The protests at the American Bankers Association Conference in Chicago may have finished on Tuesday, but the campaign to demand that big banks stop using our tax dollars to lobby against financial reform is far from over. Big banks took $17.8 trillion in taxpayer bailouts and then turned around and spent $35 million of the taxpayers' money fighting reform and lobbying against the most basic measures to protect consumers.

Adding to the frustration of the situation is the complete lack of responsibility the delegates from the American Bankers' Association accept for the financial crisis their banks' harmful business practices perpetuated. "Bankers care," the ABA's chairman, Arthur Connelly, told more than 1,000 senior executives from banks across the nation gathered at their annual convention in Chicago. "We want to make life better in our communities...[and] traditional banks are the solution to getting this country back on track."

Newsflash, Mr. Connelly: Taxpayers (and their empty wallets, foreclosed homes, and drained pensions) beg to differ. The ABA's annual convention in Chicago was the scene for the series of major protests this week, as thousands demonstrated to show just how sick and tired they are of having big banks treat them like personal ATMs. We're still enjoying the amazing visuals that resulted from the five demonstrations held outside the ABA convention, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs in downtown Chicago. Check out the photos from the October 27th march and rally, which mobilized 5,000 taxpayers to take to the streets:

You can check out photos from the four other demonstrations protesting the ABA, Well Fargo and Goldman Sachs after the break.

To see our live updates and blog posts from the Showdown in Chicago, visit SEIU's Blog here.

Mainers from all walks of life, regions and ideology came together in Portland on Saturday morning to rally in support of health care reform. "Today is an historic day," former State Senate President Beth Edmonds told more than 600 who filled Monument Square. "We are part of the biggest rally for health care reform in Maine's history, and we have a once in a lifetime opportunity for real health care reform. Make no mistake -- health care reform is coming and Maine is leading the charge!"

The Monument Square event comes at the end of a monumental week for health care reform in Washington, DC. During the week, the House of Representatives Ways & Means and Education & Labor Committees concluded their markup of health care reform legislation, joining the Senate HELP Committee in proving that comprehensive reform is both fiscally responsible and legislatively achievable this year.

A historic day for the cause of reform, in addition to personal health care stories there were performances by Peter Alexander of Begging for Change, Maine's own campaign to show the amount of people forced to ask their neighbors for help due to the high cost of inadequate, overpriced coverage. Chris Mayo was another singer-songwriter to lend his support to the cause of reform.

The momentum in Washington was felt by many in the large crowd. Greg Douglas, of Harpswell, who was seriously injured in a car accident and, despite having insurance racked up over $165,000 in medical bills said now is the time for Congress to pass meaningful health care reform. "I'm here to help make sure every American has quality affordable health care and judging by the crowd here today, it's going to happen."

"Every day in Maine, families see their health plan benefits erode because they can't keep up with higher premiums, co-pays and deductibles. Every day in Maine, people decide to skip a doctor's visit and the medication and treatment that they know they need because they can't afford treatment. Today, we need to provide Mainers with affordable health care, including a public option, in order to get our economy on track and our people the treatment they deserve," said Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree (D-North Haven).

Read more about Senator Snowe's Support of a public plan option here

Nearly 46 million Americans are without health insurance, with numbers growing at a rate of 14,000 per day. In Maine, 288,000 residents will spend more than 10% of their pre-tax family income on health care costs in 2009. In a state where one provider controls 71 percent of the health insurance market, average family premiums in Maine increased 105 percent since 2000,while median earnings increased by just 17 percent between 2000-2007.

"Our society cannot remain competitive in the world's market place unless we bring health care costs under control. It is the single biggest threat to the security of our nation. When it comes to health costs, we all have common interests at stake. The stars are aligned. We cannot afford to fail," said State Senator Peter Mills, R-Cornville.

View more photos from the event on our Flickr page here

Video courtesy of Whitenoiseinsanity.com

Sponsored by: SEIU Change that Works - Health Care for America Now!
Maine People's Alliance - AFSCME -- MSEA / SEIU 1989 - The League of Young Voters - Organizing for America - MoveOn.org

After numerous songs, slogans, speeches and a march across Portland's Hawthorne Bridge, the message came down to a simple chant rising from Terry D. Schrunk Plaza and echoing off the Portland skyscrapers around it: "What do we want? Fairness! When do we want it? Now!" With that, about 2,500 SEIU Local 503 members and allies concluded the United for Oregon rally against state budget cuts and layoffs last Sunday.

