More than 250 Microsoft employees sent an email urging company leadership to take action in response to nationwide protests for racial justice over the past two weeks.
The letter, obtained by OneZero, asks Microsoft to cancel contracts with the Seattle Police Department and calls for Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to resign. Employees are also asking Microsoft to formally endorse the Black Lives Matter movement and its demands.
Employees sent the email to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and executive vice president Kurt DelBene on Monday and published it in a private Facebook group.
The email is the latest act of employee activism, a trend in the tech industry that is pushing large employers to take bolder stands on political and environmental issues. It comes in the second week of nightly protests in Seattle and cities across the country following the death of George Floyd at the hands of four white Minneapolis police officers.
“For the past 15+ minutes, there has been nonstop gas and flashbang explosions in my neighborhood Capitol Hill, Seattle — which you may know is home to many of your employees,” the email says. “Every one of us in the cc line are either first-hand witnesses or direct victims to the inhumane responses of SPD to peaceful protesting.”
At the outset of the protest movement, Nadella and Microsoft shared messages of solidarity with the protestors. In the days that followed, Microsoft has been publishing perspectives from black employees on social media.
At this time, we will be using our platform to amplify voices from the Black and African American community at Microsoft. pic.twitter.com/EARaitd505
— Microsoft (@Microsoft) June 5, 2020
Microsoft provided this statement from Nadella in response to the employee email:
As a company, we need to look inside, examine our organization, and do better. I have heard from many employees over the past several days, expressing calls for action, calls for reflection, calls for change. My response is this: Yes. We have to act. And our actions must reflect the values of our company and be directly informed by the needs of the Black and African American community. We also have a responsibility to use our platform and resources intentionally to address systemic inequities in our communities and in society broadly. This is the work we need to do to have lasting impact.
Though Microsoft and other large tech companies were quick to endorse the movement, critics of the industry have highlighted the companies’ records on diversity and business dealings with law enforcement agencies.
The signatories of the email sent to Nadella and DelBene this week are asking Microsoft to cancel those contracts and “support the defunding and demilitarization of SPD.” Other demands include signing a petition for Durkan’s removal, shifting to a 4-day work week, and promising employees adversely affected by the protest and coronavirus pandemic won’t be penalized for performance issues.
