[wvns] Chicago: Activists Shut-Down CAT Shareholders Meeting
Palestine Activists Shut-Down CAT Shareholders Meeting
By Joe Carr - joecarr @ riseup.net
June 14, 2007
Kansas Mutual Aid
www.lovinrevolution.org
For the fourth year in a row, Palestinian rights activists made
Caterpillar's sales to Israel the number one issue during their annual
shareholders meeting in Chicago. Because of previous demonstrations,
this year's meeting was moved from downtown to Chicago to an hour
outside the city in a secure complex called the Q Center.
Un-deterred, we piled in cars and vans to head out there and protest,
both inside and outside the meeting. Several of us had just arrived
from DC where we'd joined 5,000 others in the largest protest for
Palestine in US history. It marked the 40-year anniversary of Israel's
occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, and was
organized by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
(www.endtheoccupaiton.org).
In the last several years, I have taken part in many demonstrations
pressuring CAT to stop selling heavy equipment to Israel. These have
included pickets and banner drops at our local CAT distributor in
Kansas City and two major demonstrations at CAT's headquarters in
Peoria, IL. Three other activists and I were arrested on March 16th,
2006 as we commemorated the three-year anniversary of Rachel Corrie's
murder by covering ourselves in fake blood and laying down "dead" in
the street in front of CAT's main office. Others have targeted CAT
merchandise in stores, investments in church and union funds, and
declared "CAT-Free Zones" boycotting all CAT products. CAT
distributors have seen protests from Belfast to Bil'in, Detroit to
Denmark, San Francisco to Stockholm.
Rachel Corrie's parents filed a lawsuit against the company that is
currently pending appeals. At last year's shareholders meeting they
made headlines with their heartfelt plea to CAT executives, to no
avail. This year, we decided it was time to move beyond orderly
speeches and onto disruptive action.
About 30 people picketed the facility's entrance while others went
inside. Four of us had obtained proxy tickets from sympathetic
shareholders and dressed in our finest business attire. CAT
distributed two color booklets to the shareholders entitled
"Relentless" and "Endless". We'd made stickers in advance that changed
our booklets to say "Relentless Murder", "Endless War", "Relentless
Destruction", and "Endless Occupation", and snuck in some Palestinian
flags.
Sydney Levy from Jewish Voice for Peace introduced our shareholder
resolution calling for the separation of CEO and Chairmen, using CAT
sales to Israel as the main reason why they need to be separated. His
speech was articulate and powerful, and set the tone for our action.
Looking down at the board and executives, almost exclusively rich
white men, I was overwhelmed with outrage. I was facing capitalist war
criminals, the epitome of the evil I've dedicated my life to resist,
and I have to speak to them. After a 20-min presentation on how great
CAT is from the CEO, I got up to ask my question. Here is a paraphrase
of what I said:
"I've spent a considerable amount of time in Israeli Occupied
Palestine, and I was there four years ago with my 23-year-old friend
Rachel Corrie. I watched as an Israeli soldier intentionally crushed
her to death with one of our (I had to speak as a shareholder)
bulldozers. I also witnessed Israel use our equipment to
systematically destroy Palestinian homes and farmland, and build the
atrocious and illegal wall of separation and annexation, and a series
of settlements and roads that have created one of the most brutal
systems of segregation and apartheid the world has ever known. We know
full-well what this equipment is being used for, and yet we continue
to profit from the destruction and murder in Palestine. Why do
you continually refuse to consider ceasing sales to Israel? Why have
you refused to meet with the Corrie family or members from the broad
coalition of groups calling on us to stop these sales which violate
international and US law, and stop this relentless murder and endless
destruction."
Throughout my speech there was much eye-rolling, sighing, and other
attempts to write me off. The CEO responded with his usual claim that
they have no ability to control what customers do with the equipment,
and complained that it was unfair that activists have targeted CAT to
further their own political agenda. We immediately went into our action.
Matt Gains of the Stop CAT coalition, stood and raised his Palestinian
flag and started our chant. Two others and I stood and joined in,
"Take responsibility, do the right thing", over and over again.
Everyone was confused and didn't know what to do, so the CEO
immediately called the meeting to a close (20 minutes early) and we
were briskly escorted out by security. While waiting to be removed
from the property I continued to talk to board members and
shareholders as they left, reminding them that Palestinian blood is on
their hands, and they have an opportunity to make change.
The action was concluded without incident, save a $25 parking ticket
given to Matt by a local cop as he stopped briefly in the road to
unload demonstrators.
It marked another chapter in our campaign that has raised vast
awareness about CAT's ties to Israel, and furthered the broader
movement for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Please
consider joining our campaign.
As things seem to get worse and worse in Palestine, we will continue
to organize and hold CAT accountable for its actions.
Below is a sampling of the world-wide media coverage from our action.
Reuters -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070613/bs_nm/caterpillar_outlook_dc_2
Chicago Tribune -
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-070613caterpillar,0,5282007.story
?track=rss
Washington Post -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061301
715.html
CNN Money -
http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/13/news/companies/bc.caterpillar.outlook.reut/i
ndex.htm?section=money_latest
Crain's Chicago Busines -
http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?rssFeed=news&id=25335
Scottsman (UK) - http://business.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=929482007
National Post (Canada) -
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=023a4bb7-87fb
-403c-979e-9cf1a2e5ee56&k=27881
MSN Money
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=OBR&Date
=20070613&ID=7030798
*********************************************************************
WORLD VIEW NEWS SERVICE
To subscribe to this group, send an email to:
wvns-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
NEWS ARCHIVE IS OPEN TO PUBLIC VIEW
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/
Need some good karma? Appreciate the service?
Please consider donating to WVNS today.
Email ummyakoub@yahoo.com for instructions.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
wvns-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:wvns-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:wvns-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
wvns-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
No comments:
Post a Comment