Occupy Wall Street Group Disrupts Sotheby’s Auction Over Labor Abuses
A group of activists associated with the OccupyWallStreet movement disrupted a Sotheby’s auction in New York yesterday in support of workers in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Art Handlers Union who have been pushed by the company to make major concessions despite profits of $680 million last year. CEO Bill Rupprecht received a 125 percent raise while the company called for more than 100 concessions by the union in its current contract. #OCCUPYWALLSTREET supporters are appalled at the persistent attack on workers rights. We support the right of the workers to collectively bargain. Sotheby’s wants all new hires to have no collective bargaining rights, no health benefits and no job security. After locking out their unionized work force, Sotheby’s continues to operate using scabs and a non-union subcontractor. Sotheby’s Art Auctions epitomize the disconnect of the extremely wealthy from the rest of us. Sotheby’s Art Auctions are a sanctuary for the financial elite; where hedge fund managers & wealthy bankers bid millions of dollars for art objects; while the rest of us struggle to put food on the table because of their actions. These are the same financial elite who were bailed out in their moment of need and now refuse to pay their fair share in taxes. Many of these Hedge Fund Managers still pay a nominal tax rate compared with the average worker. That is our money! End the greed & expose the disconnect!
Occupy Wall Street Group Disrupts Sotheby’s Auction Over Labor Abuses
Posted by
on September 23, 2011. Filed under