US tech workers show strong support for Harris

NEW YORK:

Workers at many of the largest US technology companies overwhelmingly support Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, according to donation data, even as some of the most powerful tech billionaires have endorsed Republican challenger Donald Trump.

Employees at Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft are donating millions of dollars to the Harris campaign, significantly more than employees choosing to send money to former President Trump’s campaign, according to data compiled by political watchdog OpenSecrets. The data includes donations made by company employees, owners and immediate family members of employees and owners.

But tech billionaires such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz are rallying behind Trump, citing the former president’s positions on the economy, taxes and large enterprises.

The Nov. 5 presidential election has gripped Silicon Valley, once a bastion of Democratic and liberal support. Greylock businessman Reid Hoffman and businessman Mark Cuban are pledging to support Harris’ bid for the White House, hoping to see more abortion rights for workers and pro-tech policies.

But in recent years several other tech leaders have attacked Democratic President Joe Biden’s business policies, including a broad attack on mergers and acquisitions and a crackdown on data privacy.

The companies themselves cannot donate directly to federal campaigns, including presidential ones, under campaign finance laws. Companies often donate to congressional and state-level campaigns through political action committees, which are funded by employee donations and capped at how much candidates can receive.

“Many businesses serve clients on both sides of the political aisle and don’t want to alienate clients by making contributions that support only one party or candidate in a partisan race,” said Michael Beckel, director of research at the nonprofit Campaign Reform. Issue One. While companies are barred from sending money directly to presidential candidates, their employees are not, and tech workers overwhelmingly give to Harris.

Employees of Alphabet and its subsidiaries, which includes Google, and their family members have so far donated $2.16 million to Harris’ campaign, nearly 40 times more than Trump has received, according to OpenSecrets .

Amazon and Microsoft employees and family members donated $1 million and $1.1 million, respectively. Trump’s campaign raised $116,000 from Amazon workers and $88,000 from Microsoft workers and their family members.

Workers at Amazon, which is also a top US retailer and the nation’s second-largest employer, outstrip the donations of other e-commerce and retail workers.

For example, Walmart workers have donated a total of $275,000 to both Harris and Trump, with the two presidential candidates receiving nearly the same amount of funding. Trump’s campaign is receiving $144,000 from Walmart workers, about $14,000 more than Harris’.

Campaign donations come primarily from corporate employees who have more disposable income than the typical warehouse worker or cashier, said Sarah Bryner, director of research and strategy for OpenSecrets. Bryner said employees at Amazon and other corporate tech companies often make more money than those at Walmart, giving them more leeway to contribute to political campaigns.

Amazon corporate employees make more money on average than Walmart corporate employees, who are often based in Bentonville, Arkansas. Amazon’s U.S. corporate employees earn an average of $133,000 a year, while the average annual salary of Walmart’s corporate employees is $85,000, according to data from job marketplace ZipRecruiter.

Meta and Apple employees and family members have yet to reach the $1 million mark in donations to Harris, but they continue to trend ahead of contributions to Trump. Meta employees have donated $25,000 to Trump compared to $835,000 to Harris, while Apple employees have donated $44,000 to Trump compared to $861,000 to Harris.

Silicon Valley is traditionally seen as more left-leaning in the U.S. In August, more than 100 venture capitalists said in a letter that they would support Harris, who is seen as pro-innovation in business and technology.