SEIU Healthcare Kansas/Missouri members joined the Kansas City 99% on August 30^th, rejecting Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s vision for America with a rally and speakout while Romney prepared to accept the Republican nomination for president.  The crowd of over 100 marched to Gymboree, a Bain Capital-owned corporation, with a clear message for Mitt Romney: We Don’t Want a Romney Economy!

Two local Burlington Coat Factory workers spoke out about the struggles they face every day as low wage workers for a corporation that’s making a lot of rich people even richer – including Mitt Romney.

Stephen Kilgore, Jr., a low wage Dunkin’ Donuts worker, also spoke out against Bain Capital and Mitt Romney, “I worry about whether or not I can wait until my next paycheck to get groceries while people like Mitt Romney sit back and make millions off of low wage workers like me.  A Romney Economy won’t work for me because I want a chance to build a future where I don’t have to work two jobs to scrape by.”

Former steelworker of 28 years, John Wiseman, told the crowd what Bain Capital did to the 750 good paying jobs at GST Steel. “Thousands of families were raised on these good jobs over the years; kids went to college and communities thrived.  Then along came Mitt Romney and Bain Capital and shuttered the plant and shipped all the jobs overseas.  With those jobs went many hopes and dreams of those workers and their families.  Now Romney is running around calling himself a job creator. Well, let me tell you something about Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, they’re not the solution, they are the problem.”

Click here to see Mr. Wiseman’s testimony.

People from all walks of life united on August 30^th to demand an economy that does not reward those who outsource jobs, that ends tax breaks for the rich coupled with tax hikes for the middle class, and that stops funding cuts to critical education and healthcare programs that Americans rely on.  Across the country, the 99% – low wage workers, seniors, community activists, students, and faith leaders – roundly rejected the 1%-focused Romney Economy in favor of an economy that works for all of us.

KSHB in Kansas City covered the event live for their 5 p.m. telecast and you can see some of the coverage here:

http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/political/99-percenters-protest-romney-in-kc