Arthur Solomon, Public Relations ConsultantFirst, let me define myself before others do it for me:
- I am not a communist, never was a communist and never thought that communism had merit.
- I am not a socialist, never was a socialist, do not believe in socialism, even though I believe that some of what Sen. Sanders says about our economic system is correct (although I disagree with everything he has said about the good things accomplished by totalitarian, communist governments).
- I never supported or voted for Sen. Sanders. I originally was a fan of Sen. Warren, but switched to Michael Bloomberg when he announced.
- My first job in public relations was with a Republican agency where I worked on all levels of political campaigns, including presidential ones. (Full Disclosure: It was a different Republican Party in those days; the crazies were not in charge.)
- I am not a fan of President Trump or of Corporate America. I blame them both for America being held captive by the coronavirus today: Trump for delaying and limiting Federal help to states and providing false information to the public. Corporate America for its long history of putting profits above what’s good for America and its workers.
The spread of the coronavirus has probably made the United States the world’s leader in the disease. (I say probably because who can believe what the Chinese and Russian governments say.)It is also difficult to believe what Corporate America says, given the facts that so many executives of large firms have been accused of not always being truthful and producing less than optimal products. In our business, not a large sector of the economy, ever since independent agencies became profit centers for larger entities misleading and treating workers as employee numbers, instead of people, has become the norm as the agencies are squeezed for higher profits.The coronavirus outbreak has left medical supplies in short supply. And I believe that Corporate America is mainly to blame.For decades, Corporate America has been largely interested in increasing profits and raising the value of company stock. This was accomplished in several ways, but one method has now come back to haunt us: Outsourcing much of the U.S. manufacturing capability to low wage countries.As a result, the U.S. now can not ramp up its manufacturing facilities to meet the demands of urgently needed medical supplies. We are now at the mercy of other countries to provide the medicines and equipment we need in normal times. In atypical situations, like now, the U.S. is largely helpless. Some people might say the chickens have now come home to roost. Except it's impossible to get chicken in many supermarkets.All the pep talks by the president and other Federal government officials cannot change the situation. All the PR hype that Corporate America is volunteering to help lessen the shortage problem cannot change the situation. Only Corporate America can do so by rebuilding manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. Doing so would mean less profits, lower stock prices and higher salaries that are paid to workers in China and other low-wage countries.Don’t bet on it being done.Years ago, I helped hype the message that internationalizing our manufacturing capability was the proper thing to do because it would lead to a better world. Obviously, history shows that I was mistaken.I can’t re-do what was done. But, knowing what I now know, I would refuse to work on such accounts (as I did on others whose objectives were those I disagreed with).There’s an important lesson that PR people should learn from the coronavirus situation: There’s more to life than pleasing an employer by working on an account that goes against your beliefs.If you’re ever asked to work on an account that troubles you, say so to your company execs. If you’re a valued employee, they’ll honor your request. If they say you must work on the account or leave, you’ll know that they think of you as nothing but an employee number, and that it’s time to seek other employment.
About the Author: Arthur Solomon, a former journalist, was a senior VP/senior counselor at Burson-Marsteller, and was responsible for restructuring, managing and playing key roles in some of the most significant national and international sports and non-sports programs. He also traveled internationally as a media adviser to high-ranking government officials. He now is a frequent contributor to public relations publications, consults on public relations projects and is on the Seoul Peace Prize nominating committee. He can be reached at arthursolomon4pr (at) juno.com and artsolomon4pr (at) optimum.net.
