Demanding that big banks like US Bancorp and Wells Fargo fulfill their responsibility to rebuild our economy by supporting good jobs in our community, Minnesota taxpayers protest bankers' business as usual" after bailouts

SAINT PAUL - In conjunction with actions against banks like Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp in cities across the country this week, about one hundred fed-up Minnesotans disrupted a meeting of the state's top bankers on Tuesday as they met at the Hilton Garden Inn, St. Paul City Center before lobbying legislators at the State Capitol later in the day.

"While Big Banks helped cause the recession we are now suffering through because of their reckless decisions, they continue to make billions in profits on the backs of American taxpayers, and we came here today to tell them that it is unacceptable," said Roberto Bueno, who lives in Brooklyn Park and whose mother is a janitor at Boston Scientific.

"We are here to make ourselves heard and stand up for what all working families in Minnesota should have: 8-hour full-time jobs with good health insurance," said Everett Spicer, a janitor at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. "Big banks like US Bancorp and Wells Fargo have a responsibility to rebuild the economy they wrecked by supporting good jobs in our community."

Janitors joined students, workers, and other concerned citizens this morning as they tried to enter the bankers' meeting to demand bank executives do the right thing, help people keep their homes, and support better jobs and a green future.

"It's outrageous to me that after taking billions of our tax dollars in bailout money, the big banks are now spending millions to lobby against reforms that would protect us from their abuses in the future, like homestead-lender mediation," said Alfredo Estrada, whose house was foreclosed on by US Bank in January.

Twin Cities' janitors clean buildings owned by Fortune 500 companies that continue to rake in billions in net profits during the recession, such as US Bancorp, Medtronic, Target, and Wells Fargo, while the janitors struggle to make a living and support their families.

Full-time janitors make as little as $20,200 a year, before taxes, and many face thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket medical costs due to poor coverage, or do not go to the doctor out of fear of incurring big bills.

Two weeks ago, janitors who clean the vast majority of commercial office buildings and corporate headquarters in the Twin Cities region voted to authorize a strike over unfair labor practices, if necessary, and could walk off the job at any time. They have been bargaining for months with their employers, including ABM, Harvard, and Marsden, and they have been working without a contract since January 8.

Uniting more than 5,000 janitors, security officers, and window cleaners in the Twin Cities and over 2 million workers nationwide, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in North America. For more information, go to www.seiu26.org and www.seiu.org/bigbanks.

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