During the Republican National Convention in 2004, protesters formed a symbolic unemployment line from Wall Street to Madison Square Garden, holding pink slips to raise awareness about America's unemployment. The unemployment rate that year was 5.5%, last year it hovered around to 9%—and that doesn't factor in all the people who have given up searching for work. So why was today's attempt to revive that 2004 demonstration so much smaller? Well, the frigid weather surely didn't help, not to mention the early 8:14 a.m. start time. (Live! With Kelly starts at 9, for one thing.)
Protest organizers had hoped to draw a turnout of 5,000 people to form a three-mile line on Broadway, holding pink slips from the Charging Bull at Bowling Green to Union Square, from 8:14 to 8:28 a.m. They fell far short of that goal, and most of the pink slip holders were clustered in the vicinity of the Bull and Union Square. What, did everyone find jobs? The pink slips read:
Imagine being one of the 14 million Americans who lost their jobs during the last five years. Since the recession began in November 2007, the American economy has suffered a loss of over 6 million jobs. Another 10-15 million more have given up hope of finding a job and are not even counted in the current unemployment statistics. As the U.S. economy slowly recovers from one of the longest and deepest recessions since the Depression, we are still facing an 8.3% unemployment rate.
One of the protest's organizers, Kristin Marting (who is also the Artistic Director of HERE), also points out that "If all 14 million jobless Americans formed a single unemployment line, it would stretch unbroken around the borders of our entire country (from Portland, Maine to Seattle Washington to San Lucas, California, to Miami, Florida and back to Portland)." Although today's line never came close to covering Broadway, here's video of some concerned New Yorkers who turned out today (unemployment was not a requirement for participation):
The protest's organizers urge participants to call on lawmakers to pass job creation bills and write corporations to urge them to stop outsourcing and bring jobs back to America.
