Listen to this recording of National People’s Action Director George Goehl addressing the Bank of America shareholder meeting in Charlotte, NC yesterday:
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National People’s Action director BUSTED during Occupy Wells Fargo action in Iowa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2012
Contact: Hugh Espey
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, 515.282.0484 hugh@iowacci.org
Family farmer, Methodist Minister, Vietnam veteran among group of 10 CCI members arrested at Wells Fargo’s Des Moines office during civil disobedience sit-in to demand big bank put everyday people before corporate profits
Des Moines, IA –
National People’s Action (NPA) director George Goehl was arrested alongside nine other members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) Monday afternoon during a direct action street protest at a Wells Fargo office in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, just one day before a Wells Fargo shareholders’ meeting in San Francisco, California is expected to draw thousands of demonstrators.
Dozens of protesters entered Wells Fargo’s downtown Des Moines offices and refused to leave until CEO John Stumpf agreed to give the 99% Power coalition 1 hour of time during the shareholders’ meeting agenda in San Francisco Tuesday to present their grievances to big bank officials.
The community-faith-labor coalition demands Wells Fargo stop home foreclosures, reduce principle balances on underwater mortgages, pay their fair share of taxes, get their big money out of the political system, and stop financing payday lenders, private prisons, factory farms, and coal plants.
“Not only does Wells CEO John Stump believe his bank is too big to fail, he also seems to believe they are too big to be held accountable,” Goehl said. “We’re here today in Des Moines, Iowa and tomorrow in San Francisco ,California to prove him wrong.”
Iowa CCI members – including a family farmer, a former Methodist minister, a Vietnam veteran, and a retired Ag extension officer – say they were forced to resort to civil disobedience after Wells Fargo officials refused to grant them speaking time at tomorrow’s shareholders’ meeting in San Francisco or negotiate CCI member’s “put people first” demands in good faith.
“We’ve asked Wells Fargo four times in the past four weeks for 1 hour on stage tomorrow in San Francisco and they’ve said no every time,” said Stephanie Simmons, a former Methodist Minister from Guthrie Center, Iowa and CCI board member who was arrested Monday. “We want to talk about Wells Fargo’s shameful record on tax dodging, home foreclosures, predatory lending, political contributions, and CEO bonuses.”
Des Moines, Iowa is the national headquarters of Wells Fargo’s Home Mortgage division.
“Wells Fargo’s mortgage office here in Iowa is making billions in profits every year by kicking hardworking families out of their homes and they aren’t even paying taxes on their ill-got wealth,” said Kenn Bowen, a Vietnam veteran and retired communications worker from Winterset, Iowa who was arrested Monday. “That ain’t right. Wells Fargo should be broken up into smaller, community banks that will put people before profits.”
The ten everyday arrested Monday for trespassing at Wells Fargo’s Des Moines offices are:
George Goehl, NPA executive director
Stephanie Simmons, former Methodist minister and CCI board member
Kenn Bowen, Vietnam veteran and retired communications worker
Jim Yunclas, retired Ag extension officer and CCI board member
Hazel Zimmerman, family farmer
Misty Rebik, Iowa CCI latino community organizer
Shawn Gude, John Hopkins graduate student
Jessica Reznicek, unemployed worker
Ryan Laudick, unemployed worker
Julie Brown, bartender
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is a group of everyday people who talk, act and get things done on issues that matter most. With thousands of members from all walks of life – urban and rural, black and white, immigrants and lifelong Iowans – CCI has been tackling tough issues and getting things done for 35 years.
For more information about Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, visit www.iowacci.org
Iowans Arrested at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage HQ
Hazel Zimmerman, a family farmer from Carlisle, Iowa, is arrested at Wells Fargo office in Des Moines, Iowa
A family farmer, a Methodist minister, a Vietnam veteran and seven others were arrested today at the national headquarters of Wells Fargo’s Home Mortgage division in Des Moines, Iowa. Among those arrested was George Goehl, the national director of National People’s Action (NPA).
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI) organized the protest to demand that Wells Fargo put everyday people before corporate profits. Dozens of protesters entered Wells Fargo’s downtown Des Moines offices and refused to leave until CEO John Stumpf agreed to give the 99% Power coalition 1 hour of time during the shareholders’ meeting agenda in San Francisco Tuesday to present their grievances to big bank officials. See more pictures at ICCI’s flickr page »
NPA Director George Goehl Arrested at Wells Fargo offices in Des Moines, Iowa.
