This Shoe Is For You! No Fare Hikes, No Budget Cuts
Support Steve Millies
Defend the Right to Demand "Bail Out the People, Not the Banks!"
Wall Street & MTA: "This Shoe is for
You!"
Yesterday, activists from the Bail Out the People Movement
attended the MTA board meeting to protest proposed draconian budget cuts and
fare hikes. The increase in subway & bus fares, layoffs, and service
cuts are all going to fatten the coffers of Wall Street Bankers - the same
bankers who have received hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout money.
Steve Millies, a long time activist, took the podium at the meeting and
denounced the MTA as "a collection agency for the biggest banks and
insurance companies," and said that the budget should be "thrown in
the garbage can."
Today's New York
Times reports:
“We don’t need any fare increases and we don’t
need our transit system ravaged either,” said Mr. Millies, who said he
was an Amtrak signal-tower operator and a member of the Bail Out the People
Campaign, a group that has stood up for victims of the economic crisis. He
called for the subway and bus fare to be reduced to $1, to help unemployed New
Yorkers.
Then, referring to the authority’s chief executive, who was sitting about
15 feet away, he said: “Where is Elliot Sander?” He stooped,
slipped off one of his shoes and shouted, “You made $300,000 last
year.”
Immediately, authority police officers swarmed him and pushed him out of the
room. He was clutching his shoe, a black, thick-soled oxford, in his
hand....
“I wanted to show the sole of the shoe as a sign of contempt for
someone who makes so much money and yet wants to raise fares on the
disabled,” he said. He said that the authority’s plans to more than
double the $2 fare for disabled passengers who use the Access-a-Ride service
particularly incensed him.
He said the gesture was planned with Muntader al-Zaidi, the Iraqi shoe-thrower,
in mind.
“I was very much inspired by that courageous Iraqi journalist who was
protesting the occupation of his country by the American and British oil
companies and their governments,” Mr. Millies said.
Mr. Millies said the ticket he was given charged him with “intent to
cause a public annoyance.”
“What’s the point of having a public hearing,” he said,
“unless you allow people to annoy public
officials?”
Activists all around the city and country are applauding Steve Millies. He did
what millions of New Yorkers, who are paying more for everything while bankers
are being bailed out, would love to do.
Millies reported for work yesterday at AMTRAK, where he has been a union worker
for 24 years, and was told by his supervisors to go home because of this
incident.
Action Alert:
Here's how you can help:
- Please call the NYPD Switchboard at 1-646-610-5000 - demand that the false
charges against Steve Millies be dropped.
- Make a donation online at http://bailoutpeople.org/donate.shtml.
Help us defend Steve Millies and continue to organize to demand "Bail Out
the People Not the Banks!"
Steve Millies will be one of the many activists and community organizers
attending the important January 17 Fightback Conference, held on the weekend of
the 80th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 80th birthday. This
important conference will include skill sharing, workshops, and planning for
direct action and peoples' intervention against fare hikes, tuition and
utility increases, evictions and foreclosures, as we continue to mobilize to
demand "Bail Out the People - Not the Banks!" For information
on the conference, go to www.BailOutPeople.org.
MEDIA COVERAGE***
Youtube - Ch 11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjAslDC3BbU
Say Whatever You Want, but No Throwing Shoes (New York
Times):
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/nyregion/18sander.html
The shoe must go on: MTA adopts 'miserable' budget
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/transportation/ny-limta185969267dec18,0,1516669.story
Touching your shoes during conference can land you in
jail!
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/touching-your-shoes-during-conference-can-land-you-in-jail_100132527.html
This Shoe's For You: Emotions Boil At MTA Hearing:
http://wcbstv.com/cbs2crew/mta.cash.crunch.2.889271.html
At M.T.A. Hearing, Another Shoe Almost Dropped:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/at-mta-hearing-another-shoe-almost-dropped/
Rider to MTA boss: 'This shoe is for you!":
http://www.newsday.com/iphone/ny-nymta1218,0,5427568.story
This Shoe's for you, MTA! Protestor at board meeting inspired by
Iraqi who threw shoes at Bush:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/12/17/2008-12-17_this_shoes_for_you_mta_protestor_at_boar-1.html
MTA Board Approves Fare Hike, Service Cuts:
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/90797/mta-board-approves-fare-hike--service-cuts/Default.aspx
Disgruntled Subway Rider Attempts to Throw Shoe at MTA
Boss:
http://www.wpix.com/landing/?Disgruntled-Subway-Rider-Attempts-to-Thr=1&blockID=164538&feedID=1404
Bail Out the People Movement
Watch coverage of Bail Out the People protest at MTA Board Hearing tonight in NYC, 11pm on Channel 7
December 17, 2008: Today, activists from the Bail Out the People Movement
attended the MTA board meeting to protest proposed draconian budget cuts and
fare hikes. The increase in subway & bus fares, layoffs, and service cuts
are all going to fatten the coffers of Wall Street Bankers - the same bankers
who have received hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout money.
Steve Millies, a long time activist, took the podium at the meeting and
denounced the MTA as "a collection agency for the biggest banks and
insurance companies," and said that the budget should be "thrown in
the garbage can." Then, he said, "And more thing, where is Elliot
Saunders? You made $300,000 last year, and this shoe is for you!" As Steve
attempted to remove his shoe, he was grabbed by MTA security guards and
forcefully removed from the hearing. (see links to media coverage below) Elliot
Saunders is the CEO of the MTA.
Activists all around the city and country are applauding Steve Millies. He
did what millions of New Yorkers, who are paying more for everything while
bankers are being bailed out, would love to do.
Steve Millies will be one of the many activists and community organizers
attending the important January 17 Fightback Conference, held on the weekend of
the 80th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 80th birthday. This
important conference will include skill sharing, workshops, and planning for
direct action and peoples' intervention as we continue to mobilize to
demand "Bail Out the People - Not the Banks!"
January 17th Conference:
http://www.bailoutpeople.org/index.shtml#jan17
Endorse the
January 17 Conference
Donate
ACTION ALERT
Steve Millies has been falsely charged with disorderly conduct for speaking
out against MTA/Wall Street corruption. Please call the NYPD Switchboard at
1-646-610-5000 - demand that the false charges against Steve Millies be
dropped
MEDIA COVERAGE
This Shoe's For You: Emotions Boil At MTA Hearing:
http://wcbstv.com/cbs2crew/mta.cash.crunch.2.889271.html
At M.T.A. Hearing, Another Shoe Almost Dropped:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/at-mta-hearing-another-shoe-almost-dropped/
Rider to MTA boss: 'This shoe is for you!":
http://www.newsday.com/iphone/ny-nymta1218,0,5427568.story
This Shoe's for you, MTA! Protestor at board meeting inspired by Iraqi
who threw shoes at Bush:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/12/17/2008-12-17
_this_shoes_for_you_mta_protestor_at_boar-1.html
MTA Board Approves Fare Hike, Service Cuts:
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/90797/
mta-board-approves-fare-hike--service-cuts/Default.aspx
Disgruntled Subway Rider Attempts to Throw Shoe at MTA Boss:
http://www.wpix.com/landing/?
Disgruntled-Subway-Rider-Attempts-to-Thr=1&
blockID=164538&feedID=1404
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