CANCELLED BY COMPASS
FREE SPEECH MATTERS
What really happened?
Compass is a publicly-held real estate company that does not operate independent franchises. Policy and decisions are the responsibility of Compass headquarters, located in New York City.
How did Compass react to one of their agents disagreeing with gender ideology being taught in public schools?
April 28, 2023:
The Progressive Democrats of Benicia Treasurer wrote to Compass, the company I worked for, demanding they respond by May 1 or they would publish defamatory items about me and the company. You can read the letter here. You can read more about how this began by clicking here.
April 30, 2023:
My local Compass team leader said I had done nothing wrong and I was being targeted by people in town who disagreed with me, which she said was unfair.
May 1, 2023:
My local team leader said Compass corporate was not pleased with the situation. She said the Compass Managing Director was considering how to respond to the demand letter from the Progressive Democrats of Benicia Treasurer.
The Compass Regional Managing Director called to inform me I could no longer do business as a Compass agent. He would not give a reason, but said that it had nothing to do with my production or for business reasons. He said “things over the past week have been distracting” and I am “not the right fit for Compass.” I asked who made the decision and he said, “Myself and other people.” He said he spoke to several other people including the regional Compass Broker of Record.
The Progressive Democrats of Benicia Treasurer sent written confirmation to the “Benicia Resist!” wing of the Progressive Democrats of Benicia stating, “Today Compass confirmed that they and Ms. Roberson have parted ways” and characterizing me as a racist and a bigot. You can read the "Benicia Resist" comments here.
August 15, 2023:
After spending several weeks considering what happened to me, I thought it was important to tell my story in an effort to discourage cancel-culture and to inspire people not to let this happen to anyone else. I posted a video on YouTube.
August 16, 2023:
The video received a lot of attention, which I did not expect, but I was grateful so many people spoke up in defense of being able to speak freely without being cancelled.
A Compass spokesperson told Newsweek that Roberson was "not an employee of Compass—she was an independent contractor who worked on an agent team—and the decision to disassociate her license was made at the request of her team's owner in April 2023. Compass does not make decisions about agents' affiliations with the company based on their personal, political or social beliefs," the spokesperson added.
"Agents are not employees, they're independent contractors and we respect their own private views."
This statement tells us a couple of things.
1) Compass starts out by diminishing me as "not [being] an employee." This is significant since the amount of Compass "employees" are small compared to the 30,000 independent contractors who work as agents for Compass, including me. Are they that cavalier with all of their hard-working agents, who are just independent contractors and not employees?
2) The Compass Regional Managing Director was the one who dismissed me, so the public statement Compass made to the press about my "team's owner" was untrue. The team's owner has repeatedly denied being part of the decision.
3) If Compass truly respects the private views of their agents, as they stated, why did their regional manager tell me I was not a fit for Compass after a successful sales record, with no explanation other than "the past week has been distracting?" And why did Compass follow up with the Progressive Democrats of Benicia to confirm that Compass "has parted ways" with me?
I then texted the corporate managing director and my team leader for clarification:
I received no reply from my team leader or the Compass regional manager.
August 17, 2023:
The Compass President of Growth called to say my dismissal was the local team leader’s decision. I said that the dismissal call actually came from Compass corporate’s regional manager, and he agreed, and said it was at the local team’s request. I pointed out that the regional manager knew me, knew my work ethic, and knew that the accusations against me were untrue, but yet the corporate manager didn’t offer an opportunity for me to stay. He did not say “We value you and we protect your right to free speech.”
The Compass President of Growth wanted me to say publicly that it was just a local matter. I replied that I have no evidence that is true, and regardless, as Americans we should have freedom of speech, whether we are independent contractors or employees. I suggested Compass come out publicly in support of free speech and in support of their entire work force, including the majority of their earners, their independent contractors.
We have not seen a response from Compass in support of free speech or protecting their agents.
Does Compass truly believe in diversity and the inclusion of all their agents' beliefs, or do they only support certain ideas and opinions?
