Wells Fargo to be targeted by Denver protesters in week of actions "to restructure Wall Street"
Update, below: Wells Fargo will be the target of several actions this week by the Colorado Progressive Coalition, including plans to "move in" to a branch on Thursday with lamps, pillows and coffee pots to protest the bank's high number of foreclosures. Dubbed the Mile High Showdown, the actions are accompanied by specific demands (read them below), which differentiates it from Occupy Denver.
The actions start this afternoon. According to Ben Hanna, organizing director for the Colorado Progressive Coalition, a group of labor leaders, clergy and homeowners will deliver a letter detailing its demands to the Wells Fargo branch at 1700 Broadway around 12:30 p.m. The group will ask that the letter be faxed to Wells Fargo president John Stumpf, Hanna says, "so we're clear about what our concerns are."
The Mile High Showdown is associated with a national campaign "to restructure Wall Street" called The New Bottom Line, which is demanding reform from three major banks: Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase. Of the three, Wells Fargo has the biggest presence in Colorado, which Hanna says is why activists here plan to target it.
"If Wells Fargo fails to come to its senses this afternoon and do all those things (in our letter), our communities will send a clear message that they can no longer use our money to foreclose on families and support deportations," Hanna says.
Wells Fargo is responsible for more foreclosures in Colorado than any other bank, Hanna says, and is also a major shareholder in the GEO immigrant detention center in Aurora, which has been the subject of previous protests.
Update, 2:33 p.m. October 24: Look below for photos and captions by Stephanie DeCamp from today's rally. That's followed by a rundown of what's planned for this week, courtesy of Hanna.
Photo by Stephanie DeCamp Ben Hanna, Colorado Progressive Coalition's Organizing Director (center), runs the group of protesters through the ground rules of entering the Wells Fargo Bank to deliver a list of demands.
Photo by Stephanie DeCamp Protesters are told to forego chanting and sings before entering. Security later thanked them for being "quiet and civil."
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