by CHELSEA SCHILLING Email | Archive
Are U.S. companies retaliating against employees and cutting ties with customers who were Trump supporters? While it is unknown how prevalent such practices are, there are examples.
Since the Nov. 8 election, stories of businesses demanding resignations and severing ties with Trump supporters that are clients have been surfacing in the media and online.
1st In SEO: ‘We ask that you leave our firm’
In one case, Matthew Blanchfield of the New Mexico online marketing company 1st In SEO announced he is canceling all client accounts belonging to Republicans and Trump supporters.
“America has elected Donald Trump, a racist, sexist fascist, to be our next president,” Blanchfield wrote in a Nov. 11 letter posted on the company website. “1st In SEO will no longer do business with any person that is a registered Republican or supports Donald Trump. 1st In SEO will also not do business with business interests that support either the Republican Party or Donald Trump. …
“If you are a Republican, voted for Donald Trump or support Donald Trump in any manner, you are not welcome at 1st In SEO, and we ask that you leave our firm.”
Blanchfield said his company “will do everything in our power” to ensure it severs ties with any person or business that “supports fascism.”
In addition to rejecting Republicans and Trump supporters, Blanchfield says his company will refuse to do business with “anyone who supports our country’s president elect.” He urged his current clients to respond to his letter and “confirm where you stand politically.”
On Wednesday, the company tweeted: “If you are a Trump supporter, your business is not welcome here.”
Another company made headlines after a mobile food-ordering company said employees who support Trump’s behavior and campaign rhetoric should quit.
“If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here,” wrote Matt Maloney, CEO of Grubhub, in a Nov. 9 letter to employees. “We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team.”
Maloney, a Clinton supporter, continued: “I absolutely reject the nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics of Donald Trump and will work to shield our community from this movement as best as I can.
“I want to reaffirm to anyone on our team that is scared or feels personally exposed, that I and everyone else here at Grubhub will fight for your dignity and your right to make a better life for yourself and your family here in the United States.” >>> Continue Reading