BootCAT: International Day of Action Against Caterpillar, April 13, 2005

International Day of Action Against Caterpillar

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Over 50,000 Palestinians have been made homeless by Caterpillar bulldozers. Cat supplies equipment used by the Israeli military to destroy Palestinian homes, infrastructure, orchards, greenhouses, agricultural land filled with crops and sometimes lives, including American peace activist Rachel Corrie and Palestinian Suha Sweidan, who was nine months pregnant when she was killed in the middle of the night in a home demolition. While US taxpayers foot the bill, Cat profits from the wholesale destruction of Palestinian homes and livelihoods.

Taking what Human Rights Watch calls a "head in the sand" approach, Caterpillar officials have repeated the same line over and over again, that Caterpillar has "neither the legal right nor the ability to monitor and police individual use" of its equipment. Last year, instead of looking into the wanton destruction that their company's policies cause, the Caterpillar Board of Directors successfully urged the defeat of a shareholder resolution investigating whether Caterpillar is adhering to its own corporate code of conduct regarding sales to Israel. Caterpillar not only has the ability to monitor the use of its equipment, but after calls from human rights organizations, members of the office of the UN Commissioner on Human Rights, several religious and social justice organizations, and the victims themselves, Cat has the responsibility to investigate the ethics of selling bulldozers as weapons and profiting from human rights abuses.

On April 13, Caterpillar shareholders will meet again in Chicago. We call on groups to organize local demonstrations that day to protest Cat's selling of home-crushing bulldozers to Israel. Let's send the board of directors and Cat dealerships a strong message that cooperation in human rights abuses will not be tolerated. Join us on April 13.

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Distribute and Sign the Petition

The BootCAT Campaign is collecting signatures to present to the April 13, 2005 shareholders meeting. Please sign the online petition, email it to others or distribute the printed petition at local events.

Sign the Stop Caterpillar Petition Online, Feb 2005 - sign and publicize over email
Printed Caterpillar Petition, Jan 2005 (PDF) - distribute, sign and mail to BootCAT
Caterpillar: Stop Bulldozing Palestinian Lives, Jan 2005 (PDF) - print and distribute handout

Read more about the Caterpillar shareholder resolution and how you can get involved.

Organize an Action

Join other groups all over the world on April 13 to organize a demonstration at a Caterpillar-related location in your area, like a CAT dealership or board member's office. We'll provide you with resources to help you make it happen. Email if you'd like to organize an action in your area.

More information and resources are regularly posted on the following websites: www.bootCAT.org, www.CATdestroysHomes.org and www.StopCAT.org

Contact Congress

Contact your Congressional representative, tell her/him to ask for an investigation of US purchase of CAT equipment for Israel in the General Accounting Office. CAT equipment is sold to Israel under the US Foreign Military Sales Program. It's illegal for US-purchased equipment to be used to violate human rights. Make appointments with your representatives on the week of April 13, and tell her/him to investigate. To contact a person in your area who can help you coordinate a visit to your rep, go to this website and click on your state.

GROUPS INVOLVED IN THE CAMPAIGN

Groups all over the world have gotten involved in demanding that Caterpillar stop selling home-crushing bulldozers to Israel. Below is a list of some of those groups -- not all of them are involved in the Day of Action, but all of them have contributed to the campaign.

Links to all organizations nationwide endorsing the Stop Caterpillar campaign

Updated: Jan 11, 2005