Unemployed And Liberal Groups To Hold Protests In DC

Washington - Roughly 3,000 unemployed workers from around the country are expected in the nation's capitol next week for four days of protests with labor, religious and social justice groups that say Congress cares more about America's wealthiest 1 percent than it does the masses of struggling middle-class families.

Piggybacking on the Occupy Wall Street movement, the three-day "Take Back the Capitol" protest will open Monday with construction of a "Peoples Camp" on the National Mall as a base of operations. On Tuesday, protesters will hit Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress about extending federal unemployment benefits. The group walks to K Street on Wednesday to protest the political influence of corporate lobbyists.

And on Thursday, they'll host a national prayer vigil for the unemployed on Capitol Hill. At the same time, the AFL-CIO will coordinate simultaneous protests at congressional district offices across the country to call for extending unemployment benefits that are slated to expire Dec. 31 without congressional action.

"We're going to be here for a week, and we're going to be letting them all know that people are getting pretty tired of a Washington that works for the few and not for the many," said Robert Borosage, co-director of Campaign for America's Future, one of a coalition of organizations sponsoring the event.

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