From Appleton, Wis., to Prescott Valley, Ariz., activists nationwide are ensuring that the 99% Spring is in full bloom. They are gathering and training this week of April 9-15 - and planning "non-violent direct action" they say will help them take back the nation for the 99%.

The mark of the labor movement was evident in all the activity this week with the Communications Workers, the Steelworkers, Unite Here, the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, the Service Employees, the American Federation of Government Employees and the Teamsters, handling everything from training activists in union halls and churches to getting permits for marches and demonstrations outside the offices of big banks and other corporations.

"This is the 99% Spring for workers' rights and economic justice," Communica-tions Workers President Larry Cohen told an Economic Policy Institute session in the nation's capital on April 11.  "There are more than 60,000 people being trained at sites around the country."