Looking to capitalize on many people’s continuing frustration with the status quo, San Diego union members marched in front of major banks downtown today. They were urging customers to transfer their money to local credit unions.
Organizers started at the Civic Center Plaza, where they passed out pizza and rallied some Occupy San Diego protesters to join them.
A few hundred people then proceeded down 5th Street to the nearby Bank of America and Wells Fargo branches. There they rallied and chanted for about 20 minutes while some of them went into the banks to close their accounts.
Lorena Gonzalez, head of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, closed her Wells Fargo savings account which she said she’s had since she was 15 years old.
"You become very, just, ingrained to having an account somewhere,” she said. “But it was surprisingly easy…It took about five minutes and I encourage other people to do it as well."
Activists around the country are calling this Saturday “Bank Transfer Day,” in hopes of promoting a mass move from banks to credit unions.
