Unions join Occupy activists in mass protest marches across America

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Unions join Occupy activists in mass protest marches across America

By Lesley Clark and Gianna Palmer | McClatchy Newspapers
Lesley Clark and Gianna Palmer McClatchy Newspapers


NEW YORK — The Occupy Wall Street movement — looking to show staying power after losing prime real estate in various cities — got a boost of support across the country Thursday from labor and progressive organizations in what union organizers said is the most visible sign that they’re working with the activists to press for change.

In New York, where the movement began and where protesters find themselves grappling with their next move after police removed them from Manhattan's Zuccotti Park, thousands took to the streets, protesting at the New York Stock Exchange, in the subways and along the Brooklyn Bridge.

“Whose streets? Our streets,” they chanted as they marched.

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Unions that already have offered legal help, food and shower facilities in some cities coordinated events in more than a dozen cities Thursday with Occupy activists, calling on big banks to pay up to boost the slumping economy.

In Washington, protesters strolled from an encampment they’ve inhabited for weeks near the downtown business district to the Key Bridge in Georgetown, joined by union and MoveOn.org liberal activists.

The protests Thursday in many cities included bridges as a backdrop — mirroring President Barack Obama’s call for Congress to boost the economy by spending money on public projects. Indeed, the Washington protesters appeared at the same bridge where Obama appeared earlier this month to press Congress to pass his $447 billion jobs package, which calls for spending billions on road and bridge repair.

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/11/17/130656/unions-join-occupy-activists-in.html