Facebook is giving staff members the OK to skip work on May 1 to protest President Trump’s immigration policies.
The California-based company also vowed to investigate if any of its vendors infringe on their employees’ First Amendment rights, Bloomberg reported.
“At Facebook, we’re committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where employees feel comfortable expressing their opinions and speaking up,” a spokesman said. “We support our people in recognizing International Workers’ Day and other efforts to raise awareness for safe and equitable employment conditions.”
A spokesman said it’s a longstanding policy at Facebook to allow employees to take time off work to protest, with or without notice. Facebook reminded employees of the policy in a posting on an internal forum Friday, Bloomberg reported.
The nationwide strike that coincides with International Workers’ Day is part of a “Rise Up” movement organized by the Center for Community Change Action, Reform Immigration For America, and other pro-immigrant groups to protest Mr. Trump’s crackdown on foreign workers.
“It’s important not just to the engineers and H-1B holders that are traditionally thought of as the immigrants in tech but also to folks who are subcontracted but work side-by-side on those campuses,” Derecka Mehrens, co-founder of Silicon Valley Rising, a union-backed coalition, told Bloomberg. “Immigrants play a critical role in the tech sector — both as engineers and coders but also in keeping tech campuses running smoothly.”
Mr. Trump is not cancelling the H-1B visa program, but he is expected to sign an executive order, dubbed “Buy American, Hire American,” aimed at making it harder for companies to recruit low-wage foreign workers.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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