“We’ve asked Wells Fargo four times in the past four weeks for 1 hour on stage tomorrow in San Francisco and they’ve said no every time,” said Stephanie Simmons, a former Methodist Minister from Guthrie Center, Iowa and ICCI board member who was one of those arrested. “We want to talk about Wells Fargo’s shameful record on tax dodging, home foreclosures, predatory lending, political contributions, and CEO bonuses.”
“Wells Fargo’s mortgage office here in Iowa is making billions in profits every year by kicking hardworking families out of their homes and they aren’t even paying taxes on their ill-got wealth,” said Kenn Bowen, a Vietnam veteran and retired communications worker from Winterset, Iowa who was arrested Monday. “That ain’t right. Wells Fargo should be broken up into smaller, community banks that will put people before profits.”
The 99% Power coalition of community organizations, faith communities and labor organizations is demanding that Wells Fargo:
- stop home foreclosures
- reduce principle balances on underwater mortgages
- pay their fair share of taxes
- get their big money out of the political system
- stop financing payday lenders, private prisons, factory farms, and coal plants
“Not only does Wells CEO John Stump believe his bank is too big to fail, he also seems to believe they are too big to be held accountable,” Goehl said. “We’re here today in Des Moines, Iowa and tomorrow in San Francisco, California to prove him wrong.”
The ten everyday people arrested Monday for trespassing at Wells Fargo’s Des Moines offices are:
George Goehl, NPA executive director
Stephanie Simmons, former Methodist minister and CCI board member
Kenn Bowen, Vietnam veteran and retired communications worker
Jim Yunclas, retired Ag extension officer and CCI board member
Hazel Zimmerman, family farmer
Misty Rebik, Iowa CCI latino community organizer
Shawn Gude, John Hopkins graduate student
Jessica Reznicek, unemployed worker
Ryan Laudick, unemployed worker
Julie Brown, bartender
Wells Fargo Wanted ad runs Monday in Des Moines
Ad will call out Wells Fargo for tax dodging, predatory lending, and foreclosure crisis one day before the big bank’s shareholders meeting in San Francisco, California.
Des Moines, Iowa — Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) members will run a half-page “Wanted” advertisement in Monday’s Des Moines Register blasting Wells Fargo for profiting at the expense of everyday people and hardworking families in our communities across the country.
The ad will run Monday, one day prior to a Wells Fargo shareholders’ meeting in San Francisco, California that is expected to draw thousands of protesters.
The text of the ad reads “Wanted: Wells Fargo, for profiting at the expense of our communities. This spring, the 99% is taking back our economy. Tomorrow, hundreds will confront Wells Fargo at their shareholders’ meeting. Iowa CCI challenges Wells Fargo on tax dodging, home foreclosures, predatory lending, private prison profiteering, financing payday loans and factory farms, political contributions, bank bailouts, record profits, and CEO bonuses.”
A version of the 10”x10” ad may be viewed by clicking here.
Iowa CCI members and their national partners in the 99% Spring coalition – including National People’s Action and the New Bottom Line – demand one hour of time on Tuesday’s shareholders meeting agenda to lay out their demands to Wells Fargo’s shareholders.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is a group of everyday people who talk, act and get things done on issues that matter most. With thousands of members from all walks of life — urban and rural, black and white, immigrants and lifelong Iowans — CCI has been tackling tough issues and getting things done for more than 35 years.
Tax Day: the 99% display their creativity and outrage
Yesterday was historic. Across the country, the 99% showed that we will no longer stand for the tax dodging of wealthy corporations and the 1%. From California to Maine, from San Antonio, Texas to St. Cloud, Minnesota, the commitment and creativity of the people was on display. Here are some of the highlights:
In Seattle, 99%’ers held an “Occu-Pie” pie-eating contest to highlight Amazon.com’s effective corporate tax rate of 5.5 percent, and to show the giant retailer what a fair share looks like.- In St. Cloud, Minnesota, local residents brought a tropical theme to Tax Day, wearing beach apparel and playing Caribbean music to emphasize tax loopholes that “are allowing corporations to hide millions of dollars offshore in places like Aruba and Panama.”
- In New York City, the “Tax Dodgers” baseball team strutted their stuff in front of Trump Tower.
- In Chicago, the “99% Citizen Tax Enforcers” were on the move — paying visits to corporate board members to tell them it’s time to pay their fair share in taxes.
