Friday, April 1, 2011

Martin Luther King stood up for workers-- how about us?

On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis.

In his last days, he stood with striking sanitation workers and faced down the armed forces of a city and state to demand dignity and the right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a better life.  Forty-three
years later in Madison, Gov. Scott Walker threatened peaceful demonstrators with the force of the state, threatening to bring in the National Guard and illegally barring the doors of the Statehouse to its citizens.

Join us in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and dozens of other states where well-funded, right-wing corporate politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for:  the freedom to bargain, to vote, to afford a college education, a home, and justice for all workers, immigrant and native-born.

In Springfield, we will honor Dr. King's legacy and answer the AFL-CIO's <http://www.we-r-1.org/> "We Are One" call for nationwide actions with a March for Economic Justice. We will call upon elected officials to rebuild our economy through taxing the rich and reinvesting in our communities.  The idea that a balanced budget requires slashing our public services or taking away workers' rights is a lie!  We will march to Bank of America to demand that they stop bankrupting our tax base and destroying our neighborhoods, end post-foreclosure evictions, and reduce the principal balance on millions of home mortgages.  Homeowners are underwater and workers are unemployed because of the economic crisis that Bank of America and the other Wall Street Banks created!

Stand Up! Fight Back! on April 4:  click the links below for info and to RSVP

Honoring Dr. King's Legacy: A March for Economic Justice in Springfield
<http://local.we-r-1.org/weareone/events/show/39>

3:30pm: Gather at City Hall.  4:00pm: March to Bank of America to picket against the economic crisis that the Wall Street banks created.  Then rally on City Hall steps, 5:00-5:30pm, to call upon elected officials to stop evictions, tax the rich, and reinvest in our communities. Print Friendly and PDF

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