More than 200 people gathered in front of Wells Fargo in downtown Chicago yesterday to hold them accountable for their corporate crimes. Protestors demanded justice for the workers at Quad City Die Casting and an end to evictions and foreclosures.
Quad City Die Casting was forced to close after Wells Fargo cut off operating credit to the company. Since the plant closure, UE Local 1174 has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board because Wells Fargo has denied payment of $200,000 in back-pay and benefits owed to workers. Deb Johann of UE Local 1174 said:
“Wells Fargo first ends financing, forcing our company to close, and now they won’t pay us what we are owed by law. To us, our vacation, insurance and wages mean everything to our families. But to Wells Fargo it’s pennies, not even a blip in their billions. Yet they choose to cheat us out of what we have earned. And to think we helped them out when they needed it!”
Protestors also demanded that Wells Fargo stop home foreclosures and tenant evictions from foreclosed rental properties. Wells Fargo currently has over 4,000 homes in foreclosure in Chicago’s Cook County. “These banks are destroying our communities by putting people out of their homes, while they are also losing jobs and health care. This is exactly what the $800 billion dollar bailout was supposed to prevent!” said Holly Krig, of community organization Northside Action for Justice.
To showcase their concerns, activists participated in street theatre which portrayed the killing of the American dream by the business practices of “Bail Out bandit” Wells Fargo. Reverend Robin Hood and Pastor John Drummond of Clergy Committed to Community presided over the trial of Wells Fargo for crimes against the people. Activists chanted “Banks Got Bailed Out, We Got Sold Out” and “Shame on You Wells Fargo” as they surrounded the building and the block with crime scene tape. Chicago Jobs with Justice and Clergy Committed Community attempted to deliver a letter to Wells Fargo demanding a meeting to discuss these problems, but they declined to accept the letter.
Stay tuned for more action in Chicago. Activists will reconvene at the convention of the American Banking Association on at 11am on October 27th to demand action from the nation’s banks to restore the American Dream to the hard-working men and women who have built this country.
