9to5 at Southern Labor Union Meeting

The newly elected officers of the national AFL-CIO stopped in Atlanta this past Monday to meet with union members and labor community leaders (9to5 included!) for a discussion on the foreclosure crisis in the South. Although this was the first union meeting I had ever attended, the few expectations I had of what it might be like were met almost immediately. The walls were covered with colorful political rallying posters for the Employee Free Choice Act (for more info about this important legislation, click here).

There was speech-making and hand-shaking by politicians running for office in the impending city elections. Almost every speaker ended at a fevered-pitch, shouting over the cheers of what was a surprisingly vocal crowd for 8am in the morning.

Several of the speakers decried the predatory lending schemes that have targeted low-income minorities with loans doomed for foreclosure. A single mother and a woman in retirement, both of whom had lost their homes after being led into risky loans, went to the podium to tell their stories. There were even plans to head down the Wachovia Bank headquarters to call for a moratorium on foreclosures which was ultimately canceled due to the louder demands of the Georgia weather.

If you’re interested in learning more about how the discriminatory targeting practices of lenders have affected low-income and minority workers in the foreclosure crisis, read this article by Barbara Ehrenreich in the New York Times called “The Recessions Racial Divide.” Take a closer look at the the banner that was made to take to the Wachovia headquarters.