Activists Don Costumes to Protest T-Mobile/Sprint #MonsterMerger

Their proposed merger would hurt low-income communities and people of color who disproportionately rely on the two companies for more affordable plans and prepaid services. It would also lead to the loss of close to 30,000 jobs. That’s why we’ve been working overtime to stop the merger before it’s too late.

And we’ve been getting creative: Free Press Action members organized Halloween-themed protests outside T-Mobile and Sprint stores across the country to signal our opposition to this monstrous deal.

Activists in Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., showed up wearing costumes, with anti-merger signs in tow.

Here’s a look at 4 of the 12 #MonsterMerger protests that took place across the country:

In Fayetteville, Arkansas, a lion, a vampire and a woman in a masquerade mask danced in front of a T-Mobile store and played the “Monster Mash” on a loop. Drivers slowed down to honk in support of the activists’ signs and a T-Mobile employee cheered the group on from inside the store.

In Ontario, California, a pair of witches and a pirate joined forces outside a T-Mobile store and handed out candy and fliers on the merger to passersby. At one point an employee came outside and took a photo to send to the corporate office to let the top brass know that folks aren’t happy about the deal.

Here’s a video of one of those activists:

Meanwhile, in Hadley, Massachusetts, a tree, a mouse and four plainclothes activists teamed up outside a Sprint store to sing reworked lyrics to a bevy of spooky ditties and make protest videos about the deal.

In Washington, D.C., a ghostbuster, a mummy and Godzilla haunted both a T-Mobile store and a Sprint store and talked to about 30 passersby about the deal’s many harms.

That’s not all we’ve been up to:

We’ve collected over 16,000 petition signatures urging the FCC to reject this terrifying merger.
Our policy team filed a formal challenge that shows how this deal would make internet access unaffordable to far too many people.
We hosted a livestream with our allies from the Center for Media Justice and Common Cause to debunk lies and myths about the deal that were swirling around the internet. Check it out on Facebook.
We also took to Twitter and Facebook to host a social-media day of action. We answered questions about the deal and engaged in conversation with our members and friends about why it would hurt people like you.