Neutral Position Called Unacceptable

Gay Workers Strongarm Microsoft

Insist On Political Agenda Conformity


Days after news reports suggesting a Seattle pastor pressured Microsoft into adopting a neutral stance on gay rights legislation in Olympia, an employee group wants to strongarm Bill Gates into political action.

The Seattle Times reports that GLEAM, Microsoft's gay and lesbian employees group, is furious with the company for staying out of the political fray.

Bill Gates, however, insists Microsoft decided earler this year to stay out of all issues unrelated to business. Imagine that!

It's not as though Microsoft has ever been good at poltical lobbying, anyway, its track record stinks.

We're talking about protesting a company's political inaction, not for actually taking a position they oppose.

Will the company cave? You betcha, faster than the barista can pour your latte. Liberal conformity is mandatory in King County, Washington.

Get a load of some of their demands:


(Seattle Times- Brier Dudley- 30 April 2005)

GLEAM — an organization of gay and lesbian employees at Microsoft — yesterday called on Chief Executive Steve Ballmer to act sooner. It laid out a series of steps for the company "to achieve the goals that you have outlined in the past."

"Our company values are clearly documented and our internal policies against discrimination are unquestioned," the letter said. "Because of our long-standing support for anti-discrimination legislation, the withdrawal of support from HB1515 was a shock.

"We are deeply concerned about the way the decision was made, the failure to anticipate its impact, and our inability to quickly repair the damage once it had become evident. This shook our trust in executive management, and has left us feeling abandoned, depressed, and embarrassed for Microsoft."

Ballmer was asked to affirm Microsoft's support for the legislation, acknowledge this year's neutral stance was a mistake and reaffirm the company's commitment to diversity. The group also asked him to communicate this position to employees, hold a diversity-awareness event for employees and hold mandatory awareness workshops for management on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues.