Bank Action WG - 6 June 2012

(Back to Banking Actions Working Group)

Minutes

Handouts: Bank-wg-20120603.pdf

Agenda items

• Ridgely - JP Morgan
• Dana - Bof A
• Noah - Bread and Puppets
• Dana - Website
• Endorse the austerity march

Action report backs

R - to decide, 1 bank, 2 banks, how many to focus on?

Jeff- Bof A report back. We did some research for public actions on banks. Common Cause national office was working with a coaliton to compile the deepest darkest baddest tihings the banks had been doing. Jeff has a document. Document is hard copy and we don't have permission to email it.

So what actions can we publicize from this document?

There is also a list of board members and their associations (other bods they sit on, which may also be action locales)

Dana - Big actions and small

We talked about doing a very large action with other groups that would take months to organize and invole hundreds and hundreds of people.

Funeral for capitalism was a good model to look at.

Looked at the 'Yes Men' model, where they spoofed the World Bank website, and then got invited to a meeting in Geneva as World Bank reps.

The created "your BofA "website, that spoofed BofA but with them owning up to the crap they've pulled. The website educates, from the perspective of a contrite BofA, about all the stuff they did. It makes a great thumbnail/cliffnotes of their crimes.

F the Bank flyers. Foreclosure notices to post on BofA buildings.

Ridgely - Funeral march for BofA, with fake bankers handing people a petition to sign asking the country to bail them out again.

BofA - Lost $2 billion last year because of 'Move your money' action

Promote continued divestment.

Jeff- If we have a funeral march, let's get the brass band that played the second to last night at Dewey.

Ridgely: Don't exhaust ourselves with elaborate preps. What's important is our continued commitment to it.

Goals:

• Education
• Move your money
• Get involved with Occupy Boston

Wanted posters of the 1 percent

Bad guys and what they did. Godo toknow when we march by their houses.

Baseball cards for the bad guys.

Mock Jail, and have a 'Most Wanted' Board

We can hold a bake sale for Bank of America

Ridgely - Info about JP Morgan

Dimon has just been subpoenaed over the $2 billion 'failed whale' trade scandal

JP Morgan did a whole bunc h of new things where it has packaged tax liens

Madoff's bank - They realized something was wrong and pulled their investments but didn't tell their customers.

Now doing pay day loans

Lobbying heavily against any reforms.

Direct action - Casinos, roulette tables, 3 card monte, big fuzzy dice,

Goal: Push states and municipalities to move their money

Debtor prison for bankers

We could also show those who are most vulnerable to debtor prison in real life.

Justin - Have something at the statehouse.

Previous discussions: Should be focus on BofA in populated areas since there are lots of branches, or do we do JP Morgan which has less branches, but we could create a cardboard cutout.

What timeframe? First week of July?

Signature canvassing we could do, picketing?

Bake sale with the petitioning?

Subprime cupcakes

Baked Alaska cupcakes with a $2 million price.

We need a permit to have a table. We could do cigar trays. We could do wheeled carts.

Try to recruit people who don't normally show up to this: Parents with kids, seniors - the bake sale crowd.

Get shirts with BofA logos on them so we look like we're actually from BofA.

Church of Euthanasia model -

Enthusiasm for bake sale action

We're trying to save it with our bake sale.

Get people to sign petition to bail out BofA again..

IF we want to do any lettering on the BofA shirts, it should say bake of America.

We could have people wearing aprons at the bake sale.

Slogan: Bankrupting of America.

This might be a more effective action at suburban branches than in the city.

Offer cupcakes to people if they've lost their house, lost their job, etc.

If we need signs, it can be proposed at the Strategic Action Assembly

Date Proposal: Monday - July 2

We should do flyers first in the area - put up about BofA bad stuff.

We'll need flyers, sigms cigarette trays, baking, signs, screen printing for shirts, make a Facebook page or post to OB page.

Poster boards, online art,

What is the message, We will discuss messaging later.

Bring it up at the SAA. Popular Assembly this Friday.

We are doing a recurring bake sale for BofA

Fundraising for BofA, emphasize

Want to demonstrate their cruelty, sock it to them.

What do we say to people as we hand out cookies:

"No money down subprime cup cakes. "

(Asterisked) "If you miss a payment, we take your lunch."