The National Center for Public Policy Research, 20 F Street, NW Suite 700,
Washington, DC 20001, has represented that it is the beneficial owner of at least $2,000 in market value of Twitter’s common stock and has given notice of its intention to present the proposal below at the Annual Meeting. The proposal and the
proponent’s supporting statement appear below.
The board of directors opposes adoption of the proposal and asks stockholders to review
our opposition statement, which follows the proponent’s proposal and supporting statement.
Proposal and Supporting Statement by Stockholder Proponent
RESOLVED
Shareholders request that Twitter Inc. (“Twitter”) issue a public report detailing the
potential risks associated with omitting “viewpoint” and “ideology” from its written equal employment opportunity (EEO) policy. The report should be available within a reasonable timeframe, prepared at a reasonable expense and omit proprietary
information.
SUPPORTING STATEMENT
Twitter does not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on viewpoint or ideology in
its written EEO policy.
Twitter's lack of a company-wide best practice EEO policy sends mixed signals to company
employees and prospective employees and calls into question the extent to which individuals are protected due to inconsistent state policies and the absence of federal protection for partisan activities. Approximately half of Americans live and
work in a jurisdiction with no legal protections if their employer takes action against them for their political activities.
Companies with inclusive policies are better able to recruit the most talented employees
from a broad labor pool, resolve complaints internally to avoid costly litigation or reputational damage, and minimize employee turnover. Moreover, inclusive policies contribute to more efficient human capital management by eliminating the need
to maintain different policies in different locations.
There is ample evidence that individuals with conservative viewpoints may face
discrimination at Twitter.
Many big tech companies are hostile to right-of-center thought. Companies such as
Facebook and Google routinely fire conservative employees when they speak their values. At the 2019 annual meeting of Apple shareholders, an audience member told company CEO Tim Cook about her close friend who works at Apple and lives in fear
of retribution every single day because she happens to be a conservative. Companies such as Amazon and Alphabet work with the Southern Poverty Law Center (“SPLC”). The SPLC regularly smears Christian and conservative organizations by labelling
them as “hate” groups on par with the KKK.
Twitter has also been previously linked to the SPLC.1 Twitter has also refused a request to increase the viewpoint diversity of its board. Twitter has also been credibly accused of mistreating conservative voices on its platform.2 This signals to employees that viewpoint discrimination is condoned if not encouraged.
Presently shareholders are unable to evaluate how Twitter prevents discrimination
towards employees based on their ideology or viewpoint, mitigates employee concerns of potential discrimination, and ensures a respectful and supportive work atmosphere that bolsters employee performance.
Without an inclusive EEO policy, Twitter may be sacrificing competitive advantages
relative to peers while simultaneously increasing company and shareholder exposure to reputational and financial risks.
We recommend that the report evaluate risks including, but not limited to, negative
effects on employee hiring and retention, as well as litigation risks from conflicting state and company anti-discrimination policies.
1
|
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/
twitter-dumps-southern-poverty-law-center-stops-making
--hate-pay
|
2
|
https://quillette.com/2019/02/12/it-isnt-your-imagination
-twitter-treats-conservatives-more-harshly-than-Iibe
|
The Company’s Statement of Opposition
At Twitter, we believe our differences make us stronger. We work to advance a culture of
inclusion and diversity—something fundamental to our collective voice and our values. We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of factors such as gender, race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or
expression, religion, age, disability, and other legally protected classes. While laws protecting these values may vary in the locations in which we operate, we remain committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace—where people can
feel comfortable, be themselves, and do their best work.
In the U.S., we maintain a respectful workplace policy that explicitly prohibits
discrimination against employees, applicants and service providers on improper or illegal grounds. Our policy provides that, while we will make legitimate distinctions among applicants and employees based on grounds like skills, performance,
experience, and education, we do not permit or tolerate unequal treatment in hiring, job assignments, benefits/compensation, promotion, or dismissal on the basis of any protected characteristics, including political affiliation. We maintain
anti-discrimination policies for our non-U.S. locations as well, and continually review and modify these policies to meet local requirements. On our career website (www.careers.twitter.com), we make clear to applicants that we will not
discriminate on the basis of any legally protected status.