Trump era ramps up tech worker revolt
Technology companies are facing a new crisis as their employees press executives to rethink their work with the Trump administration and in many cases drop lucrative federal contracts.
The controversy comes amid heated national debates on immigration, law enforcement and surveillance — issues on which Silicon Valley's workforce wants the industry to take a stand.
In the past month, workers at Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Salesforce have organized and written letters calling on CEOs to cancel or review contracts with government agencies whose work the employees say raises ethical questions.
The groundswell of opposition to many industry practices and projects is forcing executives to revisit their work, a marked shift in how they operate.
“I think it seems to be a part of a growing trend in how employees are looking for jobs. They’re trying to find companies that they feel have similar values to them," said David Hess, a University of Michigan Ross School of Business professor on business law and ethics.
"Once they then get into the workforce they want to make sure the companies still have similar values.”
The industry has long been at loggerheads with President Trump. In the president's first year, tech companies took a prominent role in opposing his ban on travelers from Muslim majority countries.
But that opposition has been ramped up by new controversies, in particular the administration's zero tolerance policy on illegal border crossings and concerns about the use of tech tools for surveillance and law enforcement.
Tech workers are citing historical examples, saying they don't want to see their companies take on roles that parallel IBM’s work during the Holocaust when it leased Nazi Germany punch card machines that helped them identify and track Jewish people.
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/394597-trump-era-ramps-up-tech-worker-revolt?rnd=1530397662