A crowd of over 400 Washingtonians marched to Chase Bank on Saturday to say that the billions of dollars in bank bailouts and tax loopholes should be used to provide good jobs for Washington, not for Chase’s profit margin.
Rallying at Othello Park before the march, those of us hurt by Chase’s predatory policies spoke out on foreclosures, high TANF fees for folks on public assistance, and layoffs.
Coming from neighborhoods all over the state we took our first steps together on Saturday to stand up to rich CEOs and greedy corporations.
“We came to Chase today to call on it to do more to generate more jobs. The banks got a huge bailout from us when they were in trouble. Their profits are back. But there aren’t enough jobs. If Chase gets another $1.4 billion, it’s time to put that money towards the new jobs that are crucial to fixing this economy,” said Aletha Johnson, a homecare worker and member of Working Washington.
After marching past a home that Chase has foreclosed on as well as a school and a clinic that have had their funding slashed, residents delivered a letter to Chase to call for the bank to use the $1.4 billion tax refund to:
- Commit to a community jobs fund
- Provide foreclosure relief
- Reduce fees it charges for delivering public assistance funds to Washingtonians
- Support healthcare, education, and other critical public services in Washington
And our work is just beginning. Let's meet up on June 16 to figure out together what the next steps could be. Learn all about it here.