- In cities and towns across the nation — Philadelphia, Syracuse, Phoenix, Portland and more — 99%’ers organized “Tax Dodgerball” games.
Our movement was not just felt in the streets, however — it was also felt at shareholder meetings, as CitiGroup shareholders rejected an exorbitant CEO pay package and EQT Corp. executives adjourned the natural gas company’s annual shareholders’ meeting today after 25 minutes because of a large number of unexpected questions from shareholders about the company’s drilling and exploration operations.
For more pictures from these and other actions, visit our album 99% Tax Day Photos on Facebook.
We know we can’t do justice to such a groundswell of activity in a single blog post — if you were part of a 99% Tax Day action yesterday, leave a comment and let us know about it!
With Bold Actions, 99% Power Launches Massive National Campaign Holding Corporate America Accountable to the People
For Immediate Release: April 18, 2012
Contact: Rafael Noboa y Rivera, raf@fitzgibbonmedia.com, (202) 455-4673
Movement Targets Shareholder Meetings and Other Actions in Fight for Economic Equality
With actions this week and next, 99% Power is launching a massive national campaign holding corporate America accountable. 99% Power is targeting specific corporations, at their shareholder meetings as well as other events, with the goal to create an economy that works for all.
Over the next few days, 99% Power will be active in San Francisco focusing on WalMart and Wells Fargo and in Detroit for GE, with the 1% squarely in their sights. A campaign of civil action, both large and small, is in motion. Among the actions planned are public rallies where specific corporations will be holding their annual shareholder meetings, as well as highly-directed actions in concert with those rallies and meetings.
“More and more people are acknowledging that the change we need won’t come from Washington, abusive corporations, or bailed out banks,” said Sarita Gupta, Executive Director of Jobs with Justice. “This spring, the 99% is uniting to learn the lessons of history, and confront the people responsible for standing in the way of change.”
“This spring, Americans from all walks of life will come together around a shared vision of a new bottom line that includes the health and well-being of workers, communities and the environment,” said George Goehl, executive director of National People’s Action and co-founder of The New Bottom Line. “Under the broad banner of 99% Power, thousands of people will engage in mobilizations and nonviolent direct action leading up to and at the shareholder meetings of dozens of corporations. There is no road to a fair economy and true democracy that does not include going toe to toe with abusive corporations.”
“The task of our time is to reign in the unchecked corporate power undermining the health of our country and our environment,” said Rainforest Action Network’s executive director Rebecca Tarbotton. “What if our government worked not for the highest corporate bidder but for the highest interests of its people and the planet? That is the promise and potential the 99% Power is fighting for. Our demands for economic and ecological sanity are not only reasonable they are essential and they are popular.”
Among the many things 99% Power seeks to accomplish in their actions are:
- Corporations funding their fair share in taxes;
- Corporations funding the future — not pillaging it;
- Corporations creating, instead of killing, good jobs in our communities;
- Restore our homes to rebuild our communities and resetting the economy;
- Getting corporate money out of our democracy.
Details of the actions planned are below. For more information, contact Rafael Noboa y Rivera at raf@fitzgibbonmedia.com or (202) 455-4673
April 19: Gala for the 99%, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 5 PM PST
Members of the 99% will hold a picnic-style “People’s Gala” in contrast to the obscenely opulent 1% Gala taking place inside the Academy of Sciences, featuring members of the Walton family. Speakers will tell the stories of what they’ve “donated” to the Waltons’ wealth.
Meanwhile, across America, people will target the Facebook page of “Govern for California” with similar messaging. “Govern for California” is a political organization dedicated to extending the iron grip of the 1% on our economy and democracy.
April 24: The 99% Take Over the Wells Fargo Shareholder Meeting, San Francisco, CA, 10 AM to 5 PM PST
The 99% takeover of the Wells Fargo meeting will take place in three waves:
- Outside: the first wave of protestors will participate in non-violent direct action with the goal of preventing the shareholder’s meeting from taking place and demanding that Wells Fargo move their meeting outside for a public “stakeholder’s meeting” to face the families and communities their policies are impacting
- Democratic Participation: In the event that protestors on the outside are unsuccessful at preventing the meeting from happening, shareholders plan a second wave of participating inside the meeting to demand their voices be heard
- People’s Stakeholder Meeting: Outside of the meeting, thousand of stakeholder’s will organize a rally where speaker will demand the Wells Fargo cedes to the demands of the 99%
April 25: GE Shareholder meeting, Detroit, MI, 8 AM to 2 PM EST
Members of the 99% will travel from all over the country to the GE shareholder meeting in Detroit, MI, to tell the tax-dodging corporation that it’s time for GE to pay its fair share.
