Wisconsin Firefighters Spark Run on M&I Bank

Union leader tells crowd of protesters that M&I executives donated significant funds to Scott Walker’s gubernatorial campaign. Union firemen responded by withdrawing $192,000, before M&I shut down to prevent a run on the bank.

Marshall & Isley bank is a Wisconsin-based bank that received nearly $1.7 billion in TARP funds. Despite this infusion of taxpayer money, they were still in the red and negotiated a purchase by Canada’s BMO Financial Group for $4.1 billion. (If you’re curious about the M&I executive salaries, read this Huffington Post article.)

Last Thursday, Firefighters Local 311 President Joe Conway informed protesters that past and current M&I Bank executives and board members had contributed significant funds to Scott Walker’s campaign. As a result, the protestors moved over to M&I’s location on the Capitol Square (where the protests have been taking place), protested the bank while various protesters went inside and withdrew $192,000 in life savings.

The move forced M&I officials to shut down the bank to prevent a good old-fashioned bank run. There had been reports that the withdrawals were as high as $600,000, but that could not be verified.

M&I noted in a statement that M&I Bank itself didn’t make the contributions and that is it is neutral on the budget bill. Keep in mind, though, that M&I executives and board members are quite a bit more liquid than the average M&I employee, and thus can contribute significant sums to the various PAC’s that financed Walker. Politicians don’t grant access to M&I tellers but they most certainly do to M&I executives.

The figures can be seen at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

If you are in Wisconsin or Minnesota (which has dozens of M&I Banks), strike a blow for the working man and withdraw your money from M&I bank and put it in a credit union or cooperative bank. M&I officials were content to take taxpayer dollars (to the tune of $1.8 billion), which they promptly reinvested in Scott Walker’s gubernatorial campaign, which has allowed him to go after labor unions.

The best way to fight their greed and campaign against what they believe are lesser mortals, is to put your savings elsewhere.

Having lived in Wisconsin for the majority of my life, I would recommend the UW Credit Union. If the locations don’t suit your needs, educate  yourselves by doing online searches for Wisconsin credit unions.

Help bring the bank down and put the rich executives out on their asses.  To report any withdrawals or other actions against M&I (or any corporate, pro-Walker bank for that matter), visit Keep an Eye on Mandi Facebook page.