Labor Leaders Pushed For a Broader Bailout; Sought Help for Workers

Hours before the two major candidates for President met with President Bush Sept. 25 about his proposed $700 billion bail-out for Wall Street firms, national labor leaders rallied outside the New York Stock Exchange demanding that any Federal assistance include more government oversight and regulation on the economy as well as protections for workers.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow THE RETURN OF BREAD-LINES?: AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said that the state of the economy was the worst since the Great Depression, but that Congress should only bail out Wall Street firms if there were more protections for working-class people and tighter regulation of the financial markets.

While the front columns of the NYSE were covered by a massive American flag, portraying a sense of undying confidence in the American economy, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney addressed private- and public-sector union members amid cries of "shut 'm down" and "responsible rescue yes, Wall Street bailout no."

'Biggest Debacle Since Depression'

He told them that the country was facing the "biggest financial disaster since the Great Depression," but that workers had been suffering for years with reduced quality of public schools and rising unemployment rates.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow STORM THE WHITE HOUSE: At a rally outside the New York Stock Exchange, Professional Staff Congress President Barbara Bowen charged that the Bush Administration was using the same fear tactics in demanding a Wall Street bailout that it did when the President sought Congress's approval for use of force in Iraq.

"Now the Bush Administration wants us to pay the freight for a Wall Street bailout that does not even begin to address the roots of our crisis," Mr. Sweeney said. "We must start restructuring home mortgage loans. We have to put the perpetrators of this disaster last in line, and that means not an extra dime to pay off the executives of any company that gets bailed out."

Investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago and other firms such as insurance giant AIG have asked for emergency funding as a result of capital lost to investments in sub-prime home lending.

Mr. Sweeney said that any economic aid package should include the extension of unemployment benefits and further investments in education and infrastructural development projects that would create jobs. The labor leaders insisted that the independent panel should decide how any bail-out package is to be spent.

'Blank Check Without Safeguards'

"The Treasury Department proposal fails all of these tests," Mr. Sweeney said. "It gives unlimited authority to the Bush Administration to spend $700 billion propping whomever they wish on Wall Street. No strings, no safeguards, no accountability."

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten was also incensed, saying that unions had rallied in the same place in January protesting home foreclosures as a result of the sub-prime loans.

Adding that the nation's school systems demand that Teachers be held accountable and employers insisting on oversight of unions conducting representation elections in workplaces, she said the same standard should be set for Wall Street bosses.

"They need checks and balances on them," Ms. Weingarten said. "This is about a responsible rescue with real oversight and real conditions and real Main Street protection, so that working people can have a shot at the middle class rather than this unbridled market economy."

Professional Staff Congress President Barbara Bowen accused the Bush Administration of using fear tactics to scare Congress into approving the bail-out bill.

"They're telling us the world as we know it will end if we don't agree," she said. "Does that remind you of anything? Does that remind you of five years ago when George Bush said that we had to give him a blank check for Iraq? And now if a young solider dies in Iraq, the family gets $500,000. If a CEO puts his hand out, they get $700 billion."

As this newspaper went to press Sept. 29, Transport Workers Union Local 100 — which took part in last week's protest — and other unions were scheduled to hold a similar rally in front of the NYSE calling for more regulation of banking.

Cites Ripple Effect

The Rev. Jesse Jackson told reporters after the rally that the government needed to provide assistance and protection for homeowners, as further foreclosures would strain the economy more.

"When you lose three million homes you lose equity, you lose the tax base, you cannot fund education, you cannot fund health care," Reverend Jackson said.

Along with the labor leaders, Reverend Jackson said he believed that the current financial crisis should serve as a catalyst to turn economic policy away from deregulation. He joined their calls to elect Sen. Barack Obama as President, saying that Sen. John McCain would continue the Bush Administration policies that have allowed mortgage lending to put the economy in the current state it is in.

"He represents that direction, because McCain wants more of the same," Reverend Jackson said. "McCain wants a change of leadership, not a change of direction."