Occupy Wall Street wins over union backing, more protesters. LA Times

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-occupy-wall-street-20111006,0,7177960.story

Occupy Wall Street wins over union backing, more protesters
Teachers, nurses, veterans and seniors are among the several thousand to join the anti-greed movement's largest march yet.
y Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times

October 5, 2011, 9:34 p.m.
Reporting from New York—
In a sign that it is shifting from a loose-knit fringe group to a bloc that could draw in mainstream America, the movement called Occupy Wall Street brought thousands of people to the streets of New York on Wednesday after major labor unions gave their backing to its anti-greed message.

The march, from Occupy Wall Street's makeshift headquarters at a small park in the financial district to Foley Square in Lower Manhattan, was the largest since the group launched its movement Sept. 17. At its peak, the crowd of several thousand filled Foley Square and covered the steps of the courthouse across the street as speakers from several labor groups railed against corporate America. "Every one of us is here because of corporate greed," yelled Christopher Shelton, vice president of the regional branch of the Communication Workers of America. "It's time not to occupy Wall Street, but to take back Wall Street."


Shelton spoke to a crowd waving signs that reflected their varying ages, backgrounds and professions. Teachers and nurses mixed with students holding placards lamenting soaring tuition and their inability to repay student loans. Veterans complained of being out of work and homeless. Senior citizens lamented the hardships facing their grandchildren. There were signs protesting racism, President Obama, Republicans, Democrats, hunger and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There were as many signs supporting workers' rights, hunger-striking prisoners, higher taxes for millionaires and an overhaul of the country's financial system. "Wall Street needs an enema," read one sign. "Corporations are NOT people," read another, a dig at Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's statement during a campaign appearance in August that "corporations are people."