We stand at a crossroads in the history. We have seen the greatest economy in the world brought to its knees by the reckless greed of the most powerful banks executives in the country. While we struggle to make ends meet, big bailed-out banks like Wells Fargo continue to spend excessive sums of money on lavish CEO salaries and fighting financial reform, while at the same time denying working families the financial assistance they so desperately need.
Wells Fargo is the second-largest bank in the nation, and received $36 billion in taxpayer-funded bailouts, after issuing $72.2 billion worth of subprime loans in 2006 alone. Since the bailout, Wells Fargo:
- Paid CEO John Stumpf $21,340,567 in 2009;
- Imposed 240% annual interest rates on short-term payday loans;
- Provided permanent loan modifications for just 7.9% of families, after a full year of Wells Fargo’s participation in the federal HAMP program.
- Spent $2.9 million dollars to kill financial reform.
That's why we're taking action to fight back. On April 27th, Wells Fargo is holding its annual shareholders meeting in the Julia Morgan Ballroom in the Merchants Exchange Building in downtown San Francisco. The California Labor Federation, Bay Area Labor Councils, the California Nurses Association, UNITE HERE Local 2, and SEIU along with religious, community, and tenant organizations and allies will be there to make our demands to Wells Fargo.
We are calling on Wells Fargo to:
- Pay their fair share for to create the 11 million jobs they helped destroy;
- Stop fighting financial reform;
- Start lending to communities and small and medium sized businesses starved for credit.
Join the crowd that will meet April 27th, 11:30 AM, at Justin Herman Plaza (Market & Embarcadero Streets in San Francisco) to march to the 400 block of California Street. We will rally while a group of shareholders, led by Art Pulaski of the California Labor Federation, go inside the shareholders meeting to make our demands to CEO John Stumpf and other Wells Fargo shareholders and executives. Click here for more information and to RSVP, or call the California Labor Federation’s Jobs Campaign Hotline at 510-663-4050.
Event sponsors include the AFL-CIO, Alameda Labor Council, Alliance for Californians for Community Empowerment, California Labor Federation, California Nurses Association, California Reinvestment Coalition, Causa Justa::Just Cause, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization, Contra Costa Labor Council, Health Care for America NOW! (CA), Jobs with Justice (SF Chapter), North Bay Labor Council, Napa-Solano Labor Council, PICO National Network, Sacramento Labor Council, San Francisco Labor Council, SEIU, SEIU Locals 1000, 1021 and 1877, South Bay Labor Council, Tenants Together, UNITE HERE Local 2, United Health Care Workers West and Workers United.
