Advisory: USAction to Participate in 'American Dream' Rallies All Across the Nation

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- USAction and its affiliates and partners are cosponsoring  "Stand Up for the American Dream" rallies across the nation, in support of workers' freedoms and restoring America's shattered middle class.

USAction and more than 40 other groups are helping turn out people for the rallies, which are scheduled Saturday afternoon in 50 state capitols, and a handful of other states. Tens of thousands of participants are expected, in what is one of the nation's largest mobilizations since August 2008, when USAction helped lead protests about big bank bailouts.

The rallies were sparked, in part, by the recent threats to workers' freedoms in Wisconsin – and coming threats in a wide range of states, including Florida, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

In Wisconsin and around the country, the American Dream is under fierce attack. Instead of creating jobs, Republicans are giving tax breaks to big corporations and the very rich -- and then cutting funding for education, police, emergency response, and vital human services. USAction affiliates are fighting attacks on middle-class families in at least half a dozen states.

In Washington, D.C., supporters will gather at noon at Dupont Circle. USAction Executive Director Jeff Blum is scheduled to speak.

"Americans should be working their way into the middle class, not falling out of it," Blum said. "We are speaking out to support working, middle-income families. If workers' voices are silenced, their freedoms and livelihoods taken away, we will see the continued erosion of the middle class in this country."

In the past week, more than 42,000 people have signed a USAction petition in support of Wisconsin's workers. The petition is located at www.wearewisconsin.org.

SOURCE USAction