MoveOn, SEIU support “Occupy Everywhere”

by David Safier

I received back-to-back emails around noon today, one from Daniel Mintz of MoveOn.org, the other from Mary Kay Henry, President of SEIU.

Mintz's email invited me (and, of course, all the other people who received the email [and those who didn't as well]) to a "Jobs Not Cuts" event next Tuesday, October 11, 6pm at IBEW 570 (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 570), 750 S. Tucson Blvd. (between Broadway and 22nd). If you follow the link, you'll see the event is under the heading of the American Dream Movement.

Then came the SEIU email below. Unions have decided to go all in with the Occupy Everywhere movement.

By now you've seen the thousands of brave students, workers and the unemployed occupying Wall Street.

But did you know that as of yesterday, there are over 300 solidarity "occupy events" happening across the country and around the clock?

In Philadelphia, 1,000+ individuals took to City Hall on Tuesday night.

In Washington, D.C., people have camped out in McPherson Square, symbolically located on K Street, since last week.

In L.A., citizens have spent six straight days and nights outside City Hall protesting against income inequality and joblessness.

The crowds and peaceful demonstrations will only get larger and louder as more Americans find the courage to stand up and demand Wall Street, CEOs and millionaires pay their fair share to create good jobs now.

This is the moment that determines whether this movement succeeds or falls flat. Will you pledge to help the movement spread by visiting an Occupy event in Tucson? You can sign up and find a comprehensive list of events here:

http://action.seiu.org/occupy-wall-street

Over the last few weeks we've seen crowds of "Occupy Wall Street" protestors capture the nation's attention as they stood their ground despite aggressive police behavior and hundreds of arrests.

These courageous young activists have given us all a shot of inspiration and hope that we can indeed turn this country around.

We are proud of the actions taken by 1199 United Healthcare Workers East, SEIU 32BJ and other SEIU local unions to support the Wall Street protests.

But as we talk to other "Occupy" participants across the country, they tell us their first need is people.

So we're working with our friends at Daily Kos to see if we can help.

Find an Occupy event happening in your city and pledge to sign up to get involved. You can do that here:

http://action.seiu.org/occupy-wall-street

As part of a peaceful, united movement we can do so much more to demonstrate the increasing urgency of the crisis our country faces and shine a light on those responsible.

Let's go for it!

In solidarity,

Mary Kay Henry
President, SEIU