Hundreds of Comcast employees in Philadelphia ditched work Thursday afternoon to protest President Trump’s executive order that temporarily suspends immigration programs in some Muslim-majority countries until tougher vetting protocols are implemented.
Police estimated as many as 600 people took to the streets outside the Comcast Center around 2 p.m., though it is unknown how many non-Comcast employees joined the demonstration as part of that total headcount.
Officers escorted the group down 17th Street and eventually to City Hall. People carried signs reading “immigration innovation” and “no ban — immigration makes America great.” The group then rallied outside the government building.
Comcast employees in Center City walk-out to oppose #MuslimBan. They’re about to march. Protest was organized on Slack. pic.twitter.com/4knYXN6SdZ
— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) February 2, 2017
Comcast spokesman John Demming said the Philadelphia employees — as well as others in West Chester, Pa.; New York City; Silicon Valley; and Washington, D.C. — who participated in demonstrations will be compensated despite walking out on the job. It is believed about 1,000 employees participated in total.
The Philadelphia protest was organized through messaging app Slack, according to reports. They also used social media hashtags #techhasnowalls and #include to organize employees.
Comcast immigration ban protest. #techhasnowalls #include pic.twitter.com/MR6nERTfbs
— Bob Fernandez (@bobfernandez1) February 2, 2017
Comcast has publicly referred to the protests as a “rally,” so as not to associate with some anti-Trump employees.
The company’s CEO, Brian Roberts, recently told a group of Wall Street analysts that the company is optimistic about working with the Trump administration, who has promised to kill a number of federal regulations that former President Barack Obama had issued.
Trump’s immigration action was announced Jan. 27 and seeks to suspend immigration from seven countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — with ties to terrorism and halt all refugee programs for 120 days.
