Thread: Labor, faith leaders to withdraw millions from Chase bank

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100923/ts ... mpanychase

Labor, faith leaders to withdraw millions from Chase


Thu Sep 23, 1:57 pm ET
CHICAGO (AFP) – Labor and religious leaders in Detroit announced plans Thursday to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars from JPMorgan Chase to protest the bank's refusal to freeze foreclosures in Michigan.

"This is a matter of life and death," said Pastor Alexander Bullock of the Rainbow PUSH coalition.

"The words of Chase officials that they are willing to help the thousands who are living in undervalued homes and facing possible eviction is unconvincing in light of their refusal to seriously consider a moratorium on foreclosures."

Some 1.42 million US homes have been lost to foreclosure since April 2009 in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, credit crunch and economic downturn.

While the pace is finally slackening, nearly 339,000 properties -- or one in every 381 US housing units -- received a foreclosure filing in August, according to RealtyTrac.

Economically hard-hit Michigan has been devastated by the combined crises and nearly 18,000 homes there were in foreclosure last month.

The withdrawal of funds from Chase was also prompted by the bank's continuing ties with tobacco company RJ Reynolds Corp, the United Auto Workers union said in a statement.

RJ Reynolds has come under fire for refusing to engage in negotiations with labor organizers over allegations of low wages and unsafe working conditions at farms of contract growers in North Carolina.

"Chase needs to help unemployed homeowners in Michigan and underpaid farm workers in the Carolinas," UAW President Bob King said.

"The bank could make a huge difference by suspending foreclosures and pressuring RJ Reynolds to do the right thing."

About 1,000 demonstrators marched on Chase earlier this year.

At a subsequent meeting, union and faith leaders urged bank officials to implement a temporary foreclosure freeze and participate in a federal program to assist homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

Chase spokesman Tom Kelly declined to comment on the withdrawals, but noted that the bank has offered more than 900,000 mortgage modifications since the beginning of 2009 and that two of its 51 mortgage counseling centers are in the Detroit area.

The groups called for congressional hearings "on the failure of Chase and other banks to effectively implement federal programs calling for mortgage modifications to keep people in their homes" and urged others to close their Chase accounts.

A UAW spokeswoman declined to disclose exactly how much money was being withdrawn from Chase. But the statement said the total would be "hundreds of millions" of dollars.

http://www.uaw.org/articles/faith-and-l ... chase-bank

DETROIT - At a news conference here Friday, Sept. 24, faith and labor leaders will announce their intention to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars from JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Their protest is driven by the bank's refusal to declare a two-year moratorium on foreclosures in Michigan and its continuing ties with RJ Reynolds Corp. The tobacco giant, financed by JP Morgan Chase, has refused to engage in negotiations with the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) over low wages and unsafe working conditions at farms of contract growers in North Carolina.

UAW President Bob King, who has just returned from a fact-finding tour of the North Carolina tobacco fields, is prepared to remove all of its funds from the bank.

"Chase needs to help unemployed homeowners in Michigan and underpaid farm workers in the Carolinas," King said. "The bank could make a huge difference by suspending foreclosures and pressuring RJ Reynolds to do the right thing."

Campaign leaders are calling on citizens to support their efforts by pledging to close their accounts at the bank and cancel their Chase credit cards.

About 1,000 demonstrators marched on Chase Bank in June seeking a hearing with the bank's officers on both of these issues. Chase officials met with King, Pastor D. Alexander Bullock of the Rainbow PUSH coalition, FLOC President Baldemar Velasquez and the Rev. Ed Rowe of Central United Methodist Church.

At a follow-up meeting in August, campaign leaders called on Chase to join President Obama's Hardest Hit Homeowners program and declare a temporary 90-day moratorium.

Participants in these discussions believed the bank had made a good-faith commitment to continue the dialogue, but Chase has since failed to communicate its intentions regarding any of the issues raised.

"This is a matter of life and death," said Pastor Bullock. "The words of Chase officials that they are willing to help the thousands who are living in undervalued homes and facing possible eviction is unconvincing in light of their refusal to seriously consider a moratorium on foreclosures."

Community leaders are calling on Michigan Democratic Congressman John Conyers to initiate hearings on the failure of Chase and other banks to effectively implement federal programs calling for mortgage modifications to keep people in their homes.

Who: Bob King, UAW president
Baldemar Velasquez, FLOC president
Pastor D. Alexander Bullock, Rainbow PUSH Coalition
The Rev. Ed Rowe, Central United Methodist Church
When: Friday, Sept. 24, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Central United Methodist Church, 23 E. Adams at Woodward Ave.
(North entrance), Detroit

For more information, contact UAW Public Relations Director Michele Martin at 313-926-5291.
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