Exclusive: A Group of Microsoft Employees Is Fighting the Company’s Political Action Committee

Employees say there’s no way to dictate how the PAC spends their money, even when it conflicts with the company’s progressive values

Dave Gershgorn
OneZero

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Photo: NurPhoto/Getty Images

AA group of more than 30 Microsoft employees is lobbying coworkers to stop donating to the company’s political action committee in an effort to starve the PAC of funds, multiple Microsoft workers with knowledge of the efforts told OneZero.

While Microsoft pitches itself as an inclusive and progressive company — especially during Pride Month, with tweets and donations to LGBTQ+ causes — employees who have donated to the PAC say they have no control over which candidates are being supported, meaning that they have no say when the PAC financially supports candidates whose views the employees don’t want to support. Microsoft employees who spoke to OneZero — on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals — say that the PAC doesn’t ask employees for input or supply avenues to suggest or control which candidates should be supported.

“Candidates that we dislike are those that advance policies contrary to the company’s stated policies of diversity, inclusion, and growth mindset,” one employee, who said they had persuaded about…

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Dave Gershgorn
OneZero

Senior Writer at OneZero covering surveillance, facial recognition, DIY tech, and artificial intelligence. Previously: Qz, PopSci, and NYTimes.