On Wednesday, April 25, thousands will converge on the 10 a.m. meeting at the Renaissance Center. Teachers, secretaries, GE retirees, and unemployed workers will demand an end to GE’s tax-dodging and job-killing.
We’ve already been shining a light on GE’s bad practices in cities across the country. 99% delegations delivered a message of corporate responsibility to GE board members in Chicago, Boston, New York City, Ithaca, and elsewhere.
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99% Power is a coalition that includes workers and retirees, families fighting foreclosure and the unemployed, students, immigrants and environmentalists. You can learn more about the coalition and the mobilizations here: www.the99power.org
Tax Dodgerball: 1% vs 99%
Dodgeball Challenge: The 1% have dodged taxes long enough! Watch the 99% level the playing field.
Terry Schrunk Plaza, SW Jefferson and SW 3rd
Portland, Oregon
Wells Fargo Wins MVP. Wells Fargo hasn’t paid federal income taxes in 3 years!
Boston: Bank VS America Tax Day protest Tuesday
Tax Day, April 17, 2pm
Where: Bank of America branch at 175 Federal Street
Boston, MA
City Life’s Bank Tenant Association (BTA) plans to protest from 2 pm to 3 pm at the South Station branch at 175 Federal St., linking demands for fair taxes to the group’s historic demands for principal reduction and stopping bank evictions. City Life has staged numerous protests at Bank of America around these demands, most recently with an underwater homeowner rally January 30 featuring life preservers, snorkels, and sea creatures.
The City Life protest at 2 pm will feature homeowners with Bank of America loans. They will deliver letters to the Branch Manager requesting principal reduction. Each homeowner will have their picture taken alongside a puppet representing Brian Moynihan under a banner reading “Bank VS. America”. The group will then take copies of these letters to Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office, which is monitoring how banks follow through on the terms of the national settlement.
The City Life BTA and other similar formations have formed a network called New England Workers and Residents Organizing Against Displacement (NEW ROAD). Members of this 9-city network will be traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the national Bank of America shareholders meeting May 9 to continue to press their demands as part of a delegation from the Right to the City Alliance that is participating in the nationwide 99 Power Coalition.
Other Actions: A large evening march at 5:30 will be preceded by protests at individual corporate targets such as Bank of America.
Contacts:
Antonio Ennis, City Life/Vida Urbana, 617-524-3541 or cell 617-922-6476
Brandon German, City Life, 617-584-1468
Maria Christina Blanco, City Life, 617-524-3541 x313 or cell 617-372-3022
Steve Meacham, City Life, 617-524-3541 x310 or cell 617-909-6182
Lisette Le, Right to the City Alliance, 1-617-970-0052 (for questions on larger tax day action in Boston at 5:30pm)
Send a Bill to Corporate Tax Dodgers Today!
We have created an online tool that allows an individual to calculate how much money in taxes a corporation, a big bank, or a 1% tax dodger has cost them and their state. After the amount is calculated, a bill is sent to Congress urging House and Senate leaders to collect the lost revenue. Take action today and send a tax bill to the 1%!
The 99% Spring In Full Bloom
Cross-posted from National People’s Action
Wow. What a week!
The 99% Spring was a huge success and we couldn’t be more inspired by the spirit and courage of this movement.
Tens of thousands of us came together in homes, places of worship, campuses and the streets to train in non-violent direct action and then hit the streets to go toe-to-toe with executives of some of the biggest and baddest corporations in America.
Hundreds of actions took place across the country, and everyday Americans stood up to demand corporations pay their fair share in taxes, big banks stop funding inhumane private prisons, underwater mortgages are reduced to their fair market value, Wall Street be properly investigated, and the economy and our democracy works for all of us, not just the 1%.
This is just the beginning.
Below is a short list of trainings and actions that were part of The 99% Spring (NPA affiliates are marked in bold). There are also several more photos on the 99% Spring Tumblr blog and on Twitter.
New York
(pictured above: Agnes McCrae talks about direct action protest and the disability community.)
Syracuse United Neighbors (SUN) held their training in partnership with SEIU 1199, Citizen Action, and Occupy Syracuse. They have actions coming up on Tax Day as well as May 1st. More photos here.
