Time reports over a thousand employees of Oracle have signed a petition in opposition to reports founder and CTO Larry Ellison plans to organize a fund-raiser for President Trump. I have no fondness for Ellison or Oracle but, that said, he has every right to do as he chooses politically.
Both he and his employees have the right to do lawful things politically on their own time. I am not aware that he has interfered in their off-the-job politics and they should leave his alone.
To be sure, if they find him or his politics distasteful, they are free to work elsewhere and in today’s booming job market, that should be relatively easy to do. Tech firms run by Trump-haters are thick on the ground and easily identified.
It is unclear why Ellison or anyone else should have to tailor his politics to the whims of his employees, co-workers, or bosses. The booming Trump economy has been good for business and you can be sure Oracle has benefitted thereby. Ditto its employees.
Personal note: I spent my entire career working in organizations - universities and government agencies - where most people held political views with which I did not agree. Many times I heard colleagues express ‘progressive’ views I found repulsive, stated as though these were revealed truth.
I thought to myself “they’re idiots” and shrugged it off because I enjoyed my work, if not many of my coworkers. Fortunately, an academic’s work life is mostly accomplished individually.rather than in teams. Few of us relished faculty meetings or committee assignments.
