Trump has worked harder and faster than any past president in order to achieve an abysmal 50% disapproval rating in his very first week, a feat that took the previous guys 2-3 years to achieve. The public outcry and protests across the nation and around the globe have offered some affirmation that a resistance is being enacted to fight for what's right and prevent continued unethical and unlawful actions by this president.
We the people are the best chance of shattering his fragile ego since he's so concerned about his popularity; we are the voices of this great nation and need to ensure our government officials who represent us know what we actually want and need; and we are the checks and balances to hold our government accountable for their actions. Our petitions, rallies, phone calls, letters, and social media rants are not enough. We need to make a financial impact and get backing by corporations who have greater influence in the resistance than any individual.
Our power is not only in our voices but also our dollars, and how we use our dollars to send a strong message in support of companies that align with our values or against companies that align themselves with the questionable values of our president and his administration. Money drives our economy, lobbies our government and funds our politicians, and plays into the greed of this particular president and his cronies.
In response to the Muslim ban, several companies quickly issued public statements speaking out against Trump and reiterating their commitment to inclusion.
Some of the companies that excelled include:
- Starbucks - pledged to hire 10,000 refugees
- Airbnb - offered free housing to refugees and others impacted by circumstances around entry denial
- Lyft - pledged $1,000,000 to the ACLU
- Google - pledged $4,000,000 to the ACLU (1/2 to come from employees as part of matching commitment)
Some of the companies that had a decent response, but we should implore them to do more:
- Twitter - Jack Dorsey tweeted disappointment about the new policy
- Facebook - Mark Zuckerberg posted on Facebook about his concerns
- Netflix - Reed Hastings posted on Facebook that this policy is un-American
- Microsoft - sent an internal memo to reinforce corporate values are not aligned with Trump's
- LinkedIn - expanded refugee hiring program in response to policy
- Apple - sent an internal memo reinforcing corporate values of inclusion and disagreement with the new policies
Some of the companies that really should have done better:
- Uber** - pledged $3,000,000 to legal funds to protect employees affected and will compensate their income while impacted
- Amazon - sent an internal memo reinforcing commitment to employees and providing guidance on travel
In case you're wondering who to boycott then, here's a very short excerpt from a much longer shit list of companies that fund and support Trump and so far are not holding him accountable for his actions:
- Home Depot
- Yeungling
- New Balance
- NASCAR
- Hobby Lobby
- Jenny Craig
- Forbes
** Uber has received massive backlash from the public and helped to escalate Lyft to the top 10 list of Apple's app store thanks entirely to how they handled (or mishandled) messaging during protests and strikes after Trump's executive order was made public.
Years ago, feeling appalled by their slow and insufficient response to rapes committed by their unvetted drivers, I boycotted Uber until they updated their background checks and took responsibility for ensuring safety of their customers. This past weekend, dozens of my friends deleted the Uber app for a variety of reasons of which the tip of the iceberg for them was their fumbled response to Trump's policy.
I put out a call to friends to help me understand why exactly I should boycott Uber, and I wasn't given any reason that convinced me. That is not to say I think Uber could not have done better, and I will monitor them closely to ensure they as a company align with my values if I continue to remain loyal to them. In our great capitalist nation, I have choices and I will always choose to support companies that earn my trust and respect. I will be loyal to those brands who support and promote human rights and civil liberties. Uber has lost many users this week, it's up to them to hear the message loud and clear and shift their business ethics and messaging in a more positive direction.
I 100% agree Lyft is amazing for pledging $1,000,000 to the ACLU over the next 4 years but does that in itself make Uber bad? They didn't go on strike, but seeing as how the drivers are non-unionized independent contractors, should they have? They did send out messaging that they cut their prices instead of instating surge prices -- this was not well-received. Did Lyft go on strike? No. Lyft had drivers at the airports, but the backlash against Uber for doing the same is due in part to Lyft's timely public pledge in support of civil liberties.
The most questionable issue for me is that CEO Travis Kalanick is part of Trump's advisory team (along with Elon Musk). However, he has been critical of Trump in the past and hopefully will use his position to be a voice of reason and hold him accountable. I can understand that he has to work with this administration if he wants to influence public policy around riders, drivers, and cities, I just hope he takes a moral higher ground to do so.
Uber was slow to issue a public statement and their messaging didn't take as strong a stance on the issue, and quite frankly may have been a mitigating reaction to the #deleteuber trend. However, I don't see any evidence that they support Trump or agree with anything the imbecile is doing to our country, so therefore I won't be deleting my app at this time. Hopefully I won't regret my naiveté in giving them a pass on this one.
The folks at Lyft would be stupid not to take advantage of their perceived moral superiority to Uber, but only if they're committed to respond adequately when the next opportunity arises. In the end, they're all companies with revenue as their number one focus. I plead to these companies to earn the loyalty of the people they depend on for that revenue by taking a stronger position on important social issues. I plead to the public to hold the companies you support accountable to uphold your values. Together we can join forces to send a real message of the economic consequences of endorsement of Trump's authoritarian regime.
#trump #corporateresponsibility #uber #deleteuber #brandconscience #brandvalues