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Goldman Sachs is starting to figure it out - we're not going away. Today, on the heels of a massive mobilization in Chicago, hundreds of taxpayers rallied outside Goldman's DC office to deliver a letter for their CEO, Lloyd Blankfein. The letter asked that Goldman Sachs forgo paying out its multi-billion dollar bonus pool and instead use that money to help the millions of families facing foreclosure due to Wall Street's risky behavior.

SEIU President Andy Stern spoke at the event, condemning what he called the "Goldman Rule"; those who have the gold get to make the rules. "Companies like Goldman Sachs seem to love their company more than their country," he said. "And in the name of maximizing profits and their huge bonuses, they will foreclose on our homes and take jobs from our families while short selling America without a second thought. The $23 billion dollars Goldman is planning to pay out in bonuses could prevent every single expected foreclosure in America in 2010."

Just the other day the White House released a list of visitors this year and SEIU President Andy Stern topped the list with more than twenty trips since January.

Coming off an eight-year period when the voice of workers fell on deaf ears, the list demonstrates the White House desire to hear from working people.

The Washington Post notes several visits came during the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act debate.

Talking Points Memo sums it up nicely:

It makes sense that Stern would be a popular guest—beyond leading a group key to the Democratic base, Stern's SEIU has been a leading voice on behalf of health care reform.

Andy Stern has tweeted about some of his White House visits, and you can follow him @SEIU_AndyStern.

For any inadvertent visitor, there were plenty of street festivals going on in Puerto Rico on Thursday. Very loud music played on enormous loudspeakers, people were chanting and dancing in the streets and a very joyful ambiance was felt everywhere. 




It wasn't a carnival happening in Puerto Rico though—it was the one day General Strike that mobilized around 150,000 workers and citizens to protest Governor Fortuño's massive layoffs. "It was tremendous. I've been in the labor movement for 44 years and this was the most impressive event I've ever seen. It was up there with the immigrant mobilizations of 2006," said International Executive VP Eliseo Medina of the assembly of Puerto Rican workers. "It was one of the most diverse events that I've ever seen in a society. Lawyers, workers, students, psychologists, priests and minsters and nuns and everyday people. It was truly an amazing sight. It was pretty clear, our rejection of Governor Fortuño's policies."

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Yesterday in San Juan, peaceful demonstrators outside of the official estate of Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño were violently removed by SWAT team agents and arrested, despite assurances that they would leave peacefully and not resist arrest.

The act of civil disobedience was led by members of the Puerto Rican Workers union, SEIU Local 1996SPT, in reaction to the Governor's announcement on Friday to lay off 16,970 government employees. The disproportionate show of force against demonstrators included hitting people with billyclubs and those affected by the police brutality included workers as well as members of the press.

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Last night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow took on the radical right-wingers seeking to silence working families by attacking progressive community organizations.

As part of that segment, she discussed with Peter Dreier, professor of politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles, why they're trying to target the SEIU next.

Watch the segment here »