Activists slam billionaire mayor

WW photo: Monica Moorehead

New York—“Bloomberg, you can’t hide, you’re on the bosses’ side!” rang out on a crowded stretch of Broadway here Oct. 30. The Bail Out the People Movement called the protest to demand “Jobs yes! Racism no! Union busting’s got to go!” Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the richest man in New York and the eighth-richest billionaire in the U.S., is running for re-election and had campaigned the week before with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a notorious racist. They held hands while spewing not very subtle racism-mongering speeches in the better-off neighborhoods of New York. The protest was held just feet away from Bloomberg’s Manhattan campaign office.

Rob Robinson and Frank Morales of the organization Picture the Homeless slammed the mayor for the record number of homeless—39,000 people a night now sleep in shelters. Mike Filippou, a leader of the heroic Stella D’Oro workers, raised his fist against Bloomberg, condemning him for doing nothing to stop the closing of their plant while the company received tax abatements from the city. The BOPM called for uniting the hundreds of struggles taking place each week in New York into a more effective and militant front against the Wall Street forces attacking the working class and oppressed.

BOPM organizers Larry Hales and Jennifer Waller–who co-chaired the rally–spoke on the crisis young people face in this city, from cuts in education to the increase in incarcerations.