Mary Kay Henry, Vice President of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), calls for Judge Sotomayor's speedy confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court

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SEIU stöder OCCUPY WALL STREET

Mary Kay Henry, Ledaren för USA:s största fackförening SEIU arresterades I samband med att hon deltog i demonstrationen för Occupy-rörelsen på Brooklyn Bridge under torsdagseftermiddagen.

Mary Kay utövade sin rätt till “civil olydnad” tillsammans med ett hundratal andra Occupy-medlemmar vilket polisen inte uppskattade…
“The Service Employees International Union (SEIU)” är USA:s största fackförening med över 2.1 miljoner medlemmar inom ett hundratal yrkesgrupper.

"UnderMattan blogg" publicerar vad fackföreningsledaren själv skriver i SEIU:s officiella blogg om händelsen. (Texten är på engelska)

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Why I Chose Civil Disobedience

By SEIU President Mary Kay Henry

12:55 PM Eastern - Friday, November 18, 2011

Standing on the Brooklyn Bridge in the crowd of tens of thousands of students, clergy, and other activists last night was an incredible experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. As I stood shoulder to shoulder with my brothers and sisters in the chilly autumn air, joining in the chorus of chants for economic justice, I drew warmth and inspiration from Mohandas Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez and countless other social justice leaders who chose acts of civil disobedience.

Peaceful civil disobedience is not a tactic, but a tangible expression of our values. Gandhi showed us that when people are united against oppression in non-violent civil disobedience, regular people could topple repressive empires. Dr. King wrote eloquently about racial injustice from a jail cell in Birmingham. Chavez taught us that peaceful civil disobedience forces the powers that be to pay attention to workers who are otherwise invisible in the corridors of power- more than they would by simply walking past a picket line, march or rally.

Non-violent civil disobedience takes the violation of our nation's fundamental values to a higher level, both morally and in the eyes of those we seek to challenge.

In 2011, a violation of our nation's values is behind the economic emergency in our country for the 99 percent of us. More than 25 million Americans are looking for full-time work, while the top 1 percent continues to thrive. This is a direct affront to our values and why thousands upon thousands of Americans took to the streets yesterday, from Seattle, to Houston, to Washington, D.C.

I do not regret taking a public stand to highlight the crisis facing the 99 percent. I am proud to stand with the hundreds of others who chose peaceful civil disobedience as a way to make their voices heard and to let the top 1 percent know that we are serious about changing our country - and we are not going away anytime soon.

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Mary Kay Henry blir arresterad

SEIU President Mary Kay Henry arrested protesting @ Brooklyn Bridge tonight along with over 70 community leaders and unemployed. (Med tanke på hennes t-shirt kan man nog förmoda att hon stöder de 99%...(reds anm.)

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Service Employees International Union (SEIU) & Occupy Wall Street