With winter looming, labor unions fortify Occupy camp


By Meredith Somers The Washington Times Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Some of the country’s most powerful unions are providing the infrastructure and amenities to keep the Occupy D.C. encampment fortified going into the winter.

The camp’s portable toilets are being provided by the Service Employees International Union, the 2.1-million-member organization that helped Barack Obama win the presidency and recently backed his re-election bid.

The estimated 100 demonstrators staying each night in McPherson Square, just blocks from the White House, can take a hot shower at the AFL-CIO headquarters on 16th Street Northwest.

“We happen to have a few showers associated with our small gym. From [10 a.m. to noon], we make those showers available,â€