Monday, October 26, 2009

SEIU Joins People's 'Direct Action' Group in Chicago Bank Protests

From the SEIU blog, "VIDEO: You Weren't on the Guest List":

SEIU is astroturfing with the National People's Action campaign, a communist front group:

National People's Action exists as a network to create a society in which racial and economic justice are realized in all aspects of society, resulting in more equity in work, housing, health, education, finance, and other systems central to our well-being.

The following beliefs were developed by our community leaders. Our beliefs are the building blocks for our big ideas and what we believe as a network:

  • Every person has innate dignity, beauty, and worth, and thus is entitled to basic human rights;
  • All people, regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and national origin must be ensured a high quality of life;
  • Society should be organized on the basis of mutual responsibility, cooperation, and community self-determination achieved through political and economic democracy.

Our big ideas – based on our beliefs – are those policies that we fight for as a network.
We will fight for policies that:

  • Take back our power to use the government as our tool to promote the common good, correct the injustices of the past, and redistribute resources equitably and sustainably.
  • Democratize the market to put people above profits.
  • Enforce fundamental human rights standards that prevent exploitation of people and the environment.
  • Take action to ensure racial, gender, economic, and immigrant justice in all social and economic systems.

And from the SEIU protest page, here's the list of affiliated organizations:

We are the members of:

Action Now

AFL-CIO

Albany Park Neighborhood Council

Americans for Financial Reform

ARISE Chicago

Brighton Park Neighborhood Council

Change To Win

Chicago Coalition of the Homeless

Citizen Action

Grassroots Collaborative

Housing Action Illinois

Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans

Illinois Hunger Coalition

Jane Addams Senior Caucus

Jobs with Justice

Northside Action and Justice

Northside POWER

National People's Action

SEIU Illinois State Council

SOUL

UE

Workers United

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin pandered to the activists at the bankers conference, calling for more regulations, wouldn't you know. See, the Chicago Tribune, "Durbin Calls for Bailed-Out Banks to Help on Foreclosures: Banker Association Meeting Greeted by Protests Here."

RELATED: This is where its heading. From thee New York Times, "Trying to Rein In ‘Too Big to Fail’ Institutions" (via Memeorandum):
Congress and the Obama administration are about to take up one of the most fundamental issues stemming from the near collapse of the financial system last year — how to deal with institutions that are so big that the government has no choice but to rescue them when they get in trouble.

A senior administration official said on Sunday that after extensive consultations with Treasury Department officials, Representative Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, would introduce legislation as early as this week. The measure would make it easier for the government to seize control of troubled financial institutions, throw out management, wipe out the shareholders and change the terms of existing loans held by the institution.

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