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MEDIA ADVISORY FOR November 17, Noon
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Julie Blust
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Local Residents Will Join Nationwide Protests to Declare An Economic Emergency for the 99%
Hamilton Street Bridge Rally in Richmond to Send Message to Rep. Cantor: “This Bridge Needs Work and So Do We”
Decaying Bridges Nationwide Symbolize Failure to Put People Back to Work, Protect the American Dream for the 99%
RICHMOND–Unemployed workers and local residents will gather at noon on Thursday, November 17, at the foot of the Hamilton Street/195 bridge and declare an “Economic Emergency for the 99%.” Inspired by Occupy Wall Street and frustrated by Congress blocking the American Jobs Act, local residents will join rally-goers nationwide in calling on Congress to create jobs, stop cuts, and make Wall Street banks pay.
Who:Unemployed residents, Virginia Organizing, SEIU, Virginia AFL-CIO, MoveOn
What:Bridge Rally, Economic Emergency for the 99%
When: Thursday, November 17 at 12:00 Noon
Where:(At the Base of) Hamilton Street Bridge/Overpass at 195
1899 North Hamilton Street
Richmond, VA 23220
WHY: November 17 is a nationwide day of action for the 99% and Americans in 45 cities across the nation will hold rallies at decaying schools and bridges that underscore the need to invest in infrastructure and jobs. According to Transportation for America, The Hamilton Street (Downtown Expressway—195) bridge in Richmond is used by 85,749 residents each day and is a vivid example of the many roads, schools and other infrastructure sites in need of repair. The American Jobs Act would provide $809,000,000 in infrastructure funding for Virginia and 10,500 infrastructure jobs.
Rally-goers will gather at the foot of the bridge to call attention to Rep. Cantor’s obstruction of the American Jobs Act, which would help provide much-needed jobs repairing many of the 1,267 other bridges in Virginia that engineers have identified as having a "major defect in its support structure or its deck.”
Protesters will also call on Congress to close corporate tax loopholes and make the wealthy pay their fair share, rather than enact drastic Super Committee cuts.
Virginia Organizing is a statewide grassroots organization that brings people together to create a more just Virginia.
