About 30 protesters voiced their objections Friday to the government’s Wall Street bailout in front of the Wells Fargo Bank building on the Denton Square.

Chants of, “I don’t know but I’ve been told, predatory lending has got to go,” echoed against the walls of the bank.

Denton Record-Chronicle/Al Key

Protesters rally on the sidewalk outside Wells Fargo Bank on the Denton Square on Friday in protest of the bailout of the financial industry. National workers’ rights group Jobs for Justice organized the demonstration.

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The people’s bailout includes stopping predatory lending practices, ending eviction notices and creating guaranteed health care for workers.

The protesters held up posters for passing cars, jabbed their fists at the bank and took turns yelling into a bullhorn.

Most of the protesters were University of North Texas students associated with groups such as Students for a Democratic Society and the International Socialist Organization. Also present were three Dallas steelworkers who said they were “on strike” from Great Western Erectors.

Some of the drivers in passing cars honked. “If they could get out of the car, they would — their hearts are here today,” Minor said.

The three steelworkers, who said they had been on strike since December 2006, have scraped by on odd jobs ever since, said Adrian Magallanes.

The three steelworkers want to unionize Great Western Erectors, claiming the construction company didn’t provide health care benefits, had no water on its sites for workers and tolerated unsafe work sites, Magallanes said.

“We think it’s not right that they mistreat their workers over and over,” Magallanes said.

The 33-year-old father of three said that when he was working at Great Western Erectors, the company would often fire or force injured employees to leave.

Pete Self, a company spokesman, denied the allegations.

“We can provide factual evidence to contradict every one of their allegations,” Self said. “If there was any validity to that, they would get the interest of our employees, and the interest is just not there.”

After countless investigations of the company, including one by the National Labor Board in Fort Worth, the former employee’s claims were dismissed, Self said.

He said he suspects the root cause of the grievances stems from industry union organizations that paid men he called “salts,” in a campaign intending to wound the nonunion company.

Not only does the company fully cover employees’ health care, it provides water to employees on their job site and has never fired or forced an injured employee to quit, Self said.

“We are better than average as far as safety programs,” Self said. “Nothing is worth getting anyone hurt, we take it quite seriously.”

And he wasn’t the only one unconvinced.

As Gene Latimer from Lake Dallas walked by the crowd, munching on free popcorn from the bank, he said if the bailout keeps the country going, he was for it.

“If they have to be bailed out and it works …” Latimer said.

After receiving a noise complaint, a Denton police officer asked for a parade permit, required by city ordinance.

When the group failed to produce one, the officer said they needed to get one from the police station.

Instead, the hourlong rally came to an end, as protesters slowly disbanded with one final yell at Wells Fargo, sans an unauthorized bullhorn.

A Wells Fargo spokesperson did not respond to phone calls late Friday afternoon.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com .