Collective Bargaining for Homeowners: Heroism or Terrorism? My Exclusive Interview with Stephen Lerner
Episode #47 – Steven Lerner, former director of the SEIU’s banking and finance campaign. Founder of WheresTheNote.com and Janitors for Justice
Last night, I interviewed the man at the center of a new swirling controversy. Stephen Lerner, a veteran union organizer, wants collective bargaining for homeowners that owe money to the big banks. And this week, he was caught on tape talking about a “mortgage strike” against the big banks. He suggested that a large number of homeowners stop paying their mortgage until the banks agree to negotiate and modify loans.
Glenn Beck pounced on the recording. And so did Congress. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican Congressman from Utah, sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder wrote to the Department of Justice that Lerner’s threats “clearly constitute domestic terrorism”, and asked for an investigation.
I interviewed Lerner, to get his side of the story – his first interview since being attacked by Beck. Lerner talked about the mortgage strike idea, the big banks, the Tea Party and Glenn Beck’s attack, and being accused of terrorism.
“Glenn Beck and this group of people are basically shilling for Wall Street”
Here’s Lerner on the Tea Party’s defense of the big banks:
You know I can’t explain it. Why Glen Beck and this group of people are basically shilling for Wall St. and the big banks it just makes no sense. So I can’t get into their head on why they’re doing it, what it feels like is that Wall St., sort of the elites at the top are just really, really worried that when people understand all the things you said and when people understand on top of it that the banks get free money from the fed—it was very funny in a number of discussions that I’ve had, I say to people well if you got a billion dollars in free money and then loaned it out at 3% would you make any money? Everybody said yeah I’d make money, I’d say well you’re a brilliant banker. So I don’t know why they’re shilling for the banks, I don’t know why they don’t want to make markets work. And that’s the thing that seems to scare them, you can’t have markets when you have Too Big to Fail, you can’t have competition when you have Too Big To Fail and we’re trying to figure out how to keep people in their homes, how to fix state budgets and how to make the economy work and it’s stunning how some people seem more interested in protecting the super rich who have all our money than in supporting people who are trying to fix the economy and get people to work.
“We’re not going to keep paying you as you said when you got this by stealing”
Here’s Lerner, on a “mortgage strike” and homeowners acting like businesspeople:
What you’re getting as is I think the thing that is so important to realize, that’s the deal the bank makes when they loan you money that if you can’t pay it back or if you don’t pay it back they get the house. What I think is so interesting about this is—I don’t know if you remember I think it’s the Mortgage Banker’s Association after giving speeches on the sanctity of never walking away walked away from their own building and gave the keys back. There’s this very double standard I think is what’s really stirring people up more and more in the country. Everybody has sacrificed, everybody has taken a hit and the only people that don’t want to share in the sacrifice are the people that got us in the mess and that’s why a lot of people are saying individually I may not have a lot of power but if we start to act together we can try to negotiate with Wall St. and the banks and saying we need a better deal, not just for me individually but for the country so we can get the economy working again.
“People start throwing out words like terrorism and try to intimidate people into not speaking.
Lerner, on being accused of terrorism by Congressman Jason Chaffetz:
It really shows that something is off when people talking about doing something that’s completely legal that mirrors exactly how business operate that people start throwing out words like terrorism and trying to intimidate people into not speaking. The only thing I can figure on this, you know you started off by talking about how much money the banks have and their influence and their relationship with government is that there is a whole set of people that just seem to say I have to defend the banks and Wall St. no matter what happens. It’s an attempt to sort of scare people and scare regular people and scare homeowners and scare people who are trying to figure out how to put their economic lives back together, to scare them out of standing up. I don’t think it would work but it’s really a disappointment that people go into that kind of sensationalism instead of saying let’s really fix the problem here and keep people in their homes and get the economy working and lets really say we need to address Too Big to Fail instead of trying to intimidate folks that think the economy is a mess because of the banks.
Lerner is a former director of the Service Employees International Union’s banking and finance campaign. He created the website WheresTheNote.com, a website for homeowners to research which financial institution actually holds their mortgage note after Wall Street banks securitized, repackaged, and sold American’s mortgages en masse.
For the transcript click here…
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Any legal advice on filing COUNTER CLAIM ?
Count I- Abuse of Process
Count II -Fair Debt Collection
Count III- Consumer Collectiion Practice Act
Count IV- Breach of Contract
Count V- Malicious Prosecution
The law is the law and fraud is fraud and it’s against the law. For those in power who continue to take the position that what the banks did and continues to do is not illegal, then pass a bill making fraud a legal game we all can play. I don’t understand the logic in the hostility spewed about tnot letting people get free homes and totally refusing to look at the situation in its totality. I can guarantee that if these same complainers and “free” house cry babies would be the ones seeking the largest amount of compensatory and punitive damages for the smallest harm done to them or one of their family members. They refuse to see or admit that the fraud done by the banks have caused grave harm. If these same cry babies were damaged career or business wise based on fraud by another party or business, they would feel entitled to the sky for their pain and suffering. The person who sued McDonalds for spilling coffee in his lap while driving won a huge punitive damage award based on the fact that the coffee was too hot. The court did not find that driving while trying to drink hot coffee could cause one to be accidently burned. This case caused new legislation which regulates the maximum temperature coffee is served at. Does one not just assume the risk that one may be accidently burned if drinking a hot beverage while driving? Oh No, we must pass new legislation as McDonald’s was at fault because their HOT coffee was too hot. However, banks break all kinds of laws, avoid paying owed revenues and the legal system and politicians do back flips trying to protect the poor banks from the awful “deadbeat” homeowners. Proof of the fraud and wrongdoing is right in front of their noses, but they deny it. The whole world is plain and simply up side down. I can’t get my head around it anymore. I need a shrink, I think.
The fact that killers and other serious criminals have walked free on a legal technicality does not seem to draw as hostile a reaction as this issue. Who can figure. That’s why you have to shove it in the faces of all the dopes in the general population that are clueless as to the fact that it does hurt them and our general economy. Maybe if it’s explained by means of the ‘trickle down effect’ they’ll get a better handle on it. They do not seem to understand that they may be a bit above middle class now. However, as we get pushed further down as prices go up, incomes go down or become non-existent, their above middle class standard gets pushed down to middle class. Eventually there will be the haves and the have-nots. I know we all get this, but why don’t they????? Is there a shrink or someone trained in psychology out there that can shed some light on why there is this up-roar about people getting a “free” house.
It is not rocket science. If I am defrauded in anyway that I can prove and that harms me, I am entitled to damages. If that is getting a free house, then so be it. Maybe if we back our way in it will be less offense. If we legally prove our case, we are paid damages….say in the amount owed on the home….to do with as we please. If we pay off our mortgage….great…..if we take nice trips and blow the money and give the keys to the bank……great.
Katheryn…to those who blow hot air about ‘ free homes ‘ …the fraudsters are sueing the homeowner…and the homeowner has the right to make the plaintiff show Burden of Proof. the homeowners has the right to investigate all ‘ frauds ‘ found in the mortgage…NOT TYPOS…BUT PLAIN OUT FRAUD. THE HOMEOWNERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO MOTION THE PLAINTIFF TO PRODUCE…A LIST OF DOCUMENTS AND DATES, ASSIGNMENT, TRANSFERS, AND SO ON..TO PROVE THAT FRAUD WAS DELIBERATELY DONE. MOST OF ALL…PROVE THE ORIGINAL SIGNED NOTE. WHEN SERVERS WILL NOT TELL YOU WHO ACTUALLY OWNS THE NOTE AND YOU ARE SENDING THE PAYMENTS TO THAT SERVER…THAT PAYMENT MAY BE GOING TO THE WRONG BANK. FRAUD REEKED THROUGHOUT ALL MORTGAGES…SO IF PROVEN THE BANK/PLAINTIFF WAS NOT THE OWNER OF THE MORTGAGE..AND THE HOME IS GIVEN FREE AND CLEAR…THAT’S THE WAY THE BALL BOUNCES. ALOT OF TIME AND MONEY CAN BE SPENT ON FIGHTING FOR YOUR HOME….AND MOST COURTS ARE NOT TRUE TO JUSTICE. IT’S CASINO COURT……
which terrorists ?? wall street or USSA military/industrial complex.
http://polidics.com/cia/top-ranking-cia-operatives-admit-al-qaeda-is-a-complete-fabrication.html
hmmmm.. havent you ever wondered where the judges pensions are invested…
here in the Contree o Kalifornia … the pensions are ALL- MBS.. the judges own your homes, its simple.
Look up the state retirement program & see where the $ is invested.ALL REIT/REMIC, this is a total conflict of interest , you need to have a court reporter [you have to pay the reporter of course ] in court , after you look up the state pension plan investment disclosures ..the judge must recuse himself. he rules for the bank or otherwise he has NO retirement left . justice be damned !!!! You surly dont want a Gov employee to have to work for a living.
just sayin!
