Thousands poured into St. Andrews Plaza, Foley Square, the Municipal Building Arcade and 1 Broadway on Chambers Street. (They may have been in City Hall Park.) The police made a line at the top of the staircase that connects St. Andrews Plaza with Police Plaza. [h/t Cynthia Kouril]

in front of the headquarters. They all sat down. Speakers stood up before the crowd and told the crowd about why they were in the plaza. But, there was one problem: the crowd was too big. That is a good problem but with no microphone or megaphone permitted they had to use “people’s mic” (which has been what the organizers use during their General Assemblies). The speaker could only say three or four words. The crowd immediately in front of the speaker would repeat what was said so everyone could hear. Then, a tier of people behind would repeat and then another tier of people behind that group would repeat what was said. Needless to say most of the speeches were brief.

The occupation has rapidly picked up union support in the past few days. The latest indication that big unions are willing to encourage their members to participate in Occupy Wall Street comes from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who The Nation‘s John Nichols reports has said it is “a valid tactic to call attention to a problem. Wall Street is out of control.”

The nearly two week occupation of a New York park near Wall Street known as Occupy Wall Street, initially undertaken by a few, has grown into a significant mobilization of people. The action should not have to be anything more than what it is at face value. The presence of hundreds if not thousands of Americans confronting a beast, whose greed, recklessness and illegal acts resulted in the collapse of the US economy, should not be something Americans show cynicism toward.

The executive board of the New York City’s Local 100 Transit Workers’ Union has endorsed Occupy Wall Street. The decision means they will be holding a “coordinating meeting,” according to Lisa Sabater of The Daily Gotham, with community and labor organization to decide how to “come together and better support the Occupy Wall Street campaign.” This is very significant news. It gives the action further credibility and adds to the support New York postal workers and the PSC union of City University of New York have shown to the occupation.

Kevin Gostzola has been tirelessly liveblogging the Occupy Wall Street protests each day since they began on September 17, and we want to bring him to DC on October 6 when the Occupy Wall Street protesters make their way to DC to join the October 2011 protest in Freedom Plaza.

If nothing else, the #occupywallstreet protests, happening in the heart of the world’s financial center, have forced elites to reckon with their own precarious position. The New York Times does the honors today, connecting the protests to other uprisings around the globe, and making a subtle (and also wrong) point that there’s something anti-democratic about popular protest.

Over the past ten days, hundreds of people have occupied Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan in New York as part of Occupy Wall Street. Citizens have faced down a city that has fortified Wall Street with blockades so corporate criminals responsible for the economic collapse in 2008 can avoid confrontations with angry, passionate Americans.

A teachers union and a postal workers union are now reportedly taking an interest in Occupy Wall Street. The PSC union at the City University of New York has already shown support for the occupation, as have members of the Industrial Workers of the World.

A few major segments on Occupy Wall Street ran on Monday night. “Countdown” hosted by Keith Olbermann interviewed a protester, who had been pepper-sprayed (someone who was not involved in the incident with Officer Bologna, which has become well-known). “Piers Morgan Tonight” had Michael Moore on the show and Moore discussed American capitalism and Occupy Wall Street. The most compelling segment, however, came from MSNBC’s The Last Word hosted by Lawrence O’Donnell. O’Donnell used the incidents of unprovoked police brutality by the NYPD on Saturday to make a larger point about police brutality in America and why police doing this is nothing new to communities of color.

Well, that’s the point, really: To find a reason not to get off the couch. If they’re all just hippies in hoodies, there’s no reason for you to think about what they’re saying. If they’re all just filthy teenagers, you can go back to your dinner and not worry about that nagging feeling in your gut that says get on a goddamn bus and go join them. If you can find a reason why this protest, these protesters, are unsuitable, then there’s really nothing you need to get worked up about.

The incident involving a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer unloading a canister of pepper spray on a few female protesters at the Occupy Wall Street protest on Saturday has garnered much attention. It is responsible for the huge uptick in media coverage and renewed interest in the occupation in Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan.