I've been laughing everytime I see these pledge emails come out. EM is doing a fake, sham layoff by smearing employees but still has the balls to ask us for money. Now that's hilarious. I'll let Darren Woods donate my part.
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Even worse is the people who setup a scholarship in their family name and then post about how great they are for doing it on LinkedIn. Pathetic.
I laugh every time I see the UW pledge (which moved to online some years ago). CEO of UW worldwide makes $1.5 million a year, excluding reserved pension. Local UWs pay their staff an average of $150K salary (figure taken from their total compensation for all staff publicly posted, divided by their # of employees which part time = 0.5). I don't think ExxonMobil pays close to that per employee even at peak.
I am forced to put down like $20 just to avoid hearing that 100% participation sh–. If they want us to donate to UW they should at least pay us better than them!!
Think about it, This every year activity is job security for staff admins in the company which keeps them visible and busy sending emails throughout the 2 month period. This also provides show off and easy path for professionals to get into management line if nothing to show around the tech. skills. It’s mostly self-promotion. If someone is a true giver, they are usually anonymous, does not care for their name inscribed on the rock.
Agree with the person that posted they will wait till after layoffs.
I have never understood why people donate through United Way. You're effectively paying a commission to an agent who will pass on some of your donation to the real charities. Why wouldn't you just donate directly to the charity of your choice? And why donate through your pay check (so that EM gets the credit), rather than simply writing a check yourself and keeping it private?
Not all branches of UW do this, but honestly - please do some research and see if your local UW posts audit reports. I did this for the UW of Gloucester County (NJ) a few years back and saw that nearly all (90% or more) of the annual donations were spent on expenses associated with their own staff! Seriously - salaries, pension and health insurance contributions, travel expenses, office equipment, building rentals, occasional meals and accommodation ... it all mounted up. They also had substantial investments which yielded some income and it seemed like this was effectively the amount that they passed onto the local charities.
You can also go onto Google and search for financial scandals related to UW. I remember a couple, where the local UW Chairperson helped themselves to an interest-free loan from the funds held by their organization, to pay for their own private homes and cars. I think this might have been the reason that the Fairfax facility changed its annual charity drive to disassociate from its local UW.
If anyone doubts that this is all about the company’s image, know that the company has quietly taken away the ability to volunteer for charitable activities on company time. No more taking your team out for a day to work on a Habitat home. Do that on your own time, oh, and be sure and wear one of your old t-shirts so the company can still take credit.
Charitable giving is a good thing to help those less fortunate. United Way isn’t perfect, but it’s a pretty good organization. The potential benefit for you is you don’t have to spend time researching which organizations to give to. But if you like that and wish to donate outside the office that is great. Many don’t. Some of my best memories were participating in days of caring and getting to see the organizations and meet the people. Those were truly special.
The problem I have with the company United Way drive is that, like so many things at ExxonMobil, it is politicized. The pressure to participate. The inference that it won’t look good for your career if you don’t. The people that do it for “face time “ with a senior manager. These things detract from the essence of giving your time and money for others, not for yourself.
It's not charity when you expect something in return. It's just playing a fabricated game with real results. I laugh every time I see a $110K Mercedes parked in the "United Way Highest Bidder" spots. The mark of a true philanthropist.
@1cra - somewhere in the process, funds are allocated based on “need” so it’s possible your donation doesn’t go to the charity you designate. UW also takes a cut but allegedly, the company donation covers the UW piece. Seems kinda shady to give UW a cut and let them decide the allocations. Research your charities to see how much comes off the top.
I’ve never liked the current model, so I donated directly to an organization and got a company match outside the UW window. I heard Fairfax had a sweet deal where they bypassed the UW due to potential corruption there.
Fyi for those who were pip'd - they are still taking united way deductions out of everyone's 3 month pay. I don't mind donating. However I do mind that exdon is taking credit for my donation.
@1hfy+17jmuJeP What do you mean by “the company can give to whomever they wish”? When you donate on ePledge, you choose which subset of the United way organization you want to donate to. There are like 100 options globally.
Totally understand if your views don’t align with any of the United Way organizations (I donate outside of UW myself and don’t give them anything), but Exxon doesn’t choose where your money goes. Unless your referring specifically to raffles and auctions, then yeah, they pick where that portion of the money goes.
I think all of y'all know that the executives - Executive Branch on down to the Site Managers - do get Rated and Ranked themselves. Right?
I've seen the list - and for the US, the United Way participation list is in the Top 5.
You got your LPS quarterly and your fingerprints on the handrail.
Them got the number of umbrellas and satchels distributed to the volunteers.
(Buy the Way - I think the UW beneficiaries could use those umbrellas these days).
If this sounds too ambiguous, I voted for McGovern.
Hard to believe EM cares any more about the people benefitting from United Way donations than the care they show to employees. I always thought it was a publicity stunt to improve EM's image. Plus, the company can give to whomever they wish (although not a good use of shareholder money, esp. in these times), but employees should be left to choose their own way and amount of giving in private. It is not the company's business how I handle charity in my life. But there is always company pressure on these activities, as there is on PAC contributions. Leave us alone. If I want to give to UW, I will. But it is none of the company's business. I don't need an event or a UW day off as a reward for my charity. I give because I want to, not to get something in return. LEAVE US ALONE.
If you don’t contribute or complain no. Onus for you. Also you get put on list for the door.
I have a thought - employees should be allowed to wear jeans on Friday only if they contribute 1% of their total annual compensation to United Way.
If this were enforced (no honor system), no execs would be wearing jeans on Friday.
Ask employees to donate their time and money to help people in the communities neighboring the sites that have absurdly high numbers of cancer and poverty relative to the rest of the country. Rich
My favorite days on site were constructing and contributing for the United Way.
Yes - it is a shame EM blares their name out in support for a good cause.
It is the ONLY good cause they have 'represented'.
United Way might provide a life-line to you one day.
OP you are right. We barely make minimum wage at the company. Why shouldn't give any money. Those people who need it should fend for themselves.
I'd PIP you in two seconds if I thought you were a real employee.
Does the company match the employees‘ donations? If not, I see no reason why I should not just go directly on the charity’s website and donate as an individual, not as an employee of a company.
@1hao+17jmuJeP Nice thought but I think I’ll still wait till after layoffs to see if I can afford to donate. Gotta look out for my family first bc unlikely anyone else will. This is the reality of living in murrica.
It would be nice if XOM just contributed a lot more to United Way as a corporation especially now, but the money we donate ourselves really goes to great causes and poor people. We just need to realize that even laid off and living off savings we are much more privileged than most of the world. We need to stop the greed ourselves also and share what we can ... sometimes it feels like the wealthiest which on average can even be considered even the lower CLs ( compared to the average US salary) we give the least. Let’s be good and kind folks :)
Wow. That's 2021 pip worthy!
Selfish people here. Smh
There had been a similar movements in AP. I just ignore them.. but made me sick too
Completely distasteful to ask for donations when we all know layoffs are coming. 25% of our ppl are fixinna be ALICE soon. Also Do non donators actually refrain from wearing Jeans on Friday? What a joke. I’ll keep my money AND wear my jeans on Friday’s tyvm.
I have never once given to those crooks. I will never give to them. But the fact that I have to go into a system and enter part of my social to go in and say that I don’t wish to give is a crock of BS. The fact that I tried to skip a kickoff meeting to work on a project, then had my manager tell me to logout and attend is a bigger pile of BS.