|
 |
 |
|
New York City gets authority to use buses for Occupy Wall Street arrests
-
10/04/11 06:12 PM ET
New York City will be able to continue using some of its public transportation buses to move around protestors arrested for participating in the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations that have been happening in the city, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Several New York media outlets are reporting a U.S. District judge has blocked an effort by the union for New York City bus drivers, Transport Workers Union Local 100, to bar the city from requiring them to drive protestors. The New York Daily News reported the city had transported about 700 arrested demonstrators over the weekend.
The transit workers union, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, has been very supportive of the Occupy Wall Street effort, which some have likened to the beginnings of the conservative Tea Party that later propelled Republicans to power in 2010.
"The Transport Workers Union Local 100 applauds the courage of the young people on Wall Street who are dramatically demonstrating for what our position has been for some time: the shared sacrifice preached by government officials looks awfully like a one-way street," the union says on its Website. "Workers and ordinary citizens are putting up all the sacrifice, and the financiers who imploded our economy are getting away scot-free, increasing their holdings and bonuses."
The judge that denied the union effort to bar the city from using buses to move arrested protested, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, ruled from the bench that the hand book for New York City bus trip says they can be used to assist police, the Associated Press is reporting.
The Occupy Wall Street protesters have been demonstrating in Lower Manhattan for two weeks, railing against policies they argue benefit the wealthy over the rest of the American population.
The group has not yet made any specific policy suggestions, and it has thus far appeared to draw participation from a wide ideological spectrum as its argument is largely populist.
Several New York media outlets are reporting a U.S. District judge has blocked an effort by the union for New York City bus drivers, Transport Workers Union Local 100, to bar the city from requiring them to drive protestors. The New York Daily News reported the city had transported about 700 arrested demonstrators over the weekend.
The transit workers union, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, has been very supportive of the Occupy Wall Street effort, which some have likened to the beginnings of the conservative Tea Party that later propelled Republicans to power in 2010.
The judge that denied the union effort to bar the city from using buses to move arrested protested, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, ruled from the bench that the hand book for New York City bus trip says they can be used to assist police, the Associated Press is reporting.
The Occupy Wall Street protesters have been demonstrating in Lower Manhattan for two weeks, railing against policies they argue benefit the wealthy over the rest of the American population.
The group has not yet made any specific policy suggestions, and it has thus far appeared to draw participation from a wide ideological spectrum as its argument is largely populist.
