This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
While its urban camps have shrunk or disappeared, the Occupy Wall Street movement continues a nationwide social-justice fight on several fronts.
Occupy SLC's Pioneer Park camp existed for five weeks last fall until police razed it after the death of a homeless man. Since then, a small cluster of tents has been allowed to remain in the city's downtown Gallivan Center.
"It's still very important that we have a presence here," activist Seth Neily said of the canvas enclave. "We are continuing to educate and promote awareness about the issues at hand."
Last week Utah Occupiers joined Move to Amend and other groups throughout the country to protest Citizens United, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows unlimited corporate cash in political campaigns. Activists staged a protest at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City on Sunday, leading to one arrest.
Tuesday, protesters take aim at prison privatization, teaming with the National Prison Divestment Campaign for what they're calling a national day of action. Local activists will congregate at the corner of West Temple and 200 South in Salt Lake City at 11 a.m. for a rally urging Wells Fargo bank to divest of its holdings in the for-profit private prison industry.
"The prison industrial complex is a racist business that profits off of human beings and the working poor," said activist Victor Puertas of Salt Lake City.
Advocates also claim the industry victimizes immigrants in government custody.
Utah is home to the third largest private prison provider in the nation, the Centerville-based Management Training Corporation. According to its website, MTC operates two correction centers in Arizona, one in California, one in Florida, one in Idaho, one in Ohio, two in New Mexico and 11 in Texas.
Members of Occupy SLC and the Prison Divestment Campaign recently met with MTC executives to express their concerns.
Two other corporations dominate the private prison industry nationally, publicly traded Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and the GEO Group.
Issa Arnita, corporate communications director for MTC, countered that his company provides a valuable service that saves taxpayer dollars.
"MTC has helped thousands of inmates by giving them opportunities to earn their GEDs and vocational training," Arnita said. "We offer courses in life skills, substance abuse and anger management, to name a few."
Approximately 55% of MTC's revenues are from corrections and 45% from its Job Corps programs, Arnita said.
The Washington, D.C.-based Justice Policy Institute recently reported that the U.S. prison population grew 722 percent between 1970 and 2009.
One activist with Occupy SLC, Deb Henry, credits the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a powerful Washington, D.C.-based lobby, with promoting a criminal justice and anti-illegal immigration legislative agenda that has helped drive prison population growth.
"It's amazing the things they're involved with," said Henry, a civil engineer.
ALEC's membership includes CCA and GEO, along with almost 2,000 state lawmakers —some of them from Utah — as well as private and corporate citizens.
Twitter: @catmck —
Occupiers team with the Prison Divestment Campaign
Tuesday activists engage in another national day of action, congregating at the corner of West Temple and 200 South at 11 a.m. for a rally urging Wells Fargo to divest holdings in the private prison industry.