Community Voices Heard (CVH) and VOCAL-NY (video above) coordinated five 99% Spring trainings, followed by an ‘unannounced home visit’ to Wall Street 1%er, Bruce Kovner, to demand he pay his fair share of taxes. Check out the story.
Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, Mothers on the Move and the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center (pictured above) coordinated a training and action in Rye, NY with a home visit to Alan Wiener, director of Wells Fargo Multifamily and the top Wells Fargo executive in NYC.Check out the photos.
PUSH Buffalo, along with our local partners, ran a great 99% Spring Training with a wide range of people from grassroots organizations, environmental orgs, labor unions, and student groups. They are also doing an action on May 12 on their local gas company.
Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES) (pictured above) held their training on April 11th followed by a direct action at Bank of America’s midtown headquarters, delivering a letter to Thomas Montag, the Co-Chief Operating Officer, and the top Bank of America executive in NYC. More photos here.
Iowa
NPA affiliate, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement(Iowa CCI) and 100s of Iowans made a surprise visit to the home of Mike Heid, a top official at Wells Fargo, demanding that the bank stop investing in private prisons that profit off inhumane treatment of immigrants. Check out the story, photos, andpress.
Kansas
121 Tornadoes in Kansas did not keep 93 committed activists, occupiers, union members, and students from attending Sunflower Community Action’s 99% Spring Training! The training spurred 4 actions taking place through the upcoming week. Four and half hours of intense training produced three actions which will be carried out throughout the next 7 days: April 17- Bank of America, April 21- ALEC member Legislators , and April 25-Wells Fargo.
Chicago
Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL), clergy and members from congregations on the northside and southside of Chicgo prepared for direct actions on April 17th (Tax Day protest) and May 23rd on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to demand that major corporations and the 1% pay their fair share. Check out the photos.
Northside P.O.W.E.R. and Lakeview Action Coalition (LAC) (pictured left) held a training for over a hundred people, followed by tax actions, bank actions, shareholder meetings, and LAC’s general assembly. More photos here.
Michigan
Michigan Organizing Project and UAW lead a fierce protest at Mastronardi Fruit Packing Plant, site of egregious violations against migrant workers.
Missouri
Grass Roos Organizing (GRO) and Missourians gathered in Liberty, Missouri (pictured left) to fight corporate greed, particularly the payday lending industry and big banks that finance their business model of stripping wealth from communities who are already struggling to stay afloat economically. Participants took to the streets gathering signatures for state ballot measures to cap payday interest rates at 36% and to raise the state’s minimum wage.
Minnesota
Over 100 Minnesotans prepared for nonviolent direct actions on Tax Day and for an action in May on the Target Corporation. Check out the photos.
Los Angeles
People Organized for Westside Renewal (POWER) (pictured right) coordinated three 99% Spring trainings of more than 300 people followed by a protest at the doorstep of Wells Fargo board member, Enrique Hernandez’s house demanding that the bank divest from private prison industry and stop profiting off of the separation of families. Check out the photos.
Maine
Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) (pictured above) trained over 140 people and planned four Tax Day Actions in four separate cities in Maine where they will take Wall Street Corporations the bill for our revenue crisis and tell them to pay immediately. More photos here.
This week…
Communities United For Action (CUFA) and Working In Neighborhoods (WIN) have their training and action today, Rights for All People (RAP) on Thursday, and Illinois People’s Action(IPA) on Saturday.
The 99% Spring Training – NOW ONLINE!
If you missed the in-person training, it’s not too late. Check out the 99% Spring training now online and set aside 90 minutes this week to get geared up for action.
Just like the in-person trainings, the online training has all you need to get ready to take the country back for the 99% — including modules on: “What Happened to Our Economy?”, “Intro to Non-Violent Direct Action”, and “Planning for Action”.
You will be at your computer, but you won’t be alone. Chat with trainers and others doing the training online as you go, see your progress, and recruit your friends.
You are a critical part of this historic effort. We look forward to seeing you — online and offline — as we take back the country for the 99%, one neighborhood at a time. Attend a 99% Spring training online today.
This is just the beginning.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be engaging in a massive wave of actions to hold the 1% accountable — targeting corporations like Verizon and Walmart on issues from the environment to workers rights, Bank of America and Wells Fargo on Tax Day, Sallie Mae on student loans, and more.
