Hours after IBM Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory and offered to work with him on economic goals, IBM software engineer Daniel Hanley drafted a petition.
As Bloomberg reports, the document urged Rometty to “do what’s right for IBMers,” including “respect our right to refuse to participate in any government contracts that violate constitutional and civil liberties.” The petition now has more than 1,600 signatures.
Since Trump took charge at the White House, executives at companies including the Cleveland Clinic, Facebook and Uber have come under internal pressure to answer for their politics.
Employees like Hanley are pushing top bosses to sever their personal or professional ties to the administration, registering their dissent with protests, walkouts and open letters. A handful have even resigned.
Companies have been the targets of political protests before—think defense contractors during the Vietnam War, or Coca-Cola during apartheid—but employees have typically stayed out of it.
“There’s been nothing this substantial by employees,” says Roger Gottlieb, a Worcester Polytechnic Institute professor who has written about protest movements. “It may be a reflection of the new economy where employees feel less allegiance and entitled to more of a say.”
