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Occupy Wall Street protestors gain broader support
Demonstrators rally outside One Police Plaza during a march by demonstrators affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement on Sept. 30, 2011 in New York City.
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Adriene Hill: You know those protestors in New York calling themselves Occupy Wall Street? The loosely organized group is trying to call attention to income inequality, among other issues. Over the weekend, more than 700 protestors were arrested.
And as Tracey Samuelson reports, the protests are starting to draw a different crowd.
Tracy Samuelson: For the past two weeks, there've been a couple hundred protesters occupying Zuccotti Park, a small patch of open space in New York's financial district. They've been mostly young, scruffy, unemployed. But Sunday, they were joined by more mature, professional types.
Michelle Gittelman teaches global business at Rutgers University. She calls herself the last of the middle class.
Michelle Gittelman: I think that anything like this starts out a little fringy, but hopefully it will speak to a lot of "regular people" who are feeling the pain.
Gittleman joined diehard protesters like Miriam Rocek, who's starting her third week in the park. Saturday marked her second arrest -- but she says it's only made her more determined to stay.
Miriam Rocek: We're only getting stronger. Every time they arrest people, more people show up.
Part of that new support is coming from organized labor. Tim Dubnau is with Communication Workers of America.
Tim Dubnau: This is really what democracy looks like, right? When students, when labor, when community groups join together we can start saying enough is enough.
His union and other labor groups are expected to formally join the protest with a march on Wednesday.
In New York, I'm Tracey Samuelson for Marketplace.
It�s important to note disparities in the system but it is also important to address how we as a society can agree to bring about changes to those things that grieve us and perhaps the mainstream media is right in this one respect- at the moment, no concrete plan or idea has been fostered as to how to exact changes in a very one sided system, and certainly waiting for the powers that be to come up with some watered down ideas hardly constitutes for much change, but then again at least the act of creating dissent and bringing awareness to what ails greater society is a good sign. Perhaps what then is needed next is a constituency of those individuals who work within media, medicine, insurance, education,finance and politics and so forth to propose ideas that will go some way in addressing the legitimate grievances of greater society-and to bring back some checking of the system and evening of the playing field. But should we hold our breath? http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2011/10/finally-america-begins-to-revolt...
how can you call this an article? there is no info -- what are they protesting/what do they want/do they even know what they want? why are labor unions involved -- they are part of the problem as to why america cant compete in a national economy. I am very disappointed in marketplace for such a weak entry..
