In San Francisco, thousands say: Put banks on trial!
Occupy Wall Street West march in
central San Francisco.
photos: Bill Bowers
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By Bill Bowers
San Francisco
Jan 25, 2012
Thousands of demonstrators came out Jan. 20 to “Occupy Wall Street
West” to mark the second anniversary of the Supreme Court Citizens United
decision. This ruling called anonymous campaign contributions “free
speech” and claimed corporations were “people,” thus
increasing the already overwhelming power of the rich over politicians.
In response, the Occupy movement around the country demonstrated at federal
courthouses. Occupy San Francisco decided to target Wall Street West, the
complex housing the local head offices of the major banks and financial
institutions that rule the country. Demonstrators held a series of actions at
different financial institutions, including a protest at the 9th Circuit Court
of Appeals.
San Francisco workers put
Wells Fargo
bank under siege.
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Siege of Wells Fargo, BofA
At least 250 people took the street as Occupy activists
chained themselves to all four entrances of a large Wells Fargo bank branch.
People chanted, “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!” and
— if you replace the X with “jobs,” “schools,”
“health care,” etc. — “We need X, make the banks
pay!”
A group marched from Wells Fargo to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement
office nearby. They denounced the Obama administration’s deportation of
immigrant workers and their families as well as Wells Fargo’s investment
in constructing private prisons and holding pens.
Meanwhile, another group put an office of Bank of America under siege,
holding up a big banner and chanting, “Bank of America, bad for
America!” Of course, the bank is based in the U.S., but it is undoubtedly
bad for the entire hemisphere. Occupy activists also chained themselves to the
doors.
The BofA deserved more than just a siege, so the 99% decided to hold a
peoples’ trial with the big bank facing charges. About 400 people
witnessed as foreclosed homeowners detailed BofA’s and Fannie Mae’s
manipulations and deceits when first offering and then foreclosing on
mortgages. The main chant after each testimony was “Give the deed
back!” which was repeated continually.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo have foreclosed on more people in San
Francisco than any other mortgage-holders. The mostly African-American and
Latino/a communities of Mission, Bayview and Excelsior have been hit especially
hard.
At midday more than 1,000 people took to the streets and marched through the
Financial District, which is in central San Francisco on the edge of the Asian
community. The main chants included, “We are the people, no one is
illegal/¡Todos somos humanos!” and “¡La Migra, la
policia, la misma porqueria!” (La Migra, the police, the same filth!)
Among the marchers were about 200 from Occupy Oakland, which brought its sound
bus, a transformed Alameda County Transit bus.
Citibank and Bechtel headquarters were also targeted throughout the day.
Marchers joined the UNITE HERE picket at the Hyatt Regency, where workers
have been fighting for a fair contract, swelling the ranks of the
picketers.
After the workday ended, the crowd grew even larger. Despite a heavy
rainstorm, this was the largest Occupy action of the new year. More than 100
Occupiers gained entrance to the Cathedral Hill Hotel at 1001 Van Ness Ave.,
taking over the hotel for hours. A site of labor disputes, the hotel sits
vacant while 10,000 homeless people are living on the streets of San
Francisco.
Movement still strong
This action at Wall Street West shows that the Occupy
movement is still going strong, despite the centralized decision of the
capitalist state to use force to drive activists out of the parks and squares
they were using as organizing centers. More than that, the movement is still
directing its fire against the most powerful capitalist institutions: the banks
and the politicians who bail them out.
The Occupy movement’s activity in solidarity with immigrant workers is
growing, as is its direct actions to stop foreclosures on peoples’ homes,
popular churches and movement offices by the hated mortgage companies and its
solidarity with organized labor. n
