(The AFL-CIO issued the following news release on March 23.)
WASHINGTON — On Thursday, March 31, working families, union leaders and community allies in dozens of cities across the country will hold events challenging Charles Schwab, Wachovia and other Wall Street firms to withdraw their support for privatizing Social Security. The National Day of Action is the biggest single-day grassroots mobilization ever to defeat President Bush’s plan to create private accounts that would give a windfall to financial firms but cause Social Security’s guaranteed benefits to be cut by nearly half and increase the federal debt by $5 trillion. Groups say it is a clear conflict of interest for firms that manage retirement accounts to promote privatization, which would weaken retirement security.
Charles Schwab and Wachovia are major backers of the push to privatize Social Security. For more information about the national Social Security campaign against Schwab and other Wall Street firms, visit www.wallstreetgreed.org or www.aflcio.org.
Below is information about some of the major actions:
Washington, D.C.
12 noon
1845 K Street, NW, outside the Charles Schwab office
Speakers: AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and hundreds of local workers, retirees and students
Philadelphia
12 noon
1650 Market St., outside the Charles Schwab office
Speakers: AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka and hundreds of local workers, retirees and students
San Francisco
12 noon
101 Montgomery St., outside Charles Schwab headquarters
Speakers: California Labor Federation Exec. Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski, San Francisco Labor Council President Tim Paulson and more than 1,500 workers, retirees and students
Chicago
12 noon
150 S. Wacker St., outside the Charles Schwab office
Speakers: Illinois AFL-CIO President Margaret Blackshere, Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and hundreds of workers
New York
12 noon
2 West St., corner of Battery Place, outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel
Speakers: NYC Central Labor Council President Brian McLaughlin, union and community leaders and hundreds of workers, retirees and students
San Antonio, TX
3 p.m.
1100 NW Loop 410 (Guaranty Ctr. Bldg), outside the Charles Schwab office
Speakers: AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson and hundreds of local workers, retirees and students
Charlotte, NC
12 noon
301 South College Street, outside Wachovia Corporation headquarters
Speakers: Union and community leaders and dozens of workers, retirees and students