Actions of solidarity with Greece’s workers

In response to a call for global actions in solidarity with the besieged people of Greece, protests have been held in a number of cities in the U.S.

Workers World contributing editor and Moratorium NOW! Coalition leader Abayomi Azikiwe was one of the protesters who gathered outside JPMorgan Chase bank in downtown Detroit on July 15 for a busy lunchtime street speakout and show of solidarity.

City of Detroit retirees whose pensions have been slashed spoke about the austerity they have gone through and why many of the same banks that destroyed Detroit are now going after Greece. Speaker after speaker appealed to the many young workers on the street to learn about what has happened in Detroit, is now occurring in Greece and is soon to hit the U.S. colony of Puerto Rico.

All the speakers and demonstrators educated the sidewalk audience about the onerous nature of usurious bank indebtedness and why worldwide solidarity is needed to beat back austerity and stop the insatiable greed of finance capital.

Also on July 15, a small, but enthusiastic crowd gathered at Oscar Grant Plaza in downtown Oakland, Calif., to express their solidarity, including a few Greek nationals. Signs included “Austerity for bankers, not Greek workers” and “Bankers: hands off Greece. Cancel the debt.” Flyers explaining how only mass resistance can stop the bankers’ rule were distributed to pedestrians as they were heading home from work. The rally was called by Workers World Party and endorsed by Marcha Patriótica Colombia, the Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition and the International Action Center.

Activists in Buffalo, N.Y., held a rush-hour rally on Main Street in front of the Bank of America headquarters on this day of international solidarity. Speakers raised demands for us all to join in saying “No to austerity,” “No to pension cuts,” “No to privatization,” “Cancel the illegal debt” and “Make the banks pay” — while downtown workers and transit travelers stopped to listen and applaud.

Actions were also held in Baltimore, Los Angeles and Philadelphia on July 15, and in Chicago on July 14.

Ellie Dorritie, Kris Hamel and Terri Kay contributed to this article.