On Wednesday, January 26th, Washington CAN! members gathered outside the CHASE building in Seattle to take action against one of corporations who, by successfully lobbying for tax exemptions, is responsible for the current state budget deficit and state fiscal crisis. This is the start of a series of direct actions planned against greedy banks and corporations. Continue reading
On Tuesday, October 26th, at 11:30 a.m., more than two dozen homeowners, friends, and community members marched into Chase Bank in downtown Burien, Washington and demanded an end to foreclosures in the state.
These homeowners represented just a handful of the 225,000 underwater homeowners in the state of Washington. The action, organized by Washington CAN!, was part of a national campaign to end foreclosures and to call for a write-down of principle for people at risk of losing their homes. Continue reading
Last week, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) finalized their recommendations to President Obama on how to implement a critical piece of health care reform: medical loss rations. Their recommendation is a significant victory because, according to the Washington Post, it largely favors “the views of consumer advocates over those advanced by the insurance industry.” Continue reading
In September, NWFCO joined more than 230 people from around the country for the “Banking for a New Economy” Summit in Chicago, Illinois. We came together to build a national movement for bank accountability – reminding ourselves that the banks created the greatest economic crisis since the Depression, and now we have to make them fix it
At the summit, NWFCO’s Betsy Dillner talked to a group of grassroots leaders and organizers from across the country about our work in Washington state to organize “underwater homeowners” – those who owe more on their homes than their homes are currently worth. (When the big banks created a housing bubble and then crashed the economy, housing prices plummeted, leaving hundreds of thousands of people underwater.) Continue reading
For nearly ten years, the wealthiest Americans have been getting a free ride in the form of tax cuts, tax breaks, and loopholes. This fall, Congress is expected to take up discussions around the Bush Tax Cuts and NWFCO affiliates in Montana, Oregon, and Washington are working with the Americans for Responsible Taxes to ensure that the current tax cuts for top 2% of Americans (individuals earning over $250,000 a year) expire, and that tax cuts for the middle class are made permanent. Continue reading
In Washington state, big out-of-state banks such as Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, KeyBank, and Wells Fargo are using the money from their hard-working customers’ accounts to kill legislation that would help local communities–including a renewal of a $67 million tax break for themselves. While thousands of vital state services are cut and state employees are laid off of work, big banks continue to reap profits. Continue reading
This post was written by Nathan Riding from Washington CAN!
The summer of 2010 will long be remembered for the worst environmental disaster in history of our country. The BP oil spill killed eleven men, countless animals, birds, and fish, and destroyed the economic livelihoods of thousands of people. The long-term impact of the BP disaster is not yet fully known, but it will play out for years and years to come. For many, the BP disaster is just another event in a string of events sounding the alarm that something is terribly wrong in our country, and it’s affecting the lives of millions of people. Continue reading
On Tuesday, August 17, all eyes were on Seattle’s Pioneer Square as President Obama was in town stumping for Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) in her critical primary race. Obama and Murray held a private meeting at a café with three small business owners to discuss the economy, as well as what could be done to help small business owners drive economic recovery. Of the three business owners in attendance, two of them were active members and leaders of Main Street Alliance, which speaks to the power and importance of grassroots organizing. Continue reading
Twenty-seven leaders from grassroots organizations in six states came together in Seattle during three very hot days in early July to launch NWFCO’s newest training program, the Justice Leadership Academy (JLA). Continue reading
