By: Patrick Chu
Six-hundred-fifty members of the Saleforce Ohana have spoken.
They signed a petition asking CEO Marc Benioff to end a contract with U.S. Customs and Border Protection because of the agency’s controversial practice of separating migrant children from their undocumented parents when apprehended.
Salesforce has a contract with the agency, signed three months ago, to build software (in the cloud) for hiring personnel and other purposes.
That doesn’t sit well with Salesforce employees, who like their outspoken and passionate CEO, aren’t afraid to take a stance when they see wrongs being committed. They call themselves the “Ohana” which means family in Hawaiian, because of Benioff’s affection for the islands, where he has a home.
“Given the inhumane separation of children from their parents currently taking place at the border, we believe that our core value of Equality is at stake and that Salesforce should reexamine our contractual relationship with CBP and speak out against its practices,” they wrote in their letter.
It’s not known whether Benioff will act, although in the past he stood up against state officials in Indiana and North Carolina against anti-LGBTQ policies and practices, and encourages corporate social activism. The San Francisco-based company addressed the issue in a tweet, saying the custom application it’s building for the Border Patrol has nothing to do with separating children from their parents.