Friday’s action was part of a “Next Generation” conference for members of the Communications Workers of America. About 50 young workers, most in their 20s, attended the four-day event at the Minneapolis Hilton. Many of them work for telecommunications companies like AT&T and Verizon.
“We as the next generation really need to think about where we want to go,” said Jake Lake, a member of CWA Local 1101 from New York City. “We’re at a tipping point right now.”
The young workers said they are concerned about their futures – and issues like the economy and home foreclosures. Those concerns took them to Wells Fargo to protest the bank’s refusal to meet with local groups fighting foreclosures and the bank’s funding of the Right Wing political agenda.
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| Young workers laid down in the lobby of Wells Fargo to protest the company\'s practices. |
Wells Fargo has been instrumental in backing Republican lawmakers who passed legislation to put a measure before voters in November that would amend the Minnesota Constitution to require a photo ID for voting. Opponents say the law is unneeded and would have the unintended consequence of disenfranchising some 700,000 eligible Minnesota voters, including seniors, low-income persons, students, people of color, disabled and rural Minnesotans.
The young workers converged on the bank lobby at Wells Fargo’s headquarters Friday afternoon. They put stickers over their mouths to symbolize how the 1% has silenced the majority, then laid on the floor in front of the company’s trademark stagecoach. Lake read a list of demands, including a call on the bank to stop funding the “voter suppression amendment.”
After a few minutes, the workers left the lobby, chanting “This is what democracy looks like!” and “We are the 99%!”
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| Jake Lake |
Jessica Hayssen
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“Power lies in organizing and it lies in political work and mobilization,” said Jessica Hayssen, field director of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, who addressed the conference. She and Lake serve on the national AFL-CIO’s Young Workers Advisory Council.
Currently, more than 30 young worker groups are operating around the nation and more are forming. Their main goals are to educate, empower and mobilize young people, Hayssen said.
Though based in unions, they also involve people who are not part of unions, she said.
“Young people in general aren’t waiting around – we’re doing things,” Hayssen said.
The Next Generation conference wrapped up Sunday. It was organized by the Communications Workers of America, the world’s largest telecommunications union, which represents more than 700,000 workers.
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Burnsville man is part of ‘Next Generation’
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| Participants in the Next Generation conference cheered after engaging in a demonstration at Wells Fargo. |
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Friday’s action was part of a “Next Generation” conference for members of the Communications Workers of America. About 50 young workers, most in their 20s, attended the four-day event at the Minneapolis Hilton. Many of them work for telecommunications companies like AT&T and Verizon.
“We as the next generation really need to think about where we want to go,” said Jake Lake, a member of CWA Local 1101 from New York City. “We’re at a tipping point right now.”
The young workers said they are concerned about their futures – and issues like the economy and home foreclosures. Those concerns took them to Wells Fargo to protest the bank’s refusal to meet with local groups fighting foreclosures and the bank’s funding of the Right Wing political agenda.
|
| Young workers laid down in the lobby of Wells Fargo to protest the company\’s practices. |
Wells Fargo has been instrumental in backing Republican lawmakers who passed legislation to put a measure before voters in November that would amend the Minnesota Constitution to require a photo ID for voting. Opponents say the law is unneeded and would have the unintended consequence of disenfranchising some 700,000 eligible Minnesota voters, including seniors, low-income persons, students, people of color, disabled and rural Minnesotans.
The young workers converged on the bank lobby at Wells Fargo’s headquarters Friday afternoon. They put stickers over their mouths to symbolize how the 1% has silenced the majority, then laid on the floor in front of the company’s trademark stagecoach. Lake read a list of demands, including a call on the bank to stop funding the “voter suppression amendment.”
After a few minutes, the workers left the lobby, chanting “This is what democracy looks like!” and “We are the 99%!”
|
|
| Jake Lake |
Jessica Hayssen
|
Topics of the four-day Next Generation conference included organizing and political action.
“Power lies in organizing and it lies in political work and mobilization,” said Jessica Hayssen, field director of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, who addressed the conference. She and Lake serve on the national AFL-CIO’s Young Workers Advisory Council.
Currently, more than 30 young worker groups are operating around the nation and more are forming. Their main goals are to educate, empower and mobilize young people, Hayssen said.
Though based in unions, they also involve people who are not part of unions, she said.
“Young people in general aren’t waiting around – we’re doing things,” Hayssen said.
The Next Generation conference wrapped up Sunday. It was organized by the Communications Workers of America, the world’s largest telecommunications union, which represents more than 700,000 workers.
Related article
Burnsville man is part of ‘Next Generation’
|
| Participants in the Next Generation conference cheered after engaging in a demonstration at Wells Fargo. |