On the Eve of Bank of America's Annual Shareholder Meeting
SEIU, MoveOn.org and other Community Groups to Collect 20,000+ 'Taxpayer Proxies' to Call for Ousting of CEO Ken Lewis, Reform of Predatory Banking Practices, Voice for Bank Workers
100s of Actions Include DC, LA, San Francisco, NY, Chicago, Pittsburgh & Philadelphia
WASHINGTON, April 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fueled by mounting frustration over an economic system that rewards corporate executives for their bad decisions while working people struggle to stay afloat, tens of thousands of taxpayers will protest at Bank of America branches across the country on April 28th in advance of Bank of America's Annual Shareholder Meeting.
After accepting $45 billion in bailout funds, taxpayers are one of the largest shareholders of Bank of America. They will join bank employees, consumers and activists to demand that the bank fire CEO Ken Lewis and commit to financial reform that puts consumers and workers ahead of profits.
More than 10,000 Americans have already signed "taxpayer proxies" calling on the bank to: (1) Fire Ken Lewis; (2) Commit to real financial reform; (3) Stop consumer abuses and predatory lending practices that hurt our communities; (4) Provide health insurance to all its employees; and (5) Stop lobbying against pro-worker legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act that would support working families and restore balance to our economy and ensure bank workers have a voice on the job to protect consumers. [See sample proxy pasted below.]
Led by SEIU, MoveOn.org and other community groups, the taxpayer proxies will be delivered to the Bank of America Annual Shareholder Meeting in Charlotte, NC, on April 29.
WHO: SEIU, MoveOn.org, United Students Against Sweatshops, Catholics United, Center for Community Change, TrueMajority.org, Brave New Films, USAction, Women's Voices, and Women Vote Action Fund
WHAT: Taxpayer Protest of Bank of America, Call for Fundamental Reform of bank's profit model that is bad for consumers, bad for taxpayers, bad for employees and dangerous for larger economy
WHERE: Hundreds of locations nationwide, including: Washington, DC, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco
WHEN: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 [Contact Kawana Lloyd for specific event times]
The "proxy" includes four questions:
Fire CEO Ken Lewis, who has helped destroy the bank and our overall economy.
Commit to real financial reform.
Stop consumer abuses that hurt our communities, like skyrocketing fees and predatory lending.
Support bank workers' voice on the job to protect consumers and improve living conditions and wages by supporting the Employee Free Choice Act.
Provide affordable quality health care to employees so they do not have to rely on taxpayer-funded public health programs.
For more information on actions happening across the country, please visit http://www.takebacktheeconomy.org/.
Website: http://www.seiu.org/
SEIU, MoveOn.org and other Community Groups to Collect 20,000+ 'Taxpayer Proxies' to Call for Ousting of CEO Ken Lewis, Reform of Predatory Banking Practices, Voice for Bank Workers
100s of Actions Include DC, LA, San Francisco, NY, Chicago, Pittsburgh & Philadelphia
WASHINGTON, April 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fueled by mounting frustration over an economic system that rewards corporate executives for their bad decisions while working people struggle to stay afloat, tens of thousands of taxpayers will protest at Bank of America branches across the country on April 28th in advance of Bank of America's Annual Shareholder Meeting.
After accepting $45 billion in bailout funds, taxpayers are one of the largest shareholders of Bank of America. They will join bank employees, consumers and activists to demand that the bank fire CEO Ken Lewis and commit to financial reform that puts consumers and workers ahead of profits.
More than 10,000 Americans have already signed "taxpayer proxies" calling on the bank to: (1) Fire Ken Lewis; (2) Commit to real financial reform; (3) Stop consumer abuses and predatory lending practices that hurt our communities; (4) Provide health insurance to all its employees; and (5) Stop lobbying against pro-worker legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act that would support working families and restore balance to our economy and ensure bank workers have a voice on the job to protect consumers. [See sample proxy pasted below.]
Led by SEIU, MoveOn.org and other community groups, the taxpayer proxies will be delivered to the Bank of America Annual Shareholder Meeting in Charlotte, NC, on April 29.
WHO: SEIU, MoveOn.org, United Students Against Sweatshops, Catholics United, Center for Community Change, TrueMajority.org, Brave New Films, USAction, Women's Voices, and Women Vote Action Fund
WHAT: Taxpayer Protest of Bank of America, Call for Fundamental Reform of bank's profit model that is bad for consumers, bad for taxpayers, bad for employees and dangerous for larger economy
WHERE: Hundreds of locations nationwide, including: Washington, DC, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco
WHEN: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 [Contact Kawana Lloyd for specific event times]
The "proxy" includes four questions:
Fire CEO Ken Lewis, who has helped destroy the bank and our overall economy.
Commit to real financial reform.
Stop consumer abuses that hurt our communities, like skyrocketing fees and predatory lending.
Support bank workers' voice on the job to protect consumers and improve living conditions and wages by supporting the Employee Free Choice Act.
Provide affordable quality health care to employees so they do not have to rely on taxpayer-funded public health programs.
For more information on actions happening across the country, please visit http://www.takebacktheeconomy.org/.
Website: http://www.seiu.org/
Website: http://www.TakeBackTheEconomy.org/
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