Rally Outside Dreamforce

Link to photos/videos. Please credit Brooke Anderson.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — This morning, interfaith leaders, immigrant rights organizations, tech workers, unionized security workers, and Bay Area community members rallied and held a reimagining ceremony outside Salesforce’s Dreamforce Conference, calling on Salesforce to cut ties with ICE and stand up for democracy.     

 “Trump is desperate. He is trying to undermine the midterm elections by keeping people from voting. We need all our Bay Area leaders to stand up for Democracy. Salesforce has a history of showing up for our communities. We are inviting Salesforce to set an industry example by standing up for democratic elections, signing the Businesses for Democracy Pledge, and ending Salesforce contracts with ICE,” Celi Tamayo-Lee, from San Francisco Rising Action, explained.

 “Nearly 900 members of our Bay Area community were kidnapped by ICE in July. We are here outside of Dreamforce as immigrant community members dreaming of a world without fear, cages, or family separation. A world where businesses and technology serve people and communities rather than systems of surveillance and control,” visioned Leticia Garcia, from Mujeres Unidas y Activas. 

 The action follows a walking meditation and ceremony at Salesforce on August 25, where members of Marc Benioff’s own Buddhist community delivered a letter inviting him to sign the pledge. It echoes the call from the 1400+ Salesforce employees who wrote to Salesforce in February of this year, asking it to cancel all active pitches, ‘opportunities,’ and business with ICE.

 After the rally, security officers with SEIU-USWW, including workers at Salesforce, marched to Salesforce Tower and announced they were going on strike.

 “Even as our officers protect companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars, they are left to struggle to keep a roof over their heads as multi-billion dollar security contractors continue to offer them pennies,” said David Huerta, President of SEIU-USWW, in a statement giving notice of the Unfair Labor Practice strike. 

 Community groups say they are standing with SEIU-USWW members in their fight for the contract they deserve, just as the union has, time and again, stood with immigrant communities in the fight against ICE.

“The election is less than 7 weeks away. We have to come together as labor, grassroots organizations, and a community to prepare, to get ready to raise our voices if people anywhere in this country are denied the right to pick their leaders and to call on our business leaders to take a stand against attempts to rig the midterm elections,” Jane Martin, Bay Resistance, emphasized. “We are asking Salesforce and other businesses to sign the Businesses for Democracy Pledge and for individuals to sign the Bay Get Ready Pledge.” 

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 Bay Resistance is a broad-based, multi-racial coalition of community groups, faith organizations, labor unions, and everyday neighbors committed to nonviolent resistance against federal overreach, militarization, and the criminalization of our communities. We believe in building power from the ground up through solidarity, mutual aid, and collective action.