Labor Beat: Occupy Chicago at Grant Park

After two weeks of occupying Chicago's financial district at Jackson & LaSalle, the decision was made to march to Grant Park and occupy it. Meanwhile, Chicago's unions began to formally become involved in the occupy movement, and joined this action, which took place on Oct. 22, 2011. Thousands of students, workers and community activists began at the Federal Reserve Bank and Chicago Board of Trade and walked east through the Loop about a half mile to Grant Park. The Park was the venue for Obama's election night celebration rally in 2008, but tonight no one was celebrating Obama's obedience to Wall Street. Scenes and energies from the march, and interviews focusing on union members and officials who were there. At the Park, National Nurses United set up a first aid tent, but after 2 am later that night some 130 protesters were arrested, including two NNU leaders, and the police tore down their first aid tent. Length 15:23 Produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is a CAN TV Community Partner. Labor Beat is a non-profit 501(c)(3) member of IBEW 1220. Views are those of the producer Labor Beat. For info: mail@laborbeat.org, www.laborbeat.org. 312-226-3330. For other Labor Beat videos, visit Google Video, YouTube, or blip.tv and search "Labor Beat". Labor Beat has regular cable slots in Chicago, Evanston, Rockford, Urbana, IL; St. Louis, MO; Philadelphia, PA; Princeton, NJ; and Rochester, NY. For more detailed information, send us a request at mail@laborbeat.org

Category:

News & Politics

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• Occupy Chicago at Grant Park
• Grant Park protest
• Unions and Occupy Chicago
• police arrest occupy Chicago

[CIMC]

Some constructive criticism: also interview some of the IWW members who were obviously marching in the background in some of the footage. This would add discussion about tactics and solutions instead of just discussion about the problems.

When the rank-and-file of the unions have more guts to engage in work slowdowns, wildcat strikes, etc., then they'll finally start winning ground instead of getting driven further and further back.

[CIMC]

Good job highlighting specific complaints: rising costs, high unemployment, corporate control of government.

"The country is not broke. Instead it suffers from a gross maldistribution of wealth."

"Fix the crises of homelessness, foreclosures, ... unemployment, incarceration, health care. Inequality is implicated in those crises, and that's what this is about."