I worked for a law firm that boasted 100% employee participation in the United Way campaign....which wasn’t right because I never donated to it. UW is a corrupt organization, a conglomerate of charities. If I want to give to a specific charity, I’ll do so directly. I don’t need UW to filter my donation for me.
My brother, now retired, worked for the electric company. He said that while technically, donations to the United Way were voluntary, it was common for those who did not donate to be passed over for promotions. Illegal, but I don’t think anyone who was denied a promotion on this basis was ever able to prove that this was the reason.
I was once the lone holdout from a department’s 100% UW participation goal. When a company VP plunks down and starts talking about how important it is for everyone to help out, you figure the $1/week protection money is cheap job insurance.