Crossing the Moat and Storming the Castle at Chase Shareholder Meeting

The JP Morgan Chase office building in Columbus, Ohio is surrounded by a moat—literally. But that didn't stop hundreds of Americans from finding a way across and storming the castle.

With all entrances blocked by police, what's a group to do? Build a bridge!

Dressed as Robin Hood, hundreds of homeowners, clergy and workers successfully crossed the moat and sent a direct message Chase and other big banks: stop hoarding resources and pay your fair share!

A group of proxies were also inside the Chase shareholder meeting. One member of National People's Action asked Jamie Dimon directly: "As a person of faith, my God believes you shouldn't take advantage of people when they are down. CEO Jamie Dimon, do you believe in the same God I believe in?"

Dimon answered: "That's a hard one to answer."

Jamie Dimon went on, "[for any errors that were made] "we deeply apologize. We are doing everything we can to keep people in their homes that should stay in their homes."

------------- The Showdown in Ohio was being organized by National People's Action and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, and is part of a series of protests at big bank shareholder meetings nationwide as part of the New Bottom Line Campaign. For more information, visit: http://showdowninamerica.org/ohio and http://newbottomline.com

Working Washington Takes on Chase Bank

Working Washington members recently attended the May Day Immigration March. We had a stage set up along the march route and members were chanting, waving signs and telling stories about how Chase’s practices have affected them. Check out these great pictures from the rally:

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Thousands Protest Expected Budget Cuts in Lower Manhattan

MANHATTAN — Thousands gathered in Lower Manhattan Thursday to protest the mayor's proposed budget cuts, calling on the city to spare social programs and "make big banks and millionaires pay."

The crowd, which included activists from education, housing, transportation and several other industries that would be affected by the budget cuts, was estimated to have reached 20,000, according to organizer Dan Levitan.

Participants convened in eight meeting places around Lower Manhattan and began marching towards Wall and Water streets in the Financial District about 4:30 p.m.

Read more about the protest

Renton Neighbors Tell Their Representative: Do Your Part to Help Create Jobs

Why is the economy not working for ordinary people?

Where are the good jobs?

Those were big questions that people from around Renton asked at a meeting of the new Renton chapter of Working Washington on May 3rd. We agreed that the odds are stacked up against working class Washingtonians when it comes to finding a good job with a secure future in this economy.

We decided that the people who speak for us in Washington, D.C. need to hear from us–not lobbyists for for corporate special interests who usually have their ear.

Luckily, Congressman Adam Smith was holding a town hall that same evening. We decided to move our meeting to the Congressman’s town hall to speak out together.

Working Washington member R.L. Stewart spoke at the town hall. He told Congressman Smith that people in Renton are still hurting. We need more jobs. And we need to stop giving tax breaks to corporations that aren’t creating jobs here in Washington.

When R.L. spoke, other Working Washington members stood up, surprising Rep. Adam Smith with our show of unity. Congressman Smith told us that he heard our message and that he would work on addressing our issues.

Now it’s up to us to hold elected officials accountable.

Tiempo para poner en las sombras de ojos verdes

Es hora de la verdad con el presupuesto del Estado, y cuenta hasta el último centavo. Pero ¿por qué no empezar a actuar del gobierno como unnegocio? Esa es la pregunta formulada por el representante estatal Andy Billig de Spokane, en este editorial invita a la reflexión. Es tan obvio.Descuentos significa menos dinero que in Cuando un negocio está teniendo un momento difícil, se vuelve a examinar los descuentos queofrece. Pero el Estado ha puesto lagunas del impuesto de sociedadesfuera de los límites. Y eso es sólo una receta para una mala gestión.

President Obama Meets with Participants in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike

President Obama invited the surviving participants in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike to honor their fight on behalf of all workers for safe workplace conditions, respect in the workplace, and a better life for themselves and their families. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed while in Memphis trying to support the striking sanitation members, who were working toward forming a union.

See a timeline of the strike.

Working Washington Protests Tax Dodger Weyerhaeuser

It's Tax Day. Maybe you paid your taxes, but you know who didn't have to pay any last year? Weyerhauser, which kept $37 million.

That's why on Thursday we gathered around the Weyerhaeuser shareholders meeting to protest that they've taken our money, but instead of creating jobs for this community, have eliminated 748 jobs since 2005.

Not only did we spread the word about Weyerhaeuser to shareholders as they arrived in Federal Way -- we also asked some questions inside the shareholders meeting about creating a plan to create good jobs.

Federal Way Mirror reports:

"I pay taxes. Why shouldn't Weyerhaeuser?" asked Federal Way resident Omar Rubi. "They should create jobs for the community if they're going to take tax breaks."

Wendy Hall, co-chair of Pierce County Jobs With Justice's organizing committee, hoped Thursday's protest will motivate lawmakers to address corporate tax breaks.

"We're in a budget crunch," Hall said. "The least they can do is pay their taxes."

Do the Tax Shuffle!

Who knew calling out corporations like Carnival Cruise Lines for not paying their fair share could be so fun?!

From the article in the Miami News-Times:

To celebrate Tax Day, the folks at Right to the City and MoveOn.org decided it was high time to combine the best traditions of 1985-era Chicago Bears dancing and progressive lefty political agitation. The result? Behold the “Tax the Rich Shuffle.”

William “The Fridge” Perry was sadly not involved, but a hundred or so protesters did mass around the Carnival Corporation’s headquarters in Doral this afternoon to bust out the protest dance. The reason? They say Carnival got away with paying a measly 1.1 percent federal tax on its highly profitable business.

Pay Your Taxes? These 10 Corporations Did Not

On tax day each year, everybody is supposed to pay their fair share to keep our country running...unless you're the beneficiary of corporate tax cuts and loopholes like hundreds of American corporations. Senator Bernie Sanders recently compiled a list of corporate freeloaders and topping the list are corporations such as Exxon, Bank of America and General Electric. The same Republicans who are spending their days attacking hardworking middle class Americans and blaming them for our fiscal crisis are unwilling to call on corporations to pay their fair share of the tax burden. See the list at MoveOn.org.

Mortgage Brokers Get Tax Break, Everyone Else Gets Hurt

In this time of budget crisis, we need to ask: do mortgage brokers need million dollar breaks? The state tax code contains hundreds of giveaways to special interests that drain taxpayer money just as we’re considering huge tuition hikes and the elimination of health care and other important programs. Since 1997, mortgage brokers have received a B&O tax exemption for money received from trust accounts.

In the last four years, this tax break has cost the public $4.8 million, and it benefits only mortgage brokers.

What’s at stake? How else could we spend $4.8 million?

Ashley Molenda works with some of the most vulnerable members of our community at DESC, an emergency service center in downtown Seattle. Ashley’s program makes one-on-one contact with mentally ill people living on the streets—people in dire need of help—with counseling, housing, and maintaining access to medication and other services. The program saves lives; it also saves money by helping clients remain self-sufficient and avoid hospitalization or needless arrests. “If we don’t reach these people to provide help, nobody else will,” says Ashley. “Without effective treatment, they will just bounce back and forth from emergency rooms, to jail, to the street. It’s a cycle that cuts lives short. It also costs the public more in the long run.”

There should be no sacred cows when it comes to balancing the budget, not for mortgage brokers or anyone else. There is simply too much at stake.

(Also posted to Families for a Fair Economy)