Protest hits banks on foreclosures

More than 200 union members, retirees and community activists mobilized by the Atlanta-N. Georgia Labor Council and the Atlanta Fighting Foreclosure Coalition held a public forum on the housing crisis on July 22. Following that, they protested outside the headquarters building of Wachovia Bank. The state of Georgia and the Atlanta metro area, in particular, rank among the highest in the nation for foreclosures and unemployment.

National AFL-CIO Vice-President Arlene Holt-Baker moderated the meeting, which featured four homeowners threatened with foreclosure and eviction. In each case either major health issues or the loss of a job created the circumstances that forced workers to refinance their homes, often under subprime rip-off mortgages. The common complaint was the failure of the banks to work with them to save their homes.

Declaring “Bail out people, not banks,” the demonstrators demanded the financial institutions that created the crisis take immediate steps to modify loans and reduce the principal and interest to what the homeowner could afford.