Occupy Sydney activists have been buoyed by motions of endorsement by the NSW State Council of the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Canterbury-Bankstown Teachers Association, the Maritime Union of Australia and the NSW division of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).
The CFMEU and MUA donated money to assist the Sydney occupation.
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Occupy Sydney is part of the global Occupy movement, with 15october.net indicated Occupy events took place in more than 800 cities in more than 80 countries.
The CFMEU State Council motion, adopted on October 14, read: ""This meeting of the CFMEU State Council acknowledges the ongoing struggle of working people across the world, against big business and governments, who continue to repress workers, deny decent standards of living and human rights in the pursuit of profit. As a result workers and unions in the USA and across the globe have begun to mobilise and occupy places of big business.
"This Saturday in Sydney the CFMEU State Council sends it's support and expresses its solidarity to all workers and activists who have taken up this important cause."
Genevieve Kelly, NSW NTEU secretary, said: "Members of the NTEU work in the university sector and know only too well the research that shows the impacts of the financial system on the marginalised and poor while more and more corporate profits and government benefits are channelled to the wealthy.
"We are also witnessing the corporatisation of our great public sector universities so that the dominance of those in power is entrenched in our research and teaching institutions. This limits the intellectual freedom of university workers, and the quality of research and education.
"While the facts that the rally is drawing attention to are clear from any rational discourse they are largely ignored by government and corporations.
"We hope the Occupy Sydney protest like others around Australia and the world will bring these issues to public attention and we support the efforts of those at the rally to bring about change by direct action."
[Visit www.occupysydney.org.au for more information.]
Financial Services Union members at Occupy Sydney explain why members of their union support the movement.