There’s a ritual to corporate integrity. A set of neatly ironed words, lacquered with sincerity and legal sheen, usually delivered in glossy PDF form under the proud banner of “ethics.” At Cummins, they call it the “Speak Up” Policy – a supposed invitation to honesty, a lifeline for those brave or foolish enough to raise their voice.
On paper, it reads like gospel. A declaration of values. Integrity. Transparency. Accountability. The idea is simple: if you see something that doesn’t sit right – something unethical, unlawful, or just off – you’re encouraged to report it. Employees. Contractors. Third parties. Everyone’s welcome to the confessional. Just dial the number or type in the link.
But once you actually use it, you start to understand what “Speak Up” really means.
Because that hotline? It’s not independent. It doesn’t send your concern to some neutral third party sipping coffee in a sterile compliance office. It redirects. Quietly. Strategically. Right back into the Cummins system. Usually to a different plant or division. Someone with just enough distance to pretend they’re objective, but close enough to know exactly what needs to be protected.
From there, the games begin.
Your concern is no longer yours. It becomes their narrative. They break it up, water it down, reframe it. That hostile work environment? Now it’s a “miscommunication.” That manager who retaliated after you disclosed a mental health condition? Must’ve been a “clash of personalities.” What you thought was systemic becomes individual. Isolated. Easily dismissed.
And this isn’t accidental. This is infrastructure. This is culture. A finely tuned process that converts real risk into manageable paperwork. A culture that doesn’t want to be better – just harder to hold accountable.
They promise protection from retaliation. But retaliation at Cummins doesn’t come with pink slips or dramatic exits. It’s subtler. More elegant. You get sidelined. Isolated. Over-monitored. Slowly cut off from meaningful work. Your credibility erodes as the narrative shifts from “concerned employee” to “problem employee.” And if you keep pushing, they turn up the pressure — not to fix anything, but to push you out.
That’s the true function of “Speak Up.” It’s not a feedback channel. It’s a containment strategy. A way to check the box. To tell regulators, investors, and glassdoor browsers that they care. But caring isn’t what happens when you report misconduct at Cummins. What happens is theatre. Polite emails. Long silences. Meetings full of nodding heads and empty words.
Meanwhile, the original issue? It dies a quiet death somewhere in an inbox.
And when they say they’re committed to continuous improvement, they don’t mean the systems. They mean the scripts. They get better at appearing responsive while making sure nothing really changes. The result is a workplace where the brave get punished, the unethical get promoted, and the rest just keep their heads down.
So yes. Speak up.
But know this: the mic isn’t on.
Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project