against the bankers’ bailout on Oct. 27 at Philadelphia’s City Hall, across from Wachovia Bank. Despite its defunct status, Wachovia is one of many banks responsible for the subprime mortgage scandal and the subsequent tightening of credit markets, and stands to receive $25 billion of taxpayer dollars to fund their acquisition by rival Wells Fargo. Speakers pointed out Wachovia Bank’s origins in profits from slavery in the U.S. as well as its recent practice of “redlining” neighborhoods of color to deny loans for development. More than a thousand fliers were handed out to passersby, many of whom stopped to sign a petition for a bailout that would provide for programs people really need. Chants of “Money for health care, not for bankers’ welfare!” went over well with downtown shoppers and drivers honked horns in support. The protest was sponsored by the Philadelphia International Action Center; Brandywine Peace Community; N’COBRA; Code Pink, Delaware River Area; Justice for Families; Neighbors Against McPenntrification; RASH—Philadelphia; Philadelphia Socialist Action; and FIST.
Boston
photo: Liz Green
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Nan Genger of the Women’s Fightback Network outlined the group’s ongoing campaign for an economic state of emergency, linking the shutoffs to the war budget and the Wall Street bailout. Tony Hernandez, organizer for District Council 35, Painters and Allied Trades, described how the economic crisis is affecting poor and working people in every community.
Other speakers included members of USW 8751, Boston School Bus Drivers; Jason Lyden, pastor of the Community Church of Boston; a representative from Action for Boston Community Development, which advocates for fuel assistance for low income families; and a member of New England Human Rights for Haiti.
Campbell told how the economic crisis impacts youth, with homeless youth attempting to attend school; school closings from recent budget cuts being used to attack desegregation and the African-American communities’ access to education; and of the more than one million Black men in prison.
The participants are planning further action and vowed to continue until there is no one in Massachusetts without heat or lights this winter. The event was covered by both TV media and the Boston Globe.
June Reyno holds the chain she will use to defy eviction from her San Diego home.
photo:
Bob McCubbin |
The Network office was able to put her in touch with San Diego activists from the International Action Center and others who stood with her on Monday morning, anticipating the arrival of police, and who were instrumental in bringing out much of the San Diego media to cover her struggle.
Reyno is angry that an offer was made to sell her back the house and then withdrawn when she and her husband found a willing lender. The bank that now holds title clearly intends, instead, to sell the home at a bigger profit, perpetuating the greedy financial feeding frenzy that has produced the present catastrophe of foreclosures and evictions.
Throughout the country, many thousands of people are being deprived of their homes because of corporate greed and a system that puts profits first and people last. By defying the eviction, Reyno is providing an example of resistance to injustice that will resonate among the millions who have or are in danger of losing their homes. As of this writing, Monday morning and early afternoon have passed with no sign of the police.
Sharon Black, Ben Carroll, John Catalinotto, Ellie Dorritie, Kris Hamel, Caleb Maupin, Bob McCubbin, Monica Moorehead, Frank Neisser, John Parker, Paul Teitelbaum and Scott Williams contributed to this report.
SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION demanding the government BAIL OUT THE PEOPLE, NOT WALL STREET!
To: President Bush, Candidates Obama and McCain, Members of Congress, Treasury Secretary Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, and members of the media
Bail Out the People, NOT Wall Street!
Tens of millions of working and poor people are facing the most dire economic crisis since the Depression of the 1930s. Yet our government is planning to hand over the U.S. treasury to Wall St. bankers. All that the politicians offer to people who are losing their homes, jobs, health care, education and pensions are bigger and bigger budget cuts to vital social services.
Enough is Enough!
I say NO to this injustice. NO Bailout of Wall Street bankers!
Instead, I demand the following emergency measures:
To: Federal Housing Finance Agency Director and Conservator for Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac James Lockhart
CC: President Bush, Treasury Secretary Paulson, members of the House and Senate Banking and Finance Committees, Congressional leaders, and members of the media
Dear Director Lockhart,
As one who is deeply concerned that we are currently experiencing the greatest home foreclosure crisis since the Great Depression, I call upon you as the appointed conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Declare an Emergency Federal Moratorium on home foreclosures.
The takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the federal government is a de facto declaration of a State of Emergency by the federal government, brought on by the foreclosure epidemic.
The federal government now holds or insures the majority of the country’s mortgages. Under current U.S. law, when there is a federal declaration of a State of Emergency, there is an automatic mandatory 90 day Moratorium on Foreclosures on all FHA-insured homes. This mandatory Moratorium on Foreclosures is outlined in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Handbook 4330.1 REV-5 and also in the HUD Mortgagee Letter 2005-33, dated August 31, 2005. Most recently, a Moratorium on Foreclosures was implemented in areas affected by Hurricane Gustav. The 90 day foreclosure moratoriums have often been extended until the crisis subsides.
