Cleveland: ‘Bail out workers, not bankers’

While the Senate was preparing to pass a $700-billion bailout of the richest banks in the world on Oct. 1, a group of workers and foreclosed homeowners protested in Cleveland’s financial district. A woman who had already lost her home remarked, “The blood in the streets of Cleveland is ignored as Washington focuses only on the blood on Wall Street.”

Dozens of signs demanded “Mortgage moratorium” and “Bail out workers, not bankers.” Others posed the question: “What about us?” Chants included, “O, H, I, O/Wall Street has got to go” and “It’s our money, it’s our right, we need people’s oversight.” During the lunch-hour protest, many passersby gave the thumbs-up while motorists honked in support.

Part of a national day of protest, the demonstration was called by Jobs with Justice and joined by members of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), FIST (Fight Imperialism, Stand Together) and the Peoples Fightback Center.

— Report and photo by Martha Grevatt