•  HOME 
  •  ARCHIVES 
  •  BOOKS 
  •  PDF ARCHIVE 
  •  WWP 
  •  SUBSCRIBE 
  •  DONATE 
  •  MUNDOOBRERO.ORG
  • Loading


Follow workers.org on
Twitter Facebook iGoogle




Michigan anti-eviction fight targets bank, feds

Published Jan 16, 2012 5:11 PM

Protesters in Michigan, including trade unionists
and community activists, march on Jan. 3 to
stop a family’s threatened eviction from their
home by Bank of America and Fannie Mae.
WW photos: Bryan G. Pfeifer

More than 100 people gathered in bitterly cold weather outside the home of Debbie Henry and Robert Henry, in Southgate, Mich., for a rally and press conference on Jan. 2 to denounce their threatened eviction by Bank of America and Fannie Mae. Southgate is a working-class suburb south of Detroit.

The rally, sponsored by Occupy Our Homes, People Before Banks and the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions & Utility Shutoffs, included neighbors and friends, as well as a large delegation of United Auto Workers and Steelworkers members.

Debbie Henry explained to the crowd of supporters assembled in her front yard what had happened. She suffered a stroke in 2008 and could no longer work full-time. The Henry family fell behind in their mortgage payments and sought a loan modification from Bank of America, which was initially approved. Then, after the family made payments for nine months and demonstrated their ability to pay under the terms of the trial loan modification, their tenth payment was rejected by the bank. The bank claimed it was because the payment was not in the form of a certified check. The first nine payments were not by certified check, but the bank accepted them. Bank of America then rescinded the loan modification.

Fannie Mae, a corporation now owned by the U.S. government, owns the mortgage note for the Henrys’ home. Bank of America is the loan servicer. Fannie Mae — the U.S. government — is forcing the eviction, permitting Bank of America to make a huge profit through fees and penalties imposed during the foreclosure process while paying the bank the full inflated value of the home.

After the rally, the Henrys’ supporters marched a mile to a Bank of America branch office, where they picketed, chanting “BoA, BoA, How many homes did you steal today?” They denounced the banks for creating the foreclosure crisis.

The protest concluded with speeches and pledges to continue the struggle to stop the Henrys’ eviction. A UAW Local 600 vice president vowed to use civil disobedience to stop the eviction, if necessary, which drew a tremendous response from everyone present.

Steve Babson, a leader of the People Before Banks Coalition, exposed the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in foreclosures all across the U.S. and the federal government’s hidden bailouts of the banks. He pointed out that these two government-owned corporations own most U.S. mortgages and that the banks collect the full value of foreclosed homes from both of them. That is the reason, Babson said, that foreclosures take precedence over loan modifications, which would keep families in their homes. He concluded his talk by calling for a national moratorium on foreclosures and evictions.

The Henrys have vowed to stay in their home. Their next court date is Jan. 19 at 10 a.m. Supporters are asked to pack the courtroom at 33rd Judicial District Court, 19000 Van Horn Road, Woodhaven, Mich.