(The AFL-CIO issued the following news release on March 15.)
WASHINGTON — On Thursday, March 31, working families, union leaders and community allies in cities across the country will hold events challenging Charles Schwab 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.
AFL-CIO officers, union presidents and community leaders will join hundreds of workers, retirees and students for events in dozens of cities including San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Chicago. Activities include rallies, town hall meetings, worker/student speak-outs and more. The events will also kick off the National Student Labor Week of Action, March 31- April 4.
Charles Schwab is a major backer of the push to privatize Social Security. Privatization opens the Social Security system up to corruption and Enron-ization because politicians will decide which Wall Street firms will make billions in fees off workers’ private accounts. For more information about the national Social Security campaign against Schwab and other Wall Street firms, visit www.wallstreetgreed.org or www.aflcio.org.
WHO: Hundreds of Workers, Retirees and Students
Union and Community Leaders
WHAT: National Day of Action Challenging Wall Street’s Support for Social Security Privatization
WHEN: Thursday, March 31
WHERE: Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, DC and dozens of other cities across the country