Thread: NumbersUSA Labor Day Actions

From: Roy Beck NumbersUSA <immigrationinfo@numbersusa.com> Add to Address Book
Date: 2006/09/01 Fri PM 04:17:27 EDT
Subject: Immigration actions on Labor Day weekend


From: Roy Beck, President, NumbersUSA
Date: Friday 1SEP06 3:30 p.m. EDT


Phone Miller Beer to protest its support of illegal aliens ... Send new faxes to Congress

DEAR FRIENDS,

Let's get started in earnest before Congress returns next week.

Immediately phone one of the Miller Beer phone numbers below if you have a chance. We have to stop giant corporations from thinking they can fund the street marches of the illegal aliens.

I frankly am amazed to find out today that Miller is paying for pro-illegal-alien marchers to protest at the offices of U.S. Speaker of the House Hastert because he has blocked the Senate's amnesty all summer.

If you are spending a few minutes on your computer over this holiday weekend, please go to your Action Buffet corkboard and send all available faxes.

Those of you in Illinois will soon have a fax you can send to Hastert, supporting him against the Miller Beer-backed protesters.


WELCOME NEW MEMBER ACTIVISTS


First, I want to publicly welcome the 14,211 Americans who have become faxer activists this summer.

Thanks for signing up and starting to make your voices heard in the Halls of Congress and the Administration (and a lot of other places, too). Don't hesitate to use our HelpDesk form if you have any questions.


THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR KEEPING THE HEAT ON DURING THIS SUMMER


There definitely has been some drop-off in activism during August as so many of you (including Congress) have taken vacations.

But I am so grateful that tens of thousands of you continued to send faxes, make phone calls and attend meetings where your Senators and Representatives appeared.

We have especially been sending out specialized faxes and actions alerts to you based on how you have taken your Interest Survey. If you have not yet done that please click here to take the survey:

www.numbersUSA.com

Congress returns next week and will be moving fast on a lot of things. I hope you will be able to watch closely for our Alerts throughout September. in this email:
WHAT TO SAY TO MILLER BEER

PHONE NUMBERS FOR MILLER BEER

CHICAGO TRIBUNE STORY ON MILLER SUPPORT FOR ILLEGAL-ALIEN MARCHES
actions in brief:
Catch up on sending your faxes from your Action Buffet corkboard:

NumbersUSA.com/actionbuffet

Phone Miller Beer and complain about its financial support for marchers seeking amnesty for illegal aliens.
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PHONE MILLER BEER AT THESE NUMBERS


It really doesn't much matter which department you choose or which person you get when you call one of the phone numbers below. The important thing is to talk to somebody -- anybody. We want hundreds of people in the Miller corporation (a foreign-owned corporation, by the way)to be sending the message up the corporate ladder that the public (and presumably lots of their customers) are really outraged about this.

When you call, just give your opinion about what Miller is doing in supporting rewards for illegal immigration.

If you are a customer, you may want to talk boycott.

There is still time this Friday afternoon to give the company a big jolt.

If you see this over the weekend, see if you can't find a voice mail on which to leave a message.

Then pick up the phoning again on Tuesday.

THANKS,

-- ROY

Milwaukee: 414.931.2000
Miller corporate headquarters) [takes you to a recording; callers should press “0” to talk to operator>

Eden, NC: 336.627.2100
(Miller regional brewery)

Trenton, OH: 513.896.9200
(regional brewery) [get recorded list of departments {e.g., plant mgr., brewing, etc.}

Albany, GA: 229.420.5000
(regional brewery) [takes you to a recording; callers should press “0” to talk to operator>

Ft. Worth, TX: 817.551.3300
(regional brewery) [press “1” to get list of departments>

Irwindale, CA: 626.969.6811
(regional brewery) [get recorded list of departments>

Chippewa Falls, WI: 715.723.5558/888.534.6437
(LEINIES) (Leinenkugel brewery [“Leinie’s Lodge”>)


THE MILLER STORY


The Chicago Tribune seems to have broken the story this morning.

The background is that the illegal-alien marchers last spring discovered that Miller had given a small campaign contribution to a fellow Wisconsin resident, Rep. Sensenbrenner, who was the father of the H.R. 4437 enforcement bill that the marchers were protesting.

The marchers called for a nationwide Hispanic boycott of Miller beer.

Miller immediately caved and said their corporation is against H.R. 4437.

Now, it seems that Miller thinks it has more to gain from illegal alien supporters than from the majority of Americans who want illegal immigration ended (and unrewarded). Just read the Tribune story. You'll be amazed.

Why this immigrant rights march is brought to you by Miller

By Oscar Avila
Tribune staff reporter
Published September 1, 2006

Marchers had to duck into fast-food restaurants for water when they first took to Chicago's streets in support of illegal immigrants five months ago. At the next two marches, family-owned grocery stores offered free bottled water from trucks emblazoned with their names.

This time, as demonstrators march from Chinatown to House Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-Ill.) Batavia office this weekend, they will have Miller Brewing Co., as a sponsor. The brewer has paid more than $30,000 for a planning convention, materials and newspaper ads publicizing the event.

The support of a major corporation for a controversial political cause shows how fierce the competition has become to woo the growing market of Latino consumers.

