Friday evening, two national unions offered statements of support for Occupy Wall Street.
National Nurses United:
[T]the nation’s largest registered nurses union and professional association, representing 170,000 direct care RNs, stands in support of, and in solidarity with, the ongoing OcuppyWallStreet.org street protests and rallies.
We applaud the commitment, savvy and sacrifice exhibited by the multitude of students, union members, clergy, and many others from all walks of life who have come together to loudly and clearly place the blame for the nation’s pain where it belongs. Wall Street caused the financial crisis and we share your demand that Wall Street pay us back.
And Terry O'Sullivan, president of the Laborers' International Union of America, issued a statement saying:
Wall Street caused our economic crisis, and yet corporations are attempting to force working people to pay for it.
The only way to turn back the assault is to strengthen unions and build movements, such as Occupy Wall Street.
The workers who build America – the half-million men and women of LIUNA – are united behind the fight against corporate tyranny and for economic prosperity for all and stands with the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City and across the United States.
There is clear momentum building within the union movement in support of these protests; with two relatively different unions such as the NNU and LiUNA offering support, it seems a near certainty that more will follow.
9:01 AM PT: Add the United Steelworkers:
"The United Steelworkers (USW) union stands in solidarity with and strongly supports Occupy Wall Street. The brave men and women, many of them young people without jobs, who have been demonstrating around-the-clock for nearly two weeks in New York City are speaking out for the many in our world. We are fed up with the corporate greed, corruption and arrogance that have inflicted pain on far too many for far too long.
