Microsoft workers fired over Gaza vigil say company ‘crumbled under pressure’ | US news

[Pelican Press 0]

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workers fired over Gaza vigil say company ‘crumbled under pressure’ | US news

Two

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employees who were fired last week after organizing a vigil for Palestinians ******* in Gaza say the company retaliated against them for their pro-************ activism.

The two, Abdo Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist, and Hossam Nasr, a software engineer, organized the event outside

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headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on 24 October. They were fired later that evening.

“

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really crumbled under pressure, internally and externally, to ***** me and to shut down and retaliate against our event, not because of policy violations, simply because we were daring to humanize Palestinians, and simply because we were daring to say that

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should not be complicit with an army that is plausibly accused of genocide,” said Nasr, who has been

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on social media and in internal

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employee communication groups over his support for Palestine.

Both employees were members of No Azure for Apartheid, a group of

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workers protesting the company’s ***** of its cloud computing technology to *******.

The group

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sever all Azure contracts and

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with the ******** military and government, disclose all ties with *******, call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza, and protect and uphold the free speech of employees.

Hosam Nasr speaks at vigil for Palestinians outside

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’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on 24 October. Photograph: Courtesy of Hosam Nasr

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denied that the two, who are originally from Egypt, were fired for their activism. “We remain dedicated to maintaining a professional and respectful work environment and provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. But, importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not disrupt business operations and be aligned to our company policies and behavior expectations,” a spokesperson said.

“We do not permit employees to use devices like bullhorns and speakers in public areas to disrupt the work of their colleagues. We were clear about our policies in advance with the event organizers and instructed that this gathering take place on public property. The organizers chose to disregard this guidance and were terminated.”

But Mohamed and Nasr ******* allegations that the vigil was disruptive and claim it was in accordance with

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policies. They say that the event, which sought to raise money for humanitarian efforts in Gaza, followed the same procedures as other employee charity events regularly held by other employee groups. The vigil was set up outdoors during lunchtime on the

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headquarters campus, with a microphone for speakers and some chairs and signs set up for attenders.

According to

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more than 200 employees attended the vigil in person and virtually.

Nasr and Mohamed both claimed they were in communications with

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ahead of time, and addressed any concerns that were brought up before the lunchtime event, the purpose of which they said was to honor ************ lives lost in the conflict and call attention to

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’s ties to *******. They said police were called to the event but only observed it, and that only a microphone for speakers was used.

“They never at any point said that termination was on the table or even the disciplinary consequences were on the table,” Nasr told the Guardian.

They both questioned how it happened that Nasr’s dismissal was publicized by the group Stop Antisemitism before they themselves were notified they had been fired. Nasr provided a call log showing he received a call from

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at 9pm on 24 October, while the group posted on social media that Nasr was “no longer with

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” an hour and a half earlier.

Nasr also alleged a double standard at the company, arguing that he had experienced repeated internal investigations and reprimands for comments about Gaza that he had posted on

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internal employee groups, while

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he flagged internally for racism or personal attacks against him did not result in any disciplinary actions.

He pointed to posts insinuating he and another employee are “members of ****** or just supporters”. As far has he knows, these never resulted in reprimands. He also said HR opened an investigation into a post of his that said: “With or without your sympathy, Palestinians will attain the dignity, the freedom, the respect, and the liberation that they deserve, everywhere from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.” However, he reported, the company did not act when another employee wrote: “From the river to the sea, ******* will forever be.”

A

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representative declined to comment on the specific examples.

The No Azure for Apartheid group characterized the firings as retaliatory and alleged

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has engaged in intimidation toward ************ voices. The group disputed

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’s claims of policy violations by the employees and is calling for their reinstatement and an explanation for the ***** of their termination before the employees were themselves notified.

A ************ employee at

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who requested to remain anonymous for ***** of retaliation told the Guardian that

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’s internal message board has been full of messages in recent days expressing anger at the firings. They also accused

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of double standards when it comes to enforcing harassment and behavior policies toward ************ voices.

“It was unjust and very intentional as a message to the community to silence the loudest voice in our community,” said another ************ worker at

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who requested to remain anonymous.

A spokesperson for

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did not comment on the ‘No Azure for Apartheid’ campaign, its demands, or allegations of bias.

The spokesperson added the company was investigating the allegation that a social media post about the terminations was published by Stop Antisemitism before the employees were informed.

A report by the ********-************ outlet +972 Magazine

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that the ******** military has increased the purchase of services from

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Azure since October 2023 and for years it had been the

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for *******. The company has also

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several ******** startups that provide services to the military.

“

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is refusing to hear its worker demands,” said Mohamed. “This is what’s happening within

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. People are calling them out, and they’re even refusing to engage and look at serious concerns that come with the use of these technologies.”

US tech firms who do business with ******* have faced rising unrest internally in the last year. In April,

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fired more than 50 workers in response to a protest over the company’s military ties to the country.

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#

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#workers #fired #Gaza #vigil #company #crumbled #pressure #news

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