Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

UAW protest forces bank branch to close temporarily

BRENT SNAVELY 1:32 PM, Mar. 24, 2011

UAW President Bob King and about 100 UAW members flooded the first floor of the Guardian Building in Detroit shortly after 2 p.m. today and forced Bank of America to temporarily shut down.

UAW President Bob King criticized the bank for paying its CEO excessively and for not paying any taxes in 2009 after it received federal stimulus money.

The bank’s CEO earned more than $41 million in 2008 and more than $45 million in 2010, King said.

“When workers are struggling to pay child care, Bank of America made about $17.5 billion on credit card and ATM fees,” King said while inside the bank.

Afterwards, King joined hundreds of additional UAW members gathered at the corner of Griswold and Congress and continued the rally.

"Banks get bailed out, people get sold out," King chanted as the crowd joined in.

By about 3 p.m. the bank was open for business and workers had returned to their teller windows.

Bank of America spokeswoman Diane Wagner said the bank paid more than $40 billion in taxes from 2000 to 2009. However, she was unable to say how much the bank paid in taxes in 2009. Generally, companies don’t pay taxes unless they earn a profit.

Wagner also said Bank of America repaid the $45 billion it received in federal stimulus dollars as well as an additional $2.5 billion in dividends.

Detroit Police Sgt. J. Stinson said the UAW informed the city of its plans to hold a rally this morning, giving the city just hours to plan for public safety.

“We explained to them there is a petition process,” Stinson said, “in order to make it safe for people.”

“We are more than happy to help,” she said. “We understand their right to the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

King and members of the UAW demonstrated today as their three-day bargaining convention came to and end. Throughout the convention, speaker after speaker complained that union members are being forced to take pay cuts as collective bargaining rights erode in Wisconsin, Michigan and elsewhere.

The protesters wore red T-shirts in support of the public union members in Wisconsin who have been protesting for weeks over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's effort to eliminate the collective bargaining rights of public union members.

Union members also railed against Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who signed legislation earlier this month that gives emergency financial managers broad authority to terminate employee union contracts and nullify elected boards and councils.

After the rally ended today, King said the protest against corporate tax breaks and the battle for collective bargaining rights are linked.

“How can Rick Snyder, in any kind of good conscience, try to give $2 billion in tax breaks to corporations and not require them to move a single job to Michigan?” King said. “And then to take it off the pensioners, and the kids in school – that’s morally wrong.”

http://www.freep.com/article/20110324/NEWS01/110324026/UAW-forces-Bank-America-close-temporarily-over-taking-government-money?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE