It’s been an incredible week for the 99%!
From the fields of Iowa to the neighborhoods of San Francisco and Detroit, the 99% Power took to the streets and the corporate board rooms to demand justice. Thousands of voices came together in one demand — end corporate thievery now! In cities across the country, we demanded that the corporations responsible for ruining our economy, stealing our homes, and retirement savings answer for their crimes.
On Monday April 23, 2012 dozens of protesters descended on Wells Fargo in Iowa. Several brave leaders from ICCI were arrested for standing up for the 99%. Those who were arrested included a Vietnam Vet, a grandmother, and National People’s Action Director George Goehl.
On Tuesday April 24, 2012, thousands of us stormed the streets of San Francisco to demand that Wells Fargo stop profiting from investments in private prisons and to demand that the company halt foreclosures so that no more families would be kicked out of their homes while the company reaped $69 billion in profits. Wells Fargo responded by preventing it shareholders from entering the meeting.
But several shareholders did get inside and challenged Wells Fargo CEO John Stompf, demanding answers about the company’s profits from private prisons and foreclosures on hundreds of thousands of homes.
By Heather Wilson
On Wednesday April 25, 2012 thousands of us streamed into the streets of Detroit for GE’s shareholder meeting to demand that the corporation pay its fair share in taxes. GE’s CEO Jeff Immelt was forced to shut the meeting down after only one hour because of tough questions about tax dodging from shareholders representing the 99%.
On Thursday, the 99% told CIGNA that their tax dodging and profiteering makes us sick! Several hundred representatives of the 99% gathered outside of the shareholders meeting in Hartford Connecticut and 12 were arrested. Shareholders and people outside of the meeting wanted a meeting with CIGNA CEO to discuss why he was collecting a salary of $9.77 million in 2010 while his company was collecting more than $50 million in tax incentives and laying of thousands of workers.
The shareholder spring has just begun, but already our actions are having an impact on corporate power as we shut down shareholder meetings and hold the corporations accountable for bankrupting our communities.
