Chloe Cook
WVoN co-editor

More than 1,500 nurses are rallying outside the White House in Washington DC today.

They have travelled from across the US to march on the Treasury Department, calling on President Obama to tax wall street.

It’s part of a worldwide demonstration against capitalism and the nurses will be joined by Occupy Wall Street protesters and other union members (see WVoN coverage).

There are also rallies taking place at the G-20 summit in Cannes, as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The protesters, brought together by National Nurses United (NNU), want Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to support what they call a “meaningful tax” on the bankers.

The NNU say the tax is vital to heal the US economy.

“It is long past time for Secretary Geithner and President Obama to get on board with other world leaders in supporting this common-sense approach to raise badly needed revenues to help fund the critical programs we need to revive the US and other global economies,” said NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro, who will speak at the G-20 press conference in Cannes today.

Members of the nurses’ union have been campaigning since early spring for a tax on trades of stocks, bonds, derivatives and other major transactions.

They say as much as $350 billion could be raised by this financial tax if the Obama administration adopts it.