Likewise, the first action of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the agency set up to take over and/or insure all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages, should be to automatically impose a moratorium on foreclosures of mortgages held or insured by this new agency.
Such an action, mandated under federal law, would ensure that the benefits of the takeover extend to the real victims of this crisis, the homeowners entering foreclosure nationwide.
On September 17 and September 20, homeowners and activists will be demonstrating in Michigan, California and Massachusetts in support of legislation or executive action at the state level which would enact an emergency moratorium on home foreclosures. However, clearly it would be preferable for a moratorium on foreclosures to be enacted on a national basis. All three demonstrations will be raising the demand for a national, federal moratorium on foreclosures.
If the U.S. government can bail out Wall Street banks and take over the two largest mortgage institutions, which will cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars and put the U.S. government in more or less direct control of the entire mortgage industry, why can’t it stop between 8,000 and 9,000 families from losing their homes to foreclosures every single day?
As you know, the foreclosure crisis has long since reached beyond its original subprime mortgage holders. Today almost 10% of all who hold mortgages are threatened with foreclosures.
The legislation that Congress passed this summer merely promises help to those lenders who voluntarily agree to re-negotiate mortgages. This measure will only save a relatively few homes.
It’s highly doubtful that any of the bankers that are being bailed out by the government were ever in danger of literally losing the roof under which they and their families sleep. Instead it is ordinary working people who are finding out daily what it is like to lose that roof.
I say enough is enough. I urge you and all others to act on behalf of the people and enact a moratorium now on all foreclosures.
Sincerely, (Your signature will be appended here based on the contact information you enter)

THE MORTGAGE BANKERS ASSOCIATION (MBA)—the biggest national lobby of all the banks—including the criminal predatory lenders, that are busy evicting your neighbors, relatives, friends and maybe you from your home— held it's annual policy conference in Washington D.C., on April 16 and 17. Their main goal was to make sure that bankers continue to get bailed out while families get tossed out!
Losing our homes: A NATIONAL EMERGENCY: And it’s getting worse. One in every 4 subprime mortgage victims are either in or near foreclosure. Soon, almost 10% of the homes of working families across the country could be in foreclosure. For these families, this isn’t a recession—it’s a depression and a national emergency that calls for emergency measures.
A MORATORIUM ON FORECLOSURES & EVICTIONS —politicians have the authority to do it. Many may not realize that Governors, State Legislatures, the President and Congress (as well as the department of Housing and Urban Development) have the statutory authority to declare a moratorium on home foreclosures and evictions during a time of either natural or economic emergency disaster (it’s important to include evictions because record numbers of renters are also losing their apartments).
UNITE AND ORGANIZE= SURVIVAL Whether it’s rising gas and food prices • the lack of health care • losing our jobs • having our wages cut • sinking further into credit card, student loan, or medical debt • or budget cuts • or the destruction of public housing • or ending this war that is costing lives and almost a half a billion dollars a day • surviving hard times is going require that we stick together and organize.
Moratorium on Foreclosures and Evictions Actions Lansing, Michigan | Los Angeles, CA | Boston, MA | NYC March on the State Capitol in Lansing, MI: ![]()
Streaming onto the state capitol grounds in Lansing on the morning of Sept. 17, hundreds from across the state of Michigan and beyond demanded passage of SB 1306, a bill that would enact a two-year moratorium on foreclosures. Demanding “Moratorium Now!” and “Bail out the people not the banks,” protesters held a spirited march, rally and people’s public hearing detailing both the devastation of foreclosures and the people’s will to keep fighting for a moratorium. read full report! Gov. Declare an Economic State of Emergency Saturday, Sept 20 at Countrywide/Bank of America, Marches to South Bay Prison, NStar Electric Utility, and South Bay BoA read full report
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"Mortgage Bankers Lie and Cheat!"
Apr 16, 2008
Sandra Hines of Detroit (center), thrown out of her childhood home a week before Christmas due to foreclosure, speaks outside Policy Conference of Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, D.C., on April 16. Several hundred people got up to the door of the hotel where the bankers were meeting, then picketed for two hours, chanting “Mortgage bankers lie and cheat, people get thrown out on the street!” The Ad Hoc National Network to Stop Foreclosures & Evictions brought people, many facing foreclosure, from as far away as Boston, Raleigh and Miami. Sharon Black, a Baltimore organizer who chaired the rally, pointed out that the billionaire bankers were in D.C. to lobby for more tax breaks and concessions from Congress. The network has also organized more than 100,000 messages to representatives demanding a moratorium on foreclosures. —Monica Moorehead |



