On OWS Anniversary, A Look at the Local Impacts

As crowds gather in the Financial District this week for the one-year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, neighbor Marina Sitrin takes to the Huffington Post to look at the impact the movement has had around the country, and very locally:

Within workplaces the movement is still beginning, but the relationship of the Occupy movement to those involved in labor struggles is deepening and profound. Labor laws that threaten workers for taking action on the job have created such fear that there is often little fighting back within a workplace during business hours. However, there has been an increasing relationship with workers in struggle and movement participants. For example, in my neighborhood in Kensington Brooklyn, a local community group, together with the new Occupy in the neighborhood, have begun to support worker’s efforts to organize a union. The workers themselves fear losing their jobs, so they do not join the picket and flyering outside, but the movement has been successfully keeping neighbors from shopping in the grocery store (Golden Farms) and is increasing the pressure on the owners to recognize workers rights.

Though the struggles at Golden Farm have been going on since at least March of last year, it’s true that the support for the workers seems to have gained momentum since OWS, and Occupy Kensington, began.

Of course, it’s not just grocery stores like Golden Farm that could use the support–do you think there’s enough spark left from OWS that it might spill over into efforts on behalf of local car washes, or other businesses, as well?

Photo via New York Communities for Change on Facebook