For immediate release: September 27, 2018

978-852-6457

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9/27/18
Contact: Evan Greer, press@fightforthefuture.org, 978-852-6457

The day after bringing a “detention center” to Dreamforce, activists projected massive messages above Dreamfest concert, prompting company to agree to a meeting

Last night, attendees of Salesforce’s big “Dreamfest” concert––featuring Metallica and Janet Jackson––were greeted by a massive message projected on the side of the venue and nearby buildings calling out Salesforce’s multimillion dollar contract with US Border Patrol and directing viewers to a text-in number where they could take action. 

During the action, a Salesforce representative offered to arrange a meeting with company executives in exchange for stopping the projections. Fight for the Future will agree to a meeting under these conditions:

  • Immigrants rights groups including Mijente and RAICES are invited to the meeting to represent directly affected communities  
  • The meeting is on the record and allowed to be recorded
  • The meeting is with CEOs Marc Benioff & Keith Block

Fight for the Future will continue to escalate until the meeting is officially scheduled and these conditions are agreed to.

The projections, which clearly got Salesforce’s attention, highlighted the #CancelTheContract hashtag, which has spread during the Dreamforce conference. Another directed viewers to “Text BENIOFF to 384-387 to learn his secret.” Texting the number triggers a response with information about Salesforce’s contract with border patrol and a link to take action.

See PHOTOS and VIDEO of the projections here: https://medium.com/@fightfortheftr/human-rights-activists-call-out-salesforce-with-giant-message-projected-above-dreamforce-metallica-ccb2b0325421

The latest protest comes just one day after Fight for the Future, Mijente, and other groups made a splash at Dreamforce with a 14-foot tall, 800-pound, Salesforce branded cage that represented a Border Patrol detention center. Fight for the Future, a digital rights organization, has been running a campaign at DropSalesforce.com, calling on Salesforce to cut ties and stop supporting human rights violations.

During his keynote remarks at Dreamforce on Tuesday, Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff warned tech companies against leaving criticism and feedback from customers and consumers unacknowledged. Benioff says, “If trust is not your highest value…your employees and executives are going to walk out.” The statement is feels a bit empty, given that Salesforce is continuing to maintain a multimillion dollar contract with US Border Patrol despite the backlash of customers, partners, immigrant rights groups and employees.

“Marc Benioff and other Salesforce execs can pretend to model a socially conscious tech company all they want,” said Jelani Drew, campaigner with Fight for the Future, “But until Salesforce drops their contract with Border Patrol, they actively providing a tech foundation to enable human rights violations. Salesforce is getting real backlash. It’s time for Benioff to decide if trust is his highest value and what legacy he wants to have. He acknowledges that Salesforce isn’t perfect. We’re not asking them to be perfect. We’re just asking them to listen to the people who are affected by their decision to maintain this contract.” 

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