Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is leaving President Trumps advisory council

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Travis Kalanick is leaving President Donald Trump’s advisory council, sources say.

The Uber CEO had faced criticism from Silicon Valley insiders for working with the Trump administration, as well as for what some saw as a tepid response to the White House’s recent travel ban.

Here’s the letter he sent employees:

Dear Team,

Earlier today I spoke briefly with the President about the immigration executive order and its issues for our community. I also let him know that I would not be able to participate on his economic council. Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the President or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this and mapping it to our values. There are a couple that are particularly relevant:

Inside Out - The implicit assumption that Uber (or I) was somehow endorsing the Administration’s agenda has created a perception-reality gap between who people think we are, and who we actually are.

Just Change - We must believe that the actions we take ultimately move the ball forward. There are many ways we will continue to advocate for just change on immigration but staying on the council was going to get in the way of that. The executive order is hurting many people in communities all across America. Families are being separated, people are stranded overseas and there’s a growing fear the U.S. is no longer a place that welcomes immigrants.

Immigration and openness to refugees is an important part of our country’s success and quite honestly to Uber’s. I am incredibly proud to work directly with people like Thuan and Emil, both of whom were refugees who came here to build a better life for themselves. I know it has been a tough week for many of you and your families, as well as many thousands of drivers whose stories are heartfelt and heart-wrenching.

Please know, your questions and stories on Tuesday, along with what I heard from drivers, have kept me resilient and reminded me of one of our most essential cultural values, Be Yourself. We will fight for the rights of immigrants in our communities so that each of us can be who we are with optimism and hope for the future.

http://www.recode.net/2017/2/2/14490950/travis-kalanick-uber-ceo-leaves-donald-trump-advisory-council

[pangaia]

1. My opinion? What a load of crap..

I mean.. WHO talks like that?

[gratuitous]

2. I agree; fanny-covering of the first water

But I don't expect anything resembling the truth out of that fucker.

[Jim Beard]

3. I give him absolutely NO respect

[anarch]

4. that's great; now maybe try treating your employees as employees

Uber, in my opinion, is a great example of unbridled capitalism. Which, so, yeah...maybe I'm ideologically opposed, so I can't read this without prejudice.

Then again, I can't say I don't appreciate the convenience their services provide. In a perfect world (in my opinion) transportation would be provided by municipal governments at similar rates, with similar scope...as it stands, you're lucky in most cities if there even bus routes that take you where you need to go within any kind of reasonable amount of time. Or at all. But I'm a starry-eyed idealist, so whatever.