For many years, I was an employee at Lockheed Martin, and before that at Lockheed and at Martin before the merger. During that time, I witnessed an evolution in the corporate culture. In my final years, I was both surprised and pleased to see the strides the company had taken to address discrimination and harassment in the work place. I was proud of the policy of employee conduct that had evolved. Thus, I was surprised that you had agreed to serve on Donald Trump’s Manufacturing Jobs Initiative.
You see, under the policy, Donald Trump would not have been allowed to work even as an intern at Lockheed Martin.
Any employee who called a female colleague a fat pig would have been walked out the door. There would have been no discussion, no appeal. And that would have been the right thing to do. Not one employee would have disagreed.
Any employee who bragged about grabbing a colleague at all, much less by her private area would have been walked out the door. Even viewing pornography on a computer got the employee fired. No discussion, no appeal. And that would have been the right thing to do.
Public berating of colleagues, humiliating them, verbally attacking them or doing so on social media would have been a firing offense. And that was the right thing to do.
Any employee who harassed or attacked a colleague based on race, gender, religion or ethnic origin would have been immediately dismissed. Calling a colleague a rapist and a murderer, or accusing a colleague of being a terrorist because of their religion would have had him removed. Refusing to give somebody a job opportunity because he or she was a Muslim was prohibited. That was the right thing to do.
Revealing classified information to a known foreign person would result in the loss of security clearance and employment. And that was the right thing to do.
Publicly supporting groups or organizations that advocated violence or anti government behavior was enough to get an employee fired, even if he only did it on his own time. None of his colleagues would disagree. That would have been the right thing to do.
Supporting Nazis or white supremacists would have resulted in not only firing, but reporting to the FBI. And that would have been the right thing to do.
The corporate policy of employee conduct made Lockheed a, while not always peaceful, at least respectful and collegial place to work. The company made it clear that their commitment to inclusion and diversity was a moral and ethical mandate that was not open to compromise. I was proud of my association with the company.
But when you take a position advising a man who has committed all the firing offenses I mentioned above, you impugn that commitment. I understand that you may feel that it is important for Lockheed’s future business to be part of this initiative. But it makes the commitment for diversity and respect in the workplace appear to be for sale. What are you selling the Lockheed ethics for? What is your price? More F35s? More missile sales? More satellites? Is that business worth more than the reputation for upright and ethical conduct?
As a former employee (now retired), I have been proud to say I was a Lockheed engineer. I look at the things we built with pride, but I also look at my former colleagues with pride. I take pride in the thought that Lockheed held itself and its employees to the highest standards. I would be ashamed if this company decided that these standards could be sold. Please step down from your position at the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative and restore Lockheed’s claim to a commitment to diversity and respect.