A diverse group of powerful unions joined demonstrations near Wall Street on Wednesday, lending some focus, credibility and potentially hundreds of participants to a group that started out with a few camped-out college students.
Among those planning to join the clamor were members of the Chinatown Tenants Union and the Transit Workers Union, the liberal group MoveOn.org, and community organizations like the Working Families Party and United NY. Organizers have called for students at college campuses across the nation to walk out of class in protest.
"We're really excited that labor is part of the protest," said Sara Niccoli, spokeswoman for the Labor-Religion Coalition, an Albany, N.Y.-based organization that aims to "do justice" for workers.
On Wednesday, the groups will embark on a march starting at Foley Square in lower Manhattan, an area encircled by courthouses and named for "Big Tom" Foley, a former blacksmith's helper who became a prominent New York Democratic Party leader.
The marchers will head to Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters where protesters have been camped out in sleeping bags. It's unclear how many people will be joining the march on Wednesday, but some organizers said thousands could show up.
The Occupy Wall Street protests started on Sept. 17 with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds have set up camp in a park nearby and have become increasingly organized, lining up medical aid and legal help and printing their own newspaper, the Occupied Wall Street Journal. Other groups have periodically gathered and protested in spots throughout the country.