Activists marched outside of the Salesforce headquarters in San Francisco to protest the company's contract with U.S. Customs and Border Protection
About 25 protestors marched with banners in front of the Salesforce headquarters at 415 Mission St. in San Francisco Monday starting at around 10am.
Most were tech workers, many of whom remained anonymous. Their goal: to persuade Salesforce executives to cancel the company's contract that supplies the CBP with software.
The signs they carried read messages like "Caging children is a crime, not a business model."
Protestors bellowed chants like "No justice, no peace" and "No kids in cages." They echoed across the street and down the block.
The protest took place outside Salesforce Tower, the gleaming $1 billion skyscraper that opened in May and now serves as the tech company's headquarters.
At 1,070 feet, Salesforce Tower is the tallest building in San Francisco.
The protest is part of the backlash against the government's separation of migrant families and their children who are illegally crossing the border into the U.S.
Following the letter signed by employees in late June, a Salesforce representative said the company was not working with the CBP "regarding the separation of families at the border."
Source: Business Insider
Claire Lau, co-chair of the city's Progressive Alliance organization, likened Salesforce's reliance on its employees to America's on immigrants. “Salesforce was built on the backbone of its workers. Without its workers, Salesforce would not be where it is today. So we need to be respecting and validating our immigrants in this country — Salesforce needs to be validating its workers.”
Benioff has donated money on behalf of Salesforce to a number of charities, including local hospitals, which former city district supervisor Christina Olague acknowledged. But she said Benioff shouldn't stop there.“It isn’t enough for you to try to buy your way to heaven and buy your way out of this issue."
Benioff wasn't the only exec singled out at the protest; co-founder Patrick Harris and Chief Equality Officer Tony Prophet's faces were also emblazoned on some of the banners.
Unlike a 2017 Uber protest in which activists chained themselves to the door, the Salesforce protesters did not try to stop employees from going to work.
The protesters outside Salesforce Tower weren't blocking the doors in any way, and most of the Salesforce employees that entering or exiting the building just glanced at the scene and continued on their way. Police were on location, but for the most part hung back.
The protestors drafted a pledge for Salesforce execs to sign ending the CBP contract. They took turns listing off the names and yelling "Shame! Shame!" after each one.
Kevin Ortiz, an executive member of the city's Latino Democratic Club, pointed out the contrast to Salesforce's corporate culture and its celebration of "Ohana" — the Hawaiian word for family. "They talk about the Ohana family — we are all one family."
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