@Angry and not taking it, You just PROVED MY THEORY. Thank you! I am sure CONgress are also heavily invested in the fraudulent MBS’s. They NEVER WANT THE GRAVY TRAIN TO STOP. WELL GUESS WHAT? THE JIG IS UP. FANNIE/FREDDIE WERE INSURED UP THE WAZOO TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE FRAUD THEY THEMSELVES PERPETRATED AND ALSO PRIVATELY INVESTED IN!!!. And then there is CONgress who were the MASTERMINDS, the Charlie Manson of the PONZI SCHEME, they are trying to pass laws to cover-up for the fraud, REMEMBER HR3808???? And the AG’S MAKING DEALS WITH THE BANKS?? WTF!!! The whole Government is COMPLETELY ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, CORRUPT and were obviously ALL IN on the PONZI SCHEME, just like Bernie Madoff said. How else could it be explained that the criminals all now have become saints and can do no wrong? The so called lawyers are lying to the victims and tellling us that the laws and the Constittution only protect the criminals and not the victims. THEY ARE ALL AS COMPLETELY FULL OF SHIT AS THEIR MBS’s..
The best part is that this is all “electronic wealth”. It only exists in the virtual world. That is MERS !!! To avoid taxes, and to be able to play the shell game, the only place most of these records are located is MERS, and the few eVaults that are out there. These records do not exist with the Land Records, the SEC, IRS, Treasury, etc. It is safe to say that a significant portion of the economy relies on MERS remaining operative. Should the system suddenly disappear, the certificate holders of MBSs would own nothing but a piece of paper. This includes the local, state, and federal governments. Because payments are tranched, there is no reference to individual notes. There is technically no single note holder, but a conglomerate of “certificate holders”. Trustees are not note holders. They are administrators for the certificate holders. Here is the caveat. A trustee cannot proceed with any action AT ALL without 25% of the certificate holders signing off on it. If they take any action against you, without this approval, they are no longer acting as a trustee.
Homeowners need to go beyond “show me the note”. If a trustee is the owner of record, and they are foreclosing on you, make them show you the investor resolution that shows at least 25% have agreed to the action. As part of this, demand that a complete list of investors for the MBS, so that there can be a proper accounting for 25% of the whole. They file for their protective order, to prevent disclosure of the investors. The response from you is that without such disclosure, the Trustee cannot prove standing as a trustee for the true owners. When you get the list (if they have not filed a voluntary motion to dismiss), look to see if any governmental entity is a certificate holder. If there is, this is where the 5th amendment “Takings Clause” kicks in. Under this clause, these entities unconstitutionally held an interest in your property without due process and for consideration. The consideration must be paid to you, not the seller of an MBS. You would then move for a Motion to Dismiss WITH PREJUDICE, as the MBS and the sale of the security are violations of the United States Constitution, and can never be “perfected”.
You now have multiple actionable claims against the government entities, and each party to the MBS (and there are numerous actors) sale, in addition to seeking “Clear Title”. There is no 11th amendment immunity for the government entities because they violated the “Takings Clause” of the Constitution.
The whole point to all of this no matter who you are is they have been perpetrating crimes against the American people for years,this cannot be allowed to continue.Who brings the crime to light and for what purpose is really not the agenda here.The point to all of this is we have found out and now want our just rewards for being taken to the cleaners.I vent is right if we don’t stand up now not only will we lose life as we know it ,but we will also lose our country.What irks me even more is that they took our parents as well and they because they believed in the government convinced us that this is just the way life goes.What a crock.Do we really want to allow our next generation to carry this burden or do we want to stop it now?Each person must decide this for themselves.
americans are waking up and we have to save our country from these traitors!!
Lerner’s threats “clearly constitute domestic terrorism”,
Letting the cat out of the bag is whats he is doing….. us common folk had no idea this was going on untill last fall.
