NEW YORK — US activists protesting corporate greed prepared for a downtown Manhattan march Wednesday that will include support from unionized teachers and transportation workers.
The “Occupy Wall Street” website said the demonstration, scheduled for 4:30 pm (2030 GMT), will begin at Foley Square and end at Liberty Plaza, in southern Manhattan.
The march is supported members of the United Federation of Teachers, which represents most of the city’s public school teachers; the Workers United and Transport Workers, which represents many of the city’s bus drivers; and Professional Staff Congress-CUNY (PSC-CUNY), which represents more than 20,000 professors and staff at the City University of New York.
The unions are all on record expressing solidarity with the protesters.
“Union members and community members impacted by the economic crisis have been demanding that Wall Street and New York’s wealthiest pay their fair share of taxes,” read the main Occupy Wall Street website.
“Let’s march down to Wall Street to welcome the protesters and show the face of New Yorkers hardest hit by corporate greed.”
Protesters have installed a makeshift camp in a small park near Wall Street in New York since September 17.
Activists responding to a call from the Canadian anti-consumer group converged on New York’s Financial District, but were unable to invade Wall Street as hoped and came in far smaller numbers than predicted.
But their numbers have since grown, as has their media presence. Similar demonstrations have cropped up in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere.
The new protest comes four days after more than 700 protesters were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge when they defied police and stalled traffic. The Saturday demo was their biggest demonstration yet against government-backed banking bailouts and corporate influence in US politics.
Police said most of those arrested were issued criminal court summons and citations for disorderly conduct before being released later in the day.
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