Good for the Costco board of directors for pushing back hard against this nonsense.
From CNN: Costco is pushing back — hard — against the anti-DEI movement:
Costco is battling an anti-DEI wave with a stern rebuke to activist shareholders looking to end the warehouse retailer’s diversity ambitions.
Walmart, John Deere, Tractor Supply and other companies are changing or walking away from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. But Costco believes DEI helps its “treasure hunt” shopping atmosphere, and it is standing behind its efforts.
Costco’s board of directors unanimously recommended that its shareholders vote against a proposal brought by a conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research, that would require Costco to evaluate and issue a report on the financial risks of maintaining its diversity and inclusion goals. The group criticized Costco for possible “illegal discrimination” against employees who are “white, Asian, male or straight.”
The National Center for Public Policy Research did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
DeSmog blog has more on the think tank:
The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) was founded in 1982 as a free market think tank and “communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems.”1
In the 1980s NCPPR “helped change public opinion through vocal national campaigns aimed at supporting Reagan administration initiatives,” but they have since shifted their focus to topics such as environmental policy. For example, in 2005 the Center fought against the 1973 Endangered Species Act in order to reduce the government’s power to regulate private land use. As part of their effort, they formed a “grassroots coalition of dozens of groups to educate the public and Members of Congress.”2
In their own words, the Center says they are “Firm in the belief that private owners are the best stewards of the environment.” NCPPR’s National Center’s Center for Environmental and Regulatory Affairs “advocates private, free market solutions to today’s environmental challenges.”3 Amy Ridenour, NCPPR’s president, has claimed that global warming is a religion.4
One of their larger donors is Exxon Mobil. You can read the rest of their post for the full list of the usual suspects that have donated to them. It seems the climate change denial crowd has now aligned itself with the anti-DEI crowd. Isn’t that special?
