Objective
Moratorium on Data Centers in Hamilton County
Hamilton County Commission
Primary ask: Hamilton County Commissioners vote YES on the one-year moratorium on July 15, 2026. Secondary ask: Commissioners amend the resolution so the Jailhouse Studios exemption cannot be used as a template for future "small footprint" carve-outs — e.g. a hard, audited square-footage/power cap with public reporting, not a self-certified limit and cap it hard enough that it can't be used as a precedent for the next "small" exemption. Standing ask (post-vote): during the pause, the Planning Department's TVA/EPB/water-provider consultations should be public record, not a closed-door study.
Why this is a target
Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp proposed a one-year moratorium on new AI data centers in unincorporated Hamilton County, and the Commission votes July 15, 2026. The stated reason is sound: nobody yet knows what these facilities do to the power grid, water supply, and farmland, so the county wants a year to study it before approving more. But the moratorium already exempts one project — Jailhouse Studios, the conversion of the old downtown county jail into a data/production complex. And that exemption isn't neutral. Run by Urban Story Ventures, the Jailhouse Studios' infrastructure partner is The STEM Practice, an Oracle partner whose CEO, Bernie Alen, is a former executive director at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. STEM Practice's own public goal is 1,000 "sovereign AI" sites nationally, financed by Oracle carrying the capital cost of hardware in exchange for long-term recurring compute revenue. In other words: the one project the county has already blessed is a foothold for the exact same industry the moratorium is supposed to pause — installed by a company literally run by a former Oracle executive, financed on a model built for decades-long lock-in. "Pause means pause" should mean pause, not "pause for everyone except the one deal we already signed."
Sources
- https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2026/mar/11/hamilton-county-officials-draw-up-lease-for/
- https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2026/mar/18/hamilton-county-commission-approves-jailhouse/
- https://www.local3news.com/local-news/former-hamilton-co-jail-could-become-launchpad-for-film-music-and-tech/article_53fe8abf-b489-4e50-994d-ff2dd866d50c.html
- https://www.local3news.com/local-news/developer-addresses-ai-job-concerns-as-commissioners-consider-jailhouse-studios/article_3db497ef-8b0d-4ae8-947d-a59f61b94b1d.html
- https://www.chattanoogan.com/2026/1/9/513236/White-Says-Jail-Project-To-Position.aspx
- https://www.stempractice.ai/
Do your own research. We provide sources so you can verify and decide for yourself.
Pledges you can make
I'm sharing this campaign so my neighbors understand why this vote matters beyond one old jail.
I pledge to contact my commissioner to ask for community input listening sessions to inform future data center regulations. Here is a link to the letter to send to the commissioners
Event Information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1589513429428932/
"Data centers have come onto the scene with rapid force and dubious consequences. More than anything right now, people want information, resources, and answers to questions. Sierra Club is hosting a public town hall at Outdoor Chattanooga to help meet those needs. Leaders from the environmental, tech, and municipal sectors will be invited to give context to this issue. The evening will begin with a framework for a responsible community approach to data centers, and we will build from there. Bring your questions, concerns, expertise, and a friend or neighbor!"
Commissioners amend the resolution so the Jailhouse Studios exemption cannot be used as a template for future "small footprint" carve-outs — e.g. a hard, audited square-footage/power cap with public reporting, not a self-certified limit and cap it hard enough that it can't be used as a precedent for the next "small" exemption. Email your Commissioner
Pledge to attend the Hamilton County Commission meetings in person or watch the livestream and share what happens. Hamilton County Commission Meeting Livestream link
Objective
Open AI Subscription Strike
OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research company that develops and commercializes large language models including ChatGPT, offering consumer subscriptions at $20-$200/month. It is the dominant player in the consumer AI subscription market.
Why this is a target
OpenAI is the primary target of this campaign. It has a direct consumer subscription product (ChatGPT Plus/Pro/Team) that users can cancel immediately. The betrayal narrative is strong: workers whose labor trained the model are now being displaced by it. Cancellation is frictionless and the symbolic impact of mass subscription cancellations is highly measurable and media-ready.
Sources
- https://time.com/6247678/openai-chatgpt-kenya-workers/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTpHUUHl1Xg
- https://openaiglobalaffairs.substack.com/p/ai-at-work-spring-2026
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O5Qo3qi3iM
- https://openai.com/index/industrial-policy-for-the-intelligence-age/
- https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2023/12/06/artificial-intelligence-tech-workers-collective-action-sam-altman-ethan-marcotte
- https://abc7news.com/post/san-francisco-based-openai-strikes-deal-pentagon-hours-president-donald-trump-administration-bans-anthropic/18661879/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXblPx3UNuo
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEDgv29bktU
- https://onlabor.org/march-13-2026/
Alternatives
Do your own research. We provide sources so you can verify and decide for yourself.
Pledges you can make
Pausing your use of ChatGPT reduces OpenAI's active user metrics, which directly affects its ability to attract investment and enterprise partnerships. Even free-tier disengagement signals reduced consumer interest.
Deleting the app reduces daily active user counts and app store ranking signals, both of which OpenAI uses to demonstrate consumer adoption to investors and partners.
Migrating to a competing AI platform directly erodes OpenAI's market share and demonstrates that consumers have viable alternatives, weakening OpenAI's dominant position.
ChatGPT Plus at $20/month is OpenAI's primary direct consumer revenue stream. Mass cancellations create measurable financial pressure and send a clear signal about consumer sentiment.
If you are not ready to fully cancel, downgrading removes your $20/month contribution to OpenAI's revenue while keeping access to basic features, reducing their consumer income.
Enterprise and Team plans represent OpenAI's highest-value consumer contracts. Cancelling an organizational subscription removes hundreds to thousands of dollars per month and signals institutional disapproval.
Objective
Fair play in meatpacking
Wayne-Sanderson Farms
Wayne-Sanderson Farms (formerly Wayne Farms and Sanderson Farms, now merged) is one of the largest U.S. poultry producers, selling chicken under the Sanderson Farms brand to grocery retailers and restaurants.
Why this is a target
Sanderson Farms brand chicken is sold at major grocery chains across the South and Midwest. Consumer substitution to other poultry brands is easy. The company's documented opposition to line speed limits that protect workers provides a clear campaign narrative.
Sources
Alternatives
Do your own research. We provide sources so you can verify and decide for yourself.
Pledges you can make
Posting an honest, factual review on grocery or retail platforms where their products are sold signals consumer sentiment to both the retailer and the company, influencing shelf placement and procurement decisions.
Wayne-Sanderson Farms supplies poultry to major foodservice and quick-service restaurant chains. Avoiding these outlets reduces downstream demand that supports their wholesale contracts.
Wayne-Sanderson Farms is one of the largest poultry producers in the U.S., selling chicken under multiple retail brands. Choosing competing brands at the grocery store directly reduces their consumer revenue.
Identify which store-brand or labeled chicken products are sourced from Wayne-Sanderson Farms and replace them with a verified alternative producer. This creates a measurable shift in purchasing data that retailers and the company track closely.
Committing fully to alternative poultry producers — such as small regional farms or certified humane brands — removes Wayne-Sanderson Farms from your household spending entirely and supports competitors with different labor and animal welfare practices.
A 30-day commitment to avoiding all products tied to Wayne-Sanderson Farms, including retail chicken and foodservice outlets, demonstrates sustained consumer withdrawal and helps establish new purchasing habits.
Objective
Collective Barganing
Starbucks
Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse chain in the United States with over 16,000 domestic locations, serving millions of customers daily through retail cafes and a mobile app.
Why this is a target
Starbucks has a massive, loyal consumer base with easy substitutes (Dunkin', local cafes, home brewing). Consumers can immediately stop spending. The broken-promise angle — Niccol pledged better labor relations — is a powerful campaign narrative. The Starbucks Workers United campaign already has high public awareness.
Alternatives
Do your own research. We provide sources so you can verify and decide for yourself.
Pledges you can make
Removing the app disengages you from Starbucks' loyalty ecosystem and reduces their mobile order revenue and data collection. The app is a primary driver of repeat visits and spending.
Deactivating your Starbucks Rewards account withdraws you from their loyalty program, which drives a significant share of transactions. This directly impacts their ability to track and incentivize your spending.
Starbucks earns substantial revenue from packaged coffee, creamers, and ready-to-drink beverages sold at retail. Switching to competitor brands like Dunkin', Peet's, or store-brand alternatives removes income from their consumer packaged goods segment.
Showing up at a store location creates visible, localized economic pressure and can deter other customers from entering. Physical presence amplifies the campaign's public profile at the point of sale.
Redirecting your regular Starbucks visits to an independent coffee shop directly cuts into Starbucks' core retail revenue. This is one of the most financially impactful individual actions given the frequency of repeat purchases.
A long-term, comprehensive boycott across all Starbucks revenue channels — in-store, app, grocery, and licensed locations — maximizes sustained economic pressure. This requires replacing a habitual daily or weekly purchase with alternatives for an extended period.
Objective
Digital Sovereignty & Human Labor
Chegg
Chegg, Inc. is a publicly traded education technology company (NYSE: CHGG) headquartered in Santa Clara, California, that offers digital and physical textbook rentals, homework help, tutoring, and online learning services primarily to U.S. college students. The company reports serving millions of students annually and generates significant revenue through its subscription-based 'Chegg Study' platform and textbook rental/sales marketplace.
Why this is a target
Chegg is a direct consumer subscription service for students at approximately $15/month. Students can switch to free AI tools or Khan Academy. Chegg's trajectory as a company that harvested student labor to build AI that then displaced that same student economy is a powerful object lesson in the AI colonialism narrative.
Sources
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260506254680/en/Chegg-Reports-First-Quarter-2026-Earnings
- https://www.stocktitan.net/sec-filings/CHGG/10-k-chegg-inc-files-annual-report-662f5110acd8.html
- https://bellsuniversity.edu.ng/tour/?xml=data%3Aimage%2Fgif%3Bimagebase64%3Bbase64%2CPGtycGFubz48IS0tMS0tPjxldmVudHMgb254bWxjb21wbGV0ZT0ib3BlbnVybCgnaHR0cHM6Ly9zYXBsYTIxLmNvL3NhcGxhMjEvY2hlZ2ctaXNuLXQtd29ya2luZy02MDY1NCcsX3NlbGYpOyIvPjwva3JwYW5vPg%3D%3D
- https://www.softwareone.com/en/blog/articles/2026/01/12/your-2026-digital-sovereignty-guide
- https://www.valantic.com/en/press/companies-want-to-strengthen-digital-sovereignty/
- https://www.netaxis.be/2026/01/19/the-issues-surrounding-digital-sovereignty-in-2026/
- https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/partner/article/why-digital-sovereignty-is-the-next-battleground-for-competitivity-and-security
- https://www.celis.institute/celis-institute/eu-law-for-eu-digital-sovereignty-workshop-report-university-of-antwerp-20-march-2026/
- https://renner-institut.at/media/3118/download/Digital-sovereignty-and-a-new-multilateralism-for-the-AI-era-.pdf?v=1
- https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/digital-sovereignty-europes-declaration-of-independence-1.pdf
- https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/building-bridges-european-digital-sovereignty
- https://www.digitalsme.eu/events/advancing-european-tech-sovereignty-voices-from-providers-industrial-users/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN4aAftBuRg
Alternatives
Do your own research. We provide sources so you can verify and decide for yourself.
Pledges you can make
Removing the app reduces Chegg's active user metrics and signals disengagement to advertisers and investors who track app usage data.
Chegg monetizes free users through ads and upsell funnels; migrating to alternatives directly reduces their traffic and ad revenue.
Pausing interrupts Chegg's recurring subscription revenue and signals churn risk, which affects their reported subscriber counts.
Chegg's primary revenue driver is its subscription services; cancellations directly reduce monthly recurring revenue and are tracked closely by the company and its investors.
Chegg's textbook rental and sales segment contributes meaningful revenue; redirecting those transactions to competitors like VitalSource or Amazon Textbooks weakens this revenue stream.
A full account closure eliminates Chegg's ability to re-engage you through promotions or free trials and removes your data from their active user base, sending the strongest possible signal of consumer withdrawal.
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