Coalition to March on Wall Street South volunteers from across U.S. join local organizing committee for outreach blitz in Charlotte with a sound car, thousands of leaflets

For Immediate Release 8/13/12

Contact: 704-266-0362; press@wallstsouth.org, http://wallstsouth.org/

CHARLOTTE, NC — With only three weeks remaining until the march for jobs and justice on Sunday September 2, organizers with the Coalition to March on Wall Street South will launch a major coordinated outreach blitz across Charlotte, beginning today from 10:30am – 12noon at the campus of Central Piedmont Community College.

There, they will be joined by a group of school bus drivers from Boston from USW Local 8751, a student from California, and an organizer from Philadelphia who is a member of the Women’s International Democratic Federation (FDIM), all of whom have traveled to North Carolina to assist with the mobilization.

“Outreach is an essential task because, we do so much to organize locally and we put so much precious time an sweat into our work, that when we see folks come in from all over the United States, when we see folks take the time they could be using on something else we feel honored to know that they feel their place in the movement,” said Cameron Aviles, a student at Durham Technical Community College and an organizer with NC HEAT.

“We’re taking our message for jobs and justice, and money for people’s needs not for banks and wars into communities across the country. Last week in Philadelphia, we held a forum about the March on Wall Street South that was attended by dozens of people who will be coming to Charlotte in just a few weeks,” said Berta Joubert-Ceci, an organizer with the Philadelphia International Action Center. “When we march here on September 2, we’ll be standing with hundreds of thousands of workers across the globe who are tired of all these attacks by the banks and standing up to say: Enough is enough!”

“Just this morning, at a local restaurant, the brothers and sisters from Boston passed out fliers and posters,” said Darrion Smith, a worker activist with UE Local 150. “The waitress, customers, as well as other patrons were excited to hear about the rally on September 2. They were so excited the waitress started a rally in the restaurant about the rally on the second.”

Over the weekend, the Coalition held an organizing conference that was attended by over 60 people from several states. Local Charlotte and NC organizers were joined by activists from Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, and Massachusetts. Many different reports were shared on the progress of the work to build for the mobilization in September. One especially exciting report from the outreach committee highlighted that more than 20 organizing centers — including more than 8 in NC from Asheville to Rocky Mount — have been established across the country to bring people to Charlotte for the March on Wall Street South and the other events being planned by the Coalition.

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