And yet another installment of “yes Internet activism/petitions can work, dipshits”.
Starbucks: Thank you for standing up for gay rights
Background: In late March, the homophobic National Organization for Marriage (NOM) launched a boycott of Starbucks for its public support of marriage equality in Washington State. We thought that Starbucks, and other businesses, deserved to know that we will support them when they support equality.
Update: We crushed NOM! Our campaign to thank Starbucks for supporting gay marriage went viral, and almost 650,000 people have signed our card — more than 18 times the number of people pledging to boycott Starbucks. Reporters as far away as Shanghai declared NOM’s boycott an utter failure. Dozens of local SumOfUs.org members joined members of Washington United for Marriage in presenting our giant card — which won our online poll — to Starbucks officials at the company’s headquarters in Seattle. Our own campaigner Emma Pullman even dressed up as a Starbucks cup! Hundreds of you provided a personal touch by delivering copies of the card to your local Starbucks.
Read More:SumOfUs press statement on our Thank You card delivery | The original action | Photos from the delivery | Thank You Starbucks crowdsourced Tumblr
Press coverage:The Advocate | NPR | ThinkProgress
Trader Joe’s: Sign the Fair Food Agreement:
Background: Trader Joe’s CEO was refusing to sign the Fair Food Agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a group of farm workers in Florida who have successfully pressured corporate giants like Taco Bell and McDonald’s to agree to ensure that farm workers in their supply chains get treated humanely and get paid at least one penny more per pound of tomatoes they pick.
Update: We won! After partnering up with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, we got over 65,000 people to send messages to Trader Joe’s. Days after we scaled up our actions — hundreds of us called Trader Joe’s HQ in California, or dropped off letters of support for the Immokalee Workers at our local stores — Trader Joe’s caved to the CIW’s demands and signed the Fair Food Agreement.
Read More: Original petition | Press statement on our victory
Dump Rush!:
Background: Rush Limbaugh viciously attacked Georgetown Law Student Sandra Fluke for speaking publicly about the importance of birth control. Our good friends at Reddit and Media Matters began to compile a list of companies that advertised on Rush’s show. Within 12 hours, the internet was abuzz with calls for Rush’s advertisers to stop supporting his bigotry.
Update: SumOfUs.org members joined the chorus calling for Rush’s sponsors to drop his show. In a matter of days, dozens fled, including AOL and ProFlowers. For the past month, Limbaugh’s ad space has been mostly filled with public service announcements.
Read More:Original petition
Apple: Make the next iPhone and all other products ethically:
Background: In January, the New York Times published an exposé of the horrendous working conditions at Apple’s suppliers in China. Workers were forced to work illegal amounts of overtime, and the lack of basic safety precautions — like ventilators to clear out industrial dust and prevent explosions — meant people were dying to make our iGadgets. Apple knew about all of this, but has turned a blind eye to inconsistencies with their Supplier Code of Conduct.
Update: Major news! After 130,000 SumOfUs.org members signed our petition calling for Apple to make their products ethically, Apple made a public commitment to reducing illegal overtime hours and raising wages for the workers who make its products. This is a very big step, and we are dedicated to the next step: Ensuring that Apple keeps its promise.
Here’s how we got to this point: We kept up the pressure on Apple by delivering your petition to Apple’s management — along with a letter by Apple factory workers poisoned while on the job — at its shareholder meeting in February. When the new iPad came out, we pressed Apple to release worker time cards to show whether or not Apple supplier Foxconn was violating Chinese labor law by forcing workers to work illegal overtime to get the iPad made “on time”.
In response to the pressure from SumOfUs.org members, along with thousands of others, Apple hired the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to investigate the issue — a move that was simultaneously encouraging and frustrating. The FLA is funded by the very same organizations that it investigates, and the inspections were announced in advance, giving management time to push workers’ issues under the rug. And in his first days on the job, FLA President Auret van Heerden seemed more concerned about protecting Apple’s image than protecting its workers.
While imperfect, the investigation did reap significant benefits. The FLA confirmed that workers at Apple suppliers are forced to work illegal amounts of overtime while still being paid such meager wages that many can’t afford to feed and house their families. It also documented scores of health and safety violations and other labor abuses. In response, Apple pledged to clean up its supply chain within fifteen months.
We want to be clear: The solutions Apple has pledged are not perfect. For instance, they fail to recognize the importance of empowered trade unions at these factories. But even so, Apple’s pledge is momentous and could transform as many as one million lives.
However, those lives will only be improved if Apple keeps its promise, which is certainly not guaranteed. To that end, hundreds of SumOfUs.org members have collectively pitched in over $10,000 to make sure we have the resources we need to go the distance with Apple and see this campaign through to complete victory. We have some exciting ideas on the horizon. We are planning to keep up the pressure by publicly tracking Apple’s commitment and pressuring Apple employees at key moments over the next fifteen months. We will not forget Apple’s promise, nor allow CEO Tim Cook to either. We look forward to our continued work with you on this important campaign.
Read more:SumOfUs.org statement on the FLA Report | Photos from the petition delivery at the shareholder meeting | The original petition
Press coverage:Washington Post | International Business Times | Los Angeles Times
London Olympics: Reject Dow as a sponsor:
Background: Dow is responsible for the worst industrial accident in history, the chemical spill in Bhopal, India that has killed tens of thousands of people, and injured hundreds of thousands more. To make matters worse, the site hasn’t been cleaned up for 27 years. Dow is also a sponsor of the Olympics, prompting Indian athletes to threaten a boycott unless the Olympics rejects Dow’s sponsorship.
Update: Nearly 50,000 SumOfUs.org members signed our petition to the Chair of the London Olympics, Lord Coe, and our signatures were delivered to the London Olympic Committee in March. Then Lord Coe committed to meet with Sanjay Verma, an activist and survivor of the tragedy who lost most of his family in the wake of the catastrophe. In the lead-up to the meeting, Sanjay penned a letter to SumOfUs.org members asking us to email Lord Coe directly. Over 20,000 of us flooded Lord Coe’s inbox with messages calling for him to renounce Dow as the sponsor of the London Olympics. Sanjay’s meeting with Lord Coe is coming up soon and we’ll let you know how it goes.
Read More:Original petition | Sanjay’s letter
Press coverage:The Telegraph | Drop Dow Now | Bhopal.com