The event drove home the need to shield front-line workers and those they serve -- children, seniors, and families made vulnerable by the economic downturn -- from absorbing an unfair share of proposed state budget cuts. A proposed budget from the Oregon Legislature calls for as many as 1,700 state worker layoffs, and unions have been asked to accept a wage freeze and as many as 24 unpaid furlough days during the next two years.

New York: Gray skies and rainy conditions didn't deter a diverse crowd of more than 1,000 community activists and workers--including hundreds of SEIU Local 32BJ members--from marching in midtown Manhattan on May 1, to call on Congress and the Obama administration to reform the immigration system by providing a path to citizenship for 12 million undocumented workers. "We can no longer afford to ignore the valuable contributions of immigrant workers, who are not only part of the rich social and cultural fabric of our country but are also adding $700 billion dollars every year to our economy," said Hector Figueroa, Local 32BJ Secretary Treasurer.

NYC's rally was one of dozens of May Day marches held across the country (Check out our photos and recap of the Washington, DC rally here).

Chicago: The windy city had dreary weather similar to NYC's on May 1st, but around 2,000 rally-goers gathered at Union Park anyways and took to the streets chanting "Yes, we can," as they marched to the Federal Plaza to demand just and humane immigration reform. Many labor and community activists (including SEIU Local 1 members) held signs calling for an end to immigrant raids; others carried "the world" on their shoulders to symbolize the impact working immigrants have around the globe.

Watch SEIU Illinois State Council President Tom Balanoff address May Day marchers in Chicago:

Photos from DC, NYC & Chicago rallies on Flickr here.

Last week, hundreds of workers gathered together on a blustery day to tell us why we need the Employee Free Choice Act now. They then marched together to Sen. Arlen Specter's office to deliver that same message.

Watch the video above to see what happened next--then go here to tell Sen. Specter what you think.

The 5,000 member SEIU-SOULA (Security Officers United in Los Angeles) Local 2006 will join community organizations in a three-mile march to commemorate the 41st anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death. The march will focus on the issues that Dr. King fought for all his life: quality jobs, quality education, safe neighborhoods--and, of course, the link between civil rights and labor movements that Dr. King worked so hard to forge.

"The coalition that can have the greatest impact in the struggle for human dignity here in America is that of the blacks and forces of labor, because their fortunes are so closely intertwined," said Dr. King. "Our needs are identical with labor's needs: Decent wages, fair working conditions, liveable housing, old-age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children, and respect in the community."

Speaking about the focus on quality jobs, SEIU-SOULA President Faith Culbreath said, "We want to make sure that jobs become good jobs...that the community can benefit from." Read about the April 4th LA march event.

On Thursday, hundreds of Chicago janitors and supporters rallied at Fifth Third Bank in Schaumburg to call for good jobs and an economic recovery that works for everyone, not just the people at the top. Janitors marched from Woodfield Mall to the bank, chanting loudly and holding purple banners reading "Value Work."

Fifth Third Bank took $3.4 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout money, and CEO Kevin Kabat was paid over $200,000--more than seven times the average teller's annual pay--for perks like country club dues, parking and estate planning. Fifth Third Bank's CEO also received a base salary increase from the year before, as well as stock and option awards valued at about $1.9 million on the days they were granted.

The average salary for a downtown janitor is about $1,950 a month, with suburban janitors making even less than that.

Thursday's march builds on momentum from the rally held earlier in the week, when 3,300 janitors marched through downtown Chicago to call on Bank of America and other banks to use federal bailout money to create jobs that will strengthen the economy, instead of paying executives excessive salaries and bonuses. Both rallies are part of an effort by SEIU Local 1 janitors and community supporters to call attention to low-wage workers struggling to keep afloat in a time when corporate CEOs are still getting multimillion dollar compensation and bonuses.

With more hardworking Americans losing their jobs and their homes every day, janitors want to protect and create good jobs that will help get this country's financial system back on track. "We're here to show that we're important in this economy too," said Alexandra Figus, who's worked as a janitor for 29 years. "We have families and homes. Our homes are going into foreclosure. I'm a mother. I have a family. That's why I'm here. We need job security."

Thursday's rally occurs as nearly 15,000 SEIU Local 1 janitors begin contract negotiations with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Chicago, including 3,000 janitors who work in suburban office buildings. The current agreement expires April 5.