I want no part of fraud and yet I find I was part of it by paying on my note…. I feel like crap about that and I had no idea……I want nothing to do with this fraud the banks are doing
I knew GLENN BECK was working for THEM back in the summer when he said PEOPLE BOUGHT HOMES THEY COULD NOT AFFORD. HE IS A LIAR AND A FRAUD. HE PROVED HE WAS A NAZI BY BLAMING THE VICTIMS. MIKE HUCKABEE DID THE SAME THING ON HIS SHOW A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGE WHEN HE HAD SOME OF THE OLDER PEOPLE, THE DIE HARD REPUBLICON RIGHT WINGERS/TEA PARTIERS NODDING THEIR HEADS YES TO EVERY LIE HE SAID AND HUCKABEE ALSO BLAMED THE VICTIMS. HE IS ALSO A REPUBLICON NAZI. FOX NEWS IS FAUX NEWS AS MICHAEL SAVIDGE CALLS THEM OUT EVERYNITE ON HIS RADIO SHOW. THEIR EVIL PLANS ARE FAILING BECA– USE THEY TRUTH IS COMING TO LIGHT, THEY ARE ALL A CABAL OF LIARS, FRAUDS AND TRAITORS. BECK AND HUCKABEE ARE PROBABLY NO DOUBT HEAVILY INVESTED IN THESE SHIT FRAUDULENT MBS’s right along with the REST OF CONgress, and the SO CALLED JUDGES WHO ARE ALLOWING THE BANKS TO FRAUDULENTLY STEAL PEOPLES HOMES WITH IMPUNITY. WE THE PEOPLE SAY OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!
I knew you were with Mike Savage!! Micheal Savage is the man with the truth!!!
HOW ABOUT IT RAMONA!!!! He calls these lying bastards out every day.
What a nice idea: find the note. Here in California, judges do NOT want any proof of ownership. And that is a very active NOT. They will not allow discovery.
If anybody can answer this question, I will be gratified & amazed: In the P&S agreements between WAMU & BofA, filed with the SEC, lists of mortgages were “intentionally ommitted” from the filings. The SEC filings say …if you want information on the contents of these lists, contact WAMU or La Salle Bank… both defunct institutions with non working telephone numbers. The SEC will not answer. BofA will not answer, JP Morgan Chase will not answr, and the judges find the absence of positive defense to be cause for dismissal of any allegations against those folks. Any suggestions?
what are they hiding??? thats my question
They are hiding the fact that they merely SPECULATED on these loans and created trillions of dollars in wealth up on WALL STREET. DID YOU GET A CHECK OR ANY MONEY AT YOUR CLOSING TO PAY THE SELLER FOR YOUR HOME? NO ONE DID. They used all of us to perp their PONZI SCHEME HEIST. They are hiding who they are because they are all GUILTY of MORTGAGE FRAUD, SECURITIES FRAUD, AND FORECLOSURE FRAUD AND THEY ARE ALSO THE INVESTORS IN THIS PONZI SCHEME SHITBAG OF UNSECURITIZED MORTGAGE DEBT, A/K/A MBS’s..
WaMu 2003 ARM’s all say the same thing. I checked for all 2003 prospectus said to go to Pool/service agreement and one would find all the information needed for the mortgages..once there ..it said ” deliberately ( or intentionally) ommitted”….same thing…non working phones…on one would answer shit…I saved all my notes. BUT..we got other frauds starting at the orgination…and 2 copies of the note…one has a large X and the other is stamped without recourse, signed as sold cause there is a stamp but hard to read it….what my daughter did was motion Chase to Produce a listing of 20-25 documents and dates to prove everything…. and now it has been 9 months withour a word. That would be her discovery for court…so Chase to may be having trouble finding ‘ things ‘….
Marilyn, you go girl!!!! Call them out and make them document every transaction made in your name on your property. Don’t forget about MERS, if you were in MERS, they are really screwed and can never come up with a clean title, though they can’t even without MERS. They don’t want to have to come up with the fraudulent docs that proves your loan was fraudulently induced.so they could use your paid note and your signature as a poker chip and speculate up on the Wall Street Casino of fraud and create trillions in wealth for themselves and their friends and then stick it to all of us when the mortgage bubble they created burst…
GLENN BECK IS A NAZI AND A TRAITOR. I READ A NEWS REPORT THAT HE WAS PAID 50 MILLION DOLLARS BY GEORGE SOROS, WHO HE SUPPOSEDLY HATES, (YEAH, RIGHT!!) TO START THE TEA PARTY TO GET THE REPUBLICONS BACK INTO OFFICE. EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW THAT FOX IS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY WALL STREET AND GOLDMAN SUCKS AND CONgress, THEEE INVENTORS AND THE INVESTORS IN THE BIGGEST PONZI SCHEME ROBBERY OF OUR WEALTH IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. GLENN BECK IS SO FULL OF SHIT THAT IS WHY HE IS GOING BLIND.