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Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

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Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#951

Post by hajwh »

3np wrote: post #840
itsoktocry wrote: post #611

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Never discussed politics at any of the companies I’ve worked for, we were always too busy with...work! Same, and that's the conundrum. "Activist" employees put others on the spot by querying coworkers' political views and expecting discussion. And for those who have had their head in the sand for the past few years, things like "being a Joe Rogan fan" are now considered unacceptable politics.

> things like "being a Joe Rogan fan" are now considered unacceptable politics For one who has had their head in the sand and is only vaguely familiar with Joe Rogan; why?

I think Glenn Greenwald nailed it with this analysis: https://theintercept.com/2020/09/22/as-joe-rogans-platform-g...

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#952

Post by Zanneth »

pm90 wrote: post #901
human_person wrote: post #565

Erica Joy (Director of eng at Github) had an interesting take on this. https://twitter.com/EricaJoy/status/1311178025275289600 "coinbase engineers walked off [in June] because brian wouldn't say "Black Lives Matter," he posted it so they'd get back to work, now he's having an executive "YOU AREN'T THE BOSS OF ME!" meltdown* about it" and "this looks a whole lot like the play certain advisors tell CEO's to run when th…

Thanks for posting this. I think she makes excellent points. I've worked at companies where similar executive retaliation to principled employees has happened before, and I can relate to the changes that seem to have been instituted (pre-vetting town hall questions to execs, shutting down slack channels that allow for asking questions to execs directly). Funnily enough, I interviewed at Coinbase not that long ago, an…

“Draconian” is a bit of a strong word, don’t you think? Coinbase isn’t prohibiting employees from doing activism in their free time.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#953

Post by tomjen3 »

blaser-waffle wrote: post #940
cactus2093 wrote: post #540

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I saw this firsthand in May/June in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing. It was a pretty small company and there was one employee in particular who was very much an activist, though a number of employees of course felt very strongly about what was going on. The company genuinely tried to do their best to support them, encouraged this person to take a week off for mental health and from my perspective was making…

This very same thing happened at the non-profit where my wife works. They released a statement. Kind of a milquetoast, bland statement, but still unambiguously supportive of BLM. But not supportive enough for some employees, particularly those of color. Lots of complaints, and a lot of non-racial issues started boiling up to the fore as well. They've since amended and re-released the statement to be stronger, and inc…

I can sort of understand that at a non-profit, but a company is a company (even if I think a world where crypto is normal would be a much better world).

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#954

Post by hajwh »

GabrielBen wrote: post #886
onion2k wrote: post #29

I wonder if this is a way for Coinbase to push politically engaged employees out of the company in order to reduce the possibility of anyone pushing for internal change like people who want worker's rights groups or unionization. Operating with a workforce who only want to turn up and write code and never discuss anything that affects them as a group puts Coinbase in a very strong negotiating position because there's…

The first thing I ever saw of a tech union in SF was advertising on the BART about keeping people like me out from working in tech. So, pass on that.

> people like me

Can you elaborate?

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#955

Post by tomjen3 »

BurningFrog wrote: post #879
vmception wrote: post #493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't change my stance on what I would prefer companies do but it seems like a multilayered issue on the tides to pay attention to here and at the very least makes me not want to espouse my own thoughts about "Yeah! mission focused companies!" publicly. Here are quotes from my feed: "The path to an IPO is to purge Black and Brown people from Coinbase ... this is very unbecoming of a federal contractor" "Over a d…

> "Sweden took 60 years to admit its neutrality policy was racist. How long will it take Coinbase to do the same? Being neutral is a position in support of the status quo - it always has been." As a Swede, I... don't even know what they might be misinterpreting here!

As a Dane, the neutrality of Sweden (and your acceptance of it) enabled us to bring 90% of Danish Jews to safety.

I have no idea why you should apologize for that.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#956

Post by erichocean »

Zanneth wrote: post #952
pm90 wrote: post #901

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for posting this. I think she makes excellent points. I've worked at companies where similar executive retaliation to principled employees has happened before, and I can relate to the changes that seem to have been instituted (pre-vetting town hall questions to execs, shutting down slack channels that allow for asking questions to execs directly). Funnily enough, I interviewed at Coinbase not that long ago, an…

“Draconian” is a bit of a strong word, don’t you think? Coinbase isn’t prohibiting employees from doing activism in their free time.

It's corporate erasure (a form of violence) when people aren't able to be their authentic selves at work—something that includes, obviously, being able to speak up about basic human rights and dignities in the workplace.

Maybe we should roll back anti-discrimination laws in the workplace too? I'm sure CEOs find that to be a hassle…

Perhaps every company can offer severance packages to workers who don't want their rights taken away? Don't like the 40 hours work week? Here's a severance package. The rest of you are now required to work 60 hours. Etc. etc. etc.

