Thousands of Salesforce employees are pressing the company to cut ties with the National Rifle Association, according to a letter seen by Protocol and first reported by SF Gate. The letter comes after the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead.
A Salesforce employee, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the company has not responded to the letter. The employee said Salesforce is expected to hold an all-hands with company executives next week, but it's unclear if the letter will be addressed during that meeting. A company spokesperson did not return Protocol's request for comment.
The letter, addressed to co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor and other company leaders, urges the company to end its "commercial relationship" with the NRA. "The NRA uses Salesforce products to drive their marketing and fundraising efforts," the letter states.
It also cites a recent CNBC interview where Benioff said "we need to take direct action" on social issues. Benioff has spoken out on several social issues, including expressing support for LGBTQ+ people and abortion rights. He's also called for stricter gun control laws, and Salesforce announced in 2019 that the company would no longer work with vendors that sold semi-automatic and 3D-printed guns online.
Tech companies have been called on to end their relationship with the association before. Apple, AT&T, Amazon and Roku were asked to take down NRATV from their products after the mass shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Roku and Apple publicly stated that they would not remove the channel at the time. Those calls were renewed in a recently launched petition.
\u201c"We need to take direct action," says @Benioff when asked whether company executives should be involved with social issues. \n\n@CNBC\u201d— Squawk on the Street (@Squawk on the Street) 1653493736
Here is the full text of the letter:
Marc and Bret,
"It takes a monster to kill children. But to watch monsters kill children again and again and do nothing isn't just insanity-it's
inhumanity." — National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman
Marc, as you said today on CNBC regarding gun violence, "We obviously need to do something ... We need to take direct
action."
It's not in our power to get background checks or other gun control measures passed by Congress — but we can effect
change by ending our commercial relationship with our customer, the National Rifle Association.
The NRA uses Salesforce products to drive their marketing and fundraising efforts. It is unconscionable to consider their
use of Marketing Cloud to capitalize on mass shootings.
[Nineteen] children and two teachers were killed yesterday. Based on past history, it is likely the NRA is already upping, or preparing to up, their Marketing Cloud usage in response to this tragedy, not to prevent future tragedies from happening, but to sow fear,
sell guns, and abet future atrocities.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE