Union Movement Opens ‘Arms and Hearts’ to Occupy Wall Street Activists

In a statement released this afternoon supporting the growing Occupy Wall Street movement, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says:

Occupy Wall Street has captured the imagination and passion of millions of Americans who have lost hope that our nation’s policymakers are speaking for them. We support the protesters in their determination to hold Wall Street accountable and create good jobs.

This evening in New York City, union members joined the Occupy Wall Street protestors—now in their third week camped in the heart of the financial district—and other activists for a Wall Street march and rally drawing several thousand. Says Trumka:

We are proud that today on Wall Street, bus drivers, painters, nurses and utility workers will join students and homeowners, the unemployed and the underemployed to call for fundamental change.

With the Occupy Wall Street mobilization gaining steam in cities across the country, Trumka says the labor movement “will open our union halls and community centers as well as our arms and our hearts to those with the courage to stand up and demand a better America.”

Click the video for Trumka’s full statement.