MaryBe McMillan at Occupy Raleigh, "Value work. Condemn greed."

"It's time for some bottom-up democracy"

North Carolina State AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, MaryBe McMillan, delivered a rousing speech at Occupy Raleigh last Sunday, Oct. 16. Speaking outside the doors to the North Carolina State Capitol, McMillan called on a crowd of several hundred gathered in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street to deliver a simple message to politicians now and in the 2012 elections, "Value work. Condemn greed."

‎"We are here today because workers are going bankrupt amid the wealth they have created. We are going homeless in the shadow of buildings we have constructed. And we are going hungry surrounded by food that we produce. It IS an outrage. It IS an injustice. And we are here today to say, 'Enough is enough!'"

Occupy Wall Street has blossomed into a nationwide - and now, global - call to refocus attention on the root cause of the financial meltdown of 2008 that sparked our ongoing jobs crisis: unabated greed and sense of entitlement on Wall Street and the top 1%, which still operates under a mantra of "Heads, we win. Tails, you lose."

But the Other 99% aren't going to take it anymore:

‎"No longer will workers be second class citizens in a country we built. No longer will we be shut out of a political system that calls itself a democracy. And no longer will corporate profits be stained with the blood, sweat, and tears of workers too long denied justice."

Denizens in several North Carolina cities and towns in addition to Raleigh are organizing local "occupations." Click here for more info about that.

McMillan urged everyone at Occupy Raleigh to reach out to others and create a real, broad working people's movement, and "Together, we can change this country. Together, we can create an economy that works for everyone."

"And let's make a promise right here, right now, that we will not be divided. We will not back down. And we will not be silent until the 99% of us finally get our fair share."