WASHINGTON: Halliburton president Dave Lesar is encouraging his employees to defend the embattled company's reputation by writing letters to the media countering public and congressional criticism.
The former employer of Vice President Dick Cheney, oil-services giant Halliburton has come under fire from Democrats and government watchdogs since the war in Iraq for taking billions of dollars worth of no-bid contracts to help rebuild the country. Misleader. org, a website run by the liberal organization Moveon.org, obtained a memo Lesar wrote to employees on October 17 asking them to refute the "unfounded" criticism aimed at the company by writing letters to their local newspapers.
"When I see the allegations repeated day after day in the press, I am offended, and I know a lot of you feel the same way," he writes. "We must react in a way that is not challenging, but that presents facts."
Lesar went on to provide a number of talking points for employees.
Speaking of the memo to PRWeek, Wendy Hall, PR manager at Halliburton, said, "Many of our employees have expressed appreciation for this effort. [They are glad to] have an active voice in support of the company. We often encourage employees to share their opinions on matters they feel are important. As many companies do, we encourage employees to write to their respective representatives in Washington and to their local papers."