This kind of behavior is a textbook example of how rights in practice are eroded.

To downvoters: in the past, the LGBT community was asked to "hide" their identity at work, literally, by pretending to be cis at work. This isn't any different.

Imagine offering a severance package to all LGBT individuals today. If that would horrify you, think again about what Coinbase is doing (and why).

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#957

Post by erichocean »

AmericanChopper wrote: post #777
whywhywhywhy wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is being apolitical really being a conformist? 20 years ago yes, but in the age of social media where every brand from banks to ice cream posted their stance on the BLM protests it would appear being political in the workplace is conformity. If what Brian Armstrong is saying here was considered the norm, this article wouldn't even be on the front page.

I think the parent comment is just quite typical of modern political extremism. Where every actor must take a position on every issue, where failure to take the correct position is heresy, and where failure to take any position amounts to taking a position against the one of the extremist who is demanding that you take one (and is therefor also heresy). The role of an employee is to deliver value to the employer duri…

> Where every actor must take a position on every issue

Not taking a position is, by default, choosing to uphold the status quo. When the status quo is unjust, it's choosing to uphold injustice.

That's fine, just own up to it. Hiding behind "I'm apolitical" when you're a loyal foot soldier for the current system isn't a good look.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#958

Post by Papirola »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #839
human_person wrote: post #565

Erica Joy (Director of eng at Github) had an interesting take on this. https://twitter.com/EricaJoy/status/1311178025275289600 "coinbase engineers walked off [in June] because brian wouldn't say "Black Lives Matter," he posted it so they'd get back to work, now he's having an executive "YOU AREN'T THE BOSS OF ME!" meltdown* about it" and "this looks a whole lot like the play certain advisors tell CEO's to run when th…

Like it or not BLM -the organization- does have some pretty leftist ideas that not everyone is fond of (Marxism for example espoused by some of the leaders of the movement). Some of them involve completely dismantling police forces as they're traditionally formed. However BLM the concept of equality for blacks and equal treatment under the law that is something 90% of the population can get behind. I think there is a…

I see the issue of compelled speech troublesome. Maybe it's one of my character flaws, but I don't like being bullied into saying some group's mantras. Even if we agree.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#959

Post by mattparcens »

erichocean wrote: post #956
Zanneth wrote: post #952

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Draconian” is a bit of a strong word, don’t you think? Coinbase isn’t prohibiting employees from doing activism in their free time.

It's corporate erasure (a form of violence) when people aren't able to be their authentic selves at work—something that includes, obviously, being able to speak up about basic human rights and dignities in the workplace . Maybe we should roll back anti-discrimination laws in the workplace too? I'm sure CEOs find that to be a hassle… Perhaps every company can offer severance packages to workers who don't want their ri…

From Brian Armstrong's letter:

"We create job opportunities for top people, including those from underrepresented backgrounds who don’t have equal access to opportunities, with things like diverse slates (Rooney rule) on senior hires, and casting a wide net to find top talent."

"Fair talent practices: We work to reduce unconscious bias in interviews, using things like structured interviews, and ensure fair practices in how we pay and promote. We have a pay for performance culture, which means that your rewards and promotions are linked to your overall contribution to the mission and company goals.

Enable belonging for everyone: We work to create an environment where everyone is welcome and can do their best work, regardless of background, sexual orientation, race, gender, age, etc."

"Of course, there are exceptions here around internal employment matters, whistleblowing, etc. And we want all employees to feel safe disagreeing on the work itself. Candor and debate are core to a healthy team, where it is safe to disagree. We consider these to be related to our mission."

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#960

Post by erichocean »

mattparcens wrote: post #959
erichocean wrote: post #956

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's corporate erasure (a form of violence) when people aren't able to be their authentic selves at work—something that includes, obviously, being able to speak up about basic human rights and dignities in the workplace . Maybe we should roll back anti-discrimination laws in the workplace too? I'm sure CEOs find that to be a hassle… Perhaps every company can offer severance packages to workers who don't want their ri…

From Brian Armstrong's letter: "We create job opportunities for top people, including those from underrepresented backgrounds who don’t have equal access to opportunities, with things like diverse slates (Rooney rule) on senior hires, and casting a wide net to find top talent." "Fair talent practices: We work to reduce unconscious bias in interviews, using things like structured interviews, and ensure fair practices…

His words say X, his actions say Y.

c.f. North Korea, a communist totalitarian state that calls itself the "Democratic People's Republic". Their words say X, their actions say Y.

This isn't hard: you shall know them by their fruits.

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