[Peace] April 26 noon, rally @ the Khan Annex (north side of Huff Hall) to ask the University to reconsider Khan’s alumni award

[Karen Medina]

12:00pm rally Thursday, April 26th at the Khan Annex (north side of
Huff Hall) to ask the University to reconsider Shahid Khan’s alumni
award.
1206 South Fourth Street
Champaign, IL

Shahid Khan, billionaire and U of I alumni, is receiving one of two
“University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Awards” at this year’s
commencement ceremony. Khan is the owner of Flex-N-Gate, a company
that makes car bumpers. Some of the company’s plants (including the
one in Urbana) have forced workers to handle hazardous materials, like
hexavalent chromium, without the proper safety equipment. In March a
“Speak Out” was held at Channing-Murray in Urbana for Flex-N-Gate
workers to share their experiences with the community:
http://justiceatflexngate.org/video-flex-n-gate-workers-take-a-stand-for-safe-healthy-workplaces/

In addition to owning Flex-N-Gate, Khan recently became owner of the
Jacksonville Jaguars. While he is willing and able to invest in new
business ventures, he and his company have refused to invest in better
environmental and safety conditions for his Flex-N-Gate workers. The
26th is the day of the NFL draft, so we stand with UAW workers
rallying in NYC on the same day to ask that Khan improve conditions
for Flex-N-Workers.

Despite his company’s bad business practices, the University of
Illinois has still chosen to honor Khan with an alumni award. While
Khan is a major donor to the University—he and his wife recently
donated $10 million to build Huff Hall's Khan Annex to house The
Center on Health, Aging, and Disability—he does not represent an
ethical, socially-responsible role model for graduating students and U
of I alumni.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me. The
flyer for the event is attached and here is the link to the Facebook
page: http://www.facebook.com/events/156159101177066/

Hope to see you on the 26th!