For Miller, the march offered a special chance to catch up. This spring the brewer drew the ire of pro-immigrant forces over contributions to U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who sponsored legislation that would crack down on illegal immigrants. That prompted a short-lived boycott by some Latino groups.

Now, march advertisements feature not just the organizing committee's trademark blue globe but Miller's logo and a Spanish translation of its "Live Responsibly" slogan, a company effort to build goodwill among Latinos.

But this march is no Cinco de Mayo parade. The politically charged event will promote a controversial plan to end deportations and offer legal status for all 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants. That creates potential pitfalls for any businesses lending support, experts say.

At the same time business sponsorships have forced activists to confront whispers that they are commercializing their movement when they accept much-needed donations.

"We would love to have 20 corporate logos. It doesn't mean we are selling the movement out," said Jorge Mujica, a member of the March 10 Committee. "The principles and demands remain the same. They are helping out this movement and we are happy with that."

Labor unions remain the movement's backbone with four major unions bringing at least 600 marchers on buses from throughout Chicago. Religious groups have been key too. Some marchers will bed down in churches and a mosque.

But businesses have become vital to this weekend's Immigrant Workers Justice Walk, which will cover 45 miles to Hastert's district office. Hundreds of marchers plan to cover the entire span from Friday through Monday, and organizers need food and water for them.

Sometimes political and commercial messages are mingled.

At a July march, Chicago-based food producer V&V Supremo printed signs with its logo that urged "Moratorium Now, Legalization Yes."

Jimenez Market, an area chain, had its sign on display as workers passed out more than 5,000 bottles of water and other supplies worth nearly $17,000. Co-owner Jose Perez acknowledged it is good publicity but stressed that "we are supporting our people. Without them, our business would go downhill."

This weekend, the Los Comales restaurant plans to donate 500 tortas, Mexican sandwiches filled with steak, ham and other toppings. The Laredo Bakery is donating bread while other restaurants are donating water, fruit and other supplies, organizers said.

Those businesses are natural allies--"part of the same brotherhood," as one marketer put it.

But the presence of Miller at a welcoming reception the day before the Aug. 12-13 planning convention raised eyebrows.

The convention brought together labor unions, anti-war groups, immigrant service organizations and even socialist political candidates.

Hours before bashing NAFTA and U.S. foreign policy, participants at the Aug. 11 reception mingled with the Miller Girls, the company's public relations ambassadors, amid a display of Miller logos.

That Miller was involved in the first place is one measure of the growing power of immigrants. After the boycott announcement, the company approached march organizers to try to find common ground, and agreed to back the march organizers' efforts.

Miller is also bankrolling informational ads in Voces Migrantes, or Migrant Voices, a community newspaper in Chicago, and has promised scholarships for area Latinos.

Mathew Romero, the company's local market development manager, said Miller felt it was important to speak out against Sensenbrenner's legislation, though his campaign was one of many the company supported.

Romero noted that company founder Frederick Miller was a German immigrant and many current executives are foreign nationals. Miller is now part of London-based SABMiller.

Romero said he wasn't worried that some opponents of illegal immigration would be upset at the company's support of "the free movement of people, labor, goods and services."

"As long as you are stacking facts against facts, they are free to make their own decisions. We will stand by our positions," he said.

George San Jose, president of the San Jose Group, a Chicago-based marketing company specializing in the Hispanic market, said he understands why companies chase Hispanic purchasing power, which tops $700 billion annually in the U.S. Brewers, he said, have been especially aggressive.

But San Jose would advise clients that there are better ways.

"A company sponsoring one of the two sides of the immigration debate is no different than a company sponsoring groups for or against abortion [rights>. It's one of those heated political debates that companies should stay clear of," he said.

At the request of march organizers, media executive Robert Armband sent e-mails to thousands of business contacts, asking if they would consider helping the March 10 Committee.

"It certainly is an opportunity to reach the masses, but it might not be the right vehicle to come out as a sponsor," said Armband, publisher and chief executive of La Raza, a Chicago newspaper.

March organizers say they have not made any full-fledged sales pitches to major corporations and are having internal discussions about whether they should make a real push. That can be a tough decision, according to march organizer Gabe Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said he represents those in the movement--maybe half the total, he thinks -- who don't even consider themselves capitalists. Many have been involved with labor campaigns targeting specific companies.

March organizers shot down a suggestion that they approach Coca-Cola, for example, because of what they perceive as the company's labor abuses in the developing world, a cause celebre among liberal activists.

Although immigrant activists see legalization as an issue of social justice, Gonzalez said corporations might back the idea as a way to protect their bottom line. Whatever the motivations, Gonzalez said he would cooperate with almost any company willing to back the cause.

"That's the nature of politics. You form coalitions based on mutual self-interest," Gonzalez said. "So will we work with corporations? We will work with anyone who will work with us."

As a registered member of NumbersUSA, I sent my five faxes today (on my action buffet). Two went to Sen. Dole, two to Sen. Burr, and one to Rep. Price. Will attempt to contact Miller tomorrow, but may not have much luck on a Saturday though.

Though the company company that owns Miller is headquartered in London the initials SAB stand for South African Breweries. The control of the company is there. It was a company the Free South Africa Divestment movement used to picket about.