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building a workers’ movement that has the power to raise wages, improve labor standards, and change the conversation about work and wealth
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Occupy-the-Capitol-007.jpg

The 99% reclaim the Capitol.

Working Washington December 5, 2011

by Nate JacksonDavid Ludden, a Working Washington activist, was firing up the crowd that gathered on the steps of the capitol in Olympia.

“They keep giving out tax loopholes,” he said to cheers from the 99%. “We’ve had enough. We can’t afford anymore big tax breaks for the super-rich and big corporations.”

Ludden was interrupted as a group of people in: top hats and necklaces, tiaras and bolas and wads of cash spilling out of their pockets, rushed the stage and demanded to be heard.

A man wearing a top hat, monocle and chewing on an over sized cigar, brandished his diamond tipped cane and shouted into the microphone.

“A break? Give me a break and I mean a tax break,” he said. “We’ve been here talking to the legislators, that we own, and we gave them our agenda. We want to keep our tax breaks.”

The 99% shouted for the 1%* to get off the stage.

“I’m going to lead you in a little chant,” he said. “Banks got bailed out..Huzzah!”

He was kicked off.

The 1% had come down to Olympia to make sure their agenda was presented to the legislators. They had walked around the capitol handing out their three pronged plan: slash health care, gut education spending and continue to give big banks all the money they wanted.

One member of the 1% even got to talk to a representative of the Lieutenant Governor.

Sporting a red scarf, top hat and dinner jacket he gave the agenda to a legislative aide.

“We need to keep the poor people down,” he said waving his hands in a dismissive gesture. “We have to keep those 99% folks down. We don’t want to fund health care, or education or services. We just want to stay rich.”

The 99% weren’t going to take it laying down, so we decided to march over to the offices of the Association of Washington Business, a pro 1% lobbying group with an office minutes away from the Capitol Building, to let them know that the 99% were sick of high paid lobbyist determining the course of our state. Of course, when we arrived the AWB locked their doors and barred the entrance. They couldn’t care less about what the 99% wanted.

Susan Wilkinson, a superstar Working Washington activist, spoke to the crowd gathered outside the offices of the AWB.

“We are here because the 1% won’t listen,” she said. “We are noisy and we are not going away.”

Office workers from the AWB looked out from behind darkened glass and pulled out their cellphones to ask what they should do with this crowd of the 99%.

We cheered her on.

“We are the ones who make everything happen for the 1%,” she said. “We deserve to be heard.”

*Special thanks to Joshua Welter and the good folks at Washington CAN for playing the parts of the 1%.

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About Working Washington: Our mission is to build a powerful workers’ movement that can not only dramatically improve wages and working conditions, but can also change the local and national conversation about wealth, inequality, and the value of work. More info…

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About Working Washington

Our mission is to build a powerful workers’ movement that can dramatically improve wages and working conditions, and change the local and national conversation about wealth, inequality, and the value of work.

More about us.

Get on the list

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Our vision is a state where everyone shares in the prosperity we create together: a place where all workers are treated with dignity, paid enough to support themselves, and able to participate in a thriving community.

Now we’re asking supporters to step up to become members of Working Washington.

Working Washington

building a workers’ movement that has the power to raise wages, improve labor standards, and change the conversation about work and wealth

Working Washington unites working people to fight for a fair economy where everyone can support themselves, afford the basics, and contribute to the economy.

Working Washington | 719 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA, 98104, United States

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