Wrecking Ball Coffee v. Salesforce
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
A San Francisco coffee company has joined the outcry over the services Salesforce provides to U.S. Customs and Border Protection by turning down a $40,000 contract to serve drinks at Dreamforce, Salesforce’s annual user conference.
Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters gets opportunities to brew thousands of cups of coffee at massive conferences only a few times a year. So when George P. Johnson Experience Marketing, which contracts with Salesforce to provide catering services for Dreamforce, reached out to Wrecking Ball owners Nick Cho and Trish Rothgeb, the two said they eagerly entered into discussion. . . .
As the Wrecking Ball co-CEOs finalized their proposal, news broke on July 19 that the nonprofit Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services was rejecting a $250,000 donation from Salesforce, which is headquartered in San Francisco, because of its relationship with the customs agency. CBP has been responsible for enforcing the Trump administration’s policy of separating the children of asylum-seekers from their parents, which the administration has since rescinded.
Salesforce announced in March that it had contracted with CBP to help with the agency’s recruiting and “drive efficiencies around how U.S. border activities are managed.”
Thousands of Salesforce customers have since signed petitions asking Salesforce to cancel its contract with CBP. In late June, more than 650 employees also sent an open letter to CEO Marc Benioff demanding the same, according to Bloomberg. Some protested outside their workplace several weeks later. Read more….