L.A. County AFL-CIO Endorses Occupy Los Angeles and Occupy Wall Street Protests (Exclusive)

5:45 PM PDT 10/3/2011 by Jonathan Handel

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The umbrella group slams the “corporate bullies, banks and investment firms” that it says created the recession.

In a strongly worded declaration, the L.A. county AFL-CIO has endorsed the “Occupy” protests that began in New York and have spread to Los Angeles and other cities.

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•Labor

In an exclusive statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the group blasted “an unfair economy that works for 1% of Americans while the vast majority of people struggle to pay the bills, get an education and raise their families.”

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The statement also declared that “the Los Angeles labor movement stands with its sisters and brothers occupying Wall Street, downtown Los Angeles and cities and towns across the country.”

The group -- the L.A. County Federation of Labor -- is an umbrella group of AFL-CIO locals and other unions. Among its affiliates are AFTRA, SAG, Teamsters and Los Angeles based IATSE locals, whereas the DGA and WGA West are not members.

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The group's endorsement is not binding on its affiliates. The only entertainment union to endorse the Occupy protests to date is the WGA East, as THR exclusively reported Sunday.

The group’s leader, executive secretary treasurer Maria Elena Durazo, added “We must continue to speak out, organize and work together in order to rebuild the middle class.”

STORY: Occupy Wall Street: What Hollywood Is Saying About the Protests

The statement described the Occupy Wall Street movement as “taking a stand against the corporate bullies, banks and investment firms that not only created our economic collapse in 2008, but continue to take advantage of it today, making billions in profits while demanding further wage and benefit cuts from American workers.”

Email: jhandel@att.net
Twitter: @jhandel