United Association Local 290 Plumbers and Steamfitters Stands in Support of the Occupy Wall Street Demonstrations

;RESOLUTION
:United Association Local 290 Stands in Supportof the Occupy Wall Street Demonstrations
:October 21, 2011
WHEREAS, Members of UA Local 290, Plumbers and Steamfitters, like citizens across the United States, are reeling from a continued economic crisis that threatens the fiscal stability of individuals and the communities we are a part of, and also threatens our quality of life;
WHEREAS, a long-term, visible and peaceful protest, which continues today, began in the financial district of New York on September 17, 2011, thus launching the national Occupy Wall Street movement, and;
WHEREAS, since then, citizens of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California, from all walks of life, have gathered together and peacefully occupied public space in multiple cities including Portland, Vancouver, Eugene, Salem, Eureka, Roseburg, Medford, among others, in solidarity with and support for the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York, and; 
WHEREAS, the central grievances of the Occupy Wall Street movement (i.) are common grievances of American working class citizens, including union members nationwide, namely:
Corporations, Wall Street bankers and financiers, and the wealthiest in the top 1% have undue influence on the American political system and on public policy, and
* The voice of the common citizen (the 99%) is unheard because of this influence—and that even when workers join their voices together in labor unions, we are vilified and scapegoated as the cause of the crisis, and our needs go unmet;
* That those responsible for crashing the economy have never been held to account and instead have enjoyed large taxpayer bailouts, record profits and bonuses while the majority of Americans continue to suffer from high unemployment, the raiding of their pensions, foreclosures, cuts to the social safety net, bankrupt local governments, etc, and
* That the inequalities in terms of the distribution of national wealth (the top 10% control 2/3 of all Americans wealth), income inequality (where CEOs average wages are 185 times higher than that of an average American worker) and unfair taxation (where the average working person pays a higher tax rate for productive labor than a billionaire speculator) these have become morally indefensible (ii.);
BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the members of the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters, Local 290, Portland, Oregon, stand in solidarity and support of the brave and committed citizens, both in New York and within our jurisdiction, who are expressing their First Amendment rights by peacefully holding public space in the Occupy Wall Street movement; and furthermore;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT UA Local 290 loudly enjoins the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in their central demands (iii.) for a responsive government that meets the needs of working class Americans, including:
* Placing stiff regulations on the Banking industry and fairly taxing the wealthiest 10% in America,
* Ending the wars and bringing the war dollars home from Afghanistan and Iraq,
* Making major public investments in education, infrastructure, public transportation, and clean energy jobs,
* Absolutely No Cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other social safety net programs and a full investment in a National Healthcare system.
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