‘They’ve been silent’: Many companies are on the sidelines about the new Texas abortion law — will they stay there?

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Texas’s new abortion law has sparked a wave of criticism, including from President Joe Biden, devastating disagreements from the liberal wing of the US Supreme Court, and protests in front of the Texas state house – but so far the response of most American companies has been subdued, if anything.

More than a year ago, the murder of George Floyd sparked widespread corporate denunciations against police brutality and a flood of funds destined to combat racial inequality.

Months ago, Georgia’s new electoral laws sparked corporate criticism, including the postponement of the all-star baseball game. In 2016, companies came together to speak out against North Carolina law that requires people to use the public restroom based on their gender at birth.

Several well-known companies have recently looked into abortion laws. In 2019, Netflix NFLX, + 0.34% and Disney DIS, -0.47% said both would have to rethink filming and doing business in Georgia if a certain abortion law goes into effect. Like Texas law, Georgia law prohibited abortion after a “detectable human heartbeat.”

A federal judge repealed the law last year. Netflix and Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Texas law.

Now comes SB 8, a bill that bans abortion in Texas after about six weeks and gives private individuals the power to sue providers and individuals who “aid” and “favor” abortion. That could even include someone driving a woman to a clinic.

Some law critics say they are still waiting to see what companies think of SB8 – which also happens to take effect in a large, business-friendly, low-tax country.

“Corporate America didn’t really respond. They were silent, ”said Aimee Arrambide, executive director of Avow, an Austin-based advocacy group that is pushing to expand access to abortion in the state.

A handful of companies have made it clear where they stand.
Lyft LYFT, -2.21% CEO Logan Green, announced Friday that the ride-sharing platform will fully cover the legal bill of drivers sued under the law. The company also announced a $ 1 million donation to Planned Parenthood. “We encourage other companies to join us,” he said on Twitter TWTR, + 0.09%.

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said in a tweet that Uber “is there too and will pay legal fees in the same way. Thanks for the push. “

Austin, Texas-based dating site Bumble announced Thursday that it was launching a relief fund to “support the reproductive rights of women and people of all genders who seek abortion in Texas.”

On Wednesday evening, Shar Dubey, the CEO of Match Group MTCH, + 0.73% in Dallas, sent a company memo saying she was building a fund to cover the cost of abortion outside of the state. She found that she was speaking in person and not on behalf of the company.

They were the exceptions.

Example: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla TSLA, + 0.16%,
said on Twitter that he would rather stay out of politics. Tesla has selected Austin as the location for its next “Gigafactory” location.

Oracle ORCL, + 0.22%,
which relocated its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Also, Round Rock-based Dell Technologies and other large Texas-based companies, including Exxon Mobil XOM, -0.38% didn’t.,
AT&T T, -0.29% and McKesson MCK, -0.25%.
American Airlines AAL, -1.97% made no comment, according to a spokeswoman.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE, + 0.58% announced late last year that it will be moving to Houston. “As a global company with 60,000 team members, HPE encourages our team members to get involved in the political process where they live and work and to raise their voices through advocacy and voting booths,” a spokesman told MarketWatch, noting that the The company’s headquarters will remain in Houston.

For Arrambide, the general silence goes deeper than when companies avoid hot button problems. “There is still so much stigma that they don’t want to talk about. They shy away from it on the pretext that it is too political, ”said Arrambide.

For Jen Stark, however, the relative calm could be a sign that companies are thinking about strategy. “The previous silence doesn’t necessarily allow me to pause. People are being considered, ”said Stark, senior director, corporate strategy at the Tara Health Foundation and former director of corporate relations for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Stark said she was speaking to large, publicly traded companies trying to figure out what to say and do in response to new Texan law. “It’s a really unique moment,” said Stark. “I think they are trying to catch up.”

That begs a bigger question: should companies consider matters that may be outside of their immediate business goals and mission, even if workers have a growing expectation that they will speak up? A recent survey by the consulting firm Gartner among 3,000 employees showed that 75% “expect their employer to comment on current social or cultural issues, even if these issues have nothing to do with their employer”.

James Copland, a senior fellow at the right-wing Manhattan Institute, doesn’t think so. Businesses need to be able to speak up on laws and regulations that affect them, and they have the right to join trading groups and associations to advance their interests – and the interests of their shareholders.

It should stop there, he said.

“In general, corporations are not a toy for managing directors to make politics with shareholder money. … I think they shouldn’t be at the forefront of culture wars, “said Copland. For the largest companies “I think most executives and board members will want to stay out of this case.”

Stark indicated that companies could potentially be tricked into speaking out against restrictive abortion laws if the matter was phrased as a personnel issue.

Two-thirds of people say the new Texas law would prevent them from working in the Lone Star State, according to an approximately 1,800-person survey commissioned by the Tara Health Foundation.

But Texas Governor Greg Abbott doesn’t sound concerned.

“The people who don’t wring their hands are the people who create jobs, who run businesses,” he said during a CNBC interview Thursday. Abbott pointed out the financial incentives to come to Texas, such as the lack of a state income tax.

In fact, the population of Texas has swelled. As a result of the 2020 census, Texas brings two additional seats in Congress. The state has a population of 29.1 million and a population growth rate of nearly 16% over the past 10 years, according to the census data.

For Arrambide, the much-noticed stage would additionally reinforce the reactions of the companies. “If companies actually take a stand, it would be so powerful,” she said.

See Also: Most Workers Say Corporations Should Tackle Racial Injustice – But They Have Not Heard The Executive Floor Talk About The Problem

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