core sector communique

120,000 TO BANK OF AMERICA: CANCEL YOUR $5 DEBIT CARD FEE

Bank of America customer working two part-time jobs to make ends meet launches explosive campaign on Change.org; more than 3,000 supporters join campaign every hour.

WASHINGTON, DC – More than 120,000 people in all 50 states have joined a breaking campaign on Change.org calling on the Boston-based Bank of America to cancel a new $5 monthly fee for customers who use a debit card.

Molly Katchpole, a Bank of America customer who launched the online petition campaign, works two part-time jobs in Washington, DC.

"I can barely afford to make ends meet," said Katchpole. "Now I'm expected to hand over money to Bank of America each month just for using my own debit card?"

“The American people bailed out Bank of America during a financial crisis the banks helped create,” reads Katchpole’s petition. “You paid zero dollars in federal income tax last year. And now your bank is profiting, raking in $2 billion in profits last quarter alone. How can you justify squeezing another $60 a year from your debit card customers? This is despicable.”

Since the online petition campaign’s launch over the weekend, more than 120,000 Americans from all 50 states have joined. The campaign’s extraordinary growth is averaging more than 3,000 new supporters an hour and more than 40,000 a day.

“It has been incredible to watch the explosive growth of Molly’s campaign,” said Change.org Founder and CEO Ben Rattray. “While working two part-time jobs, she has recruited thousands of supporters every hour, sparking a fire that has spread to all 50 states in a matter of days. Change.org is about empowering anyone, anywhere to demand action on the issues that matter to them, and clearly this campaign has struck a chord.”