A former Costco executive hit back at people who have criticized the company for its dedication to DEI initiatives.
DEI, which stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, has been in the firing line for many big brand companies recently after President Donald Trump signed an executive order encouraging private companies to remove their diversity programs.
Soon thereafter, Target decided to end its program dedicated to improving diversity in the workplace a week before the start of Black History month.
Costco shareholders, however, rejected a proposal to review the company’s DEI protocols, and former Costco International Division Senior Vice President Roger Campbell, told Fox News Digital on Monday that DEI is not a new thing for their business.
He said: “The term DEI didn’t even exist to us, it was the way we ran our business…It’s who we are.”
Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo
Why It Matters
Attorneys General from 19 states have put Costco on notice due to alleged “discrimination,” stating its diversity policies are discriminatory against people who are not minorities.
Newsweek contacted the Iowa Attorney General’s office via email on Monday for comment.
DEI has become a catch-all for diversity, and Trump recently blamed DEI hiring practices in aviation, an understaffed industry, for the plane crash that killed 67 people in Washington DC last week.
What To Know
Campbell, who spent 29 years working at Costco, told Fox News that Costco never had an official diversity program, the company has just always strived to employ people at their warehouses who reflect the demographics of where their store is located.
Campbell, who said he is a conservative, also told Fox News that Costco has never denied someone a job because they are a white man. He said that if two people with equal qualifications were up for the same job then they would take diversity into account.
Costco has been contacted via their investor relations email for further comment.
Following the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, businesses across the U.S. pledged to hire more Black employees, and many companies set up DEI offices to help them to figure out how to best diversify their workforces.
Now, these programs are being rolled back at the behest of the federal government, and the president also placed all DEI staffers in the federal government on paid leave.
People who are against DEI say that it places racial and gender diversity above qualifications.
Those who support DEI initiatives say it merely levels out the playing field for people who have been denied opportunities in the past due to their race and gender.
Many minorities have not benefited from American meritocracy as they have been historically denied jobs based on their race, gender or sexuality, and programs that work to hire diverse people go towards evening out historic wrongs.
DEI initiatives also reduce the chances of racial discrimination in the hiring process, as companies with DEI protocols cannot fail to hire any Black people or women.
Although DEI initiatives stem from the Civil Rights era, the president has said that they violate civil rights as they deny opportunities to people who are not minorities.
Reverend Al Sharpton, a longtime Civil Rights activist, expressed his support for Costco’s decision to keep its hiring protocols by staging a “buy-cott” at a New Jersey location. He led 300 people through the shop chanting, “Shop at Costco” and “We support those who support us.”
Jon Cherry/Getty Images
What People Are Saying
Roger Campbell to Fox News: “Our whole idea was taking care of the employee. Our whole idea was a very simple thing—if you hire good people, pay them good wages and give them good benefits, then likely good things are going to happen.”
Rachel Noerdlinger, spokesperson for National Action Network, told New Jersey Advance Media: “Now more than ever, it’s imperative to recognize the companies that are not succumbing to the administration’s rollbacks and continue to highlight them.”
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird: “It’s time to ditch DEI. While other companies right the ship and abandon their illegal, woke policies, Costco has doubled down. I’m putting Costco on notice to do the right thing and eliminate discriminatory DEI. No American should be denied an opportunity because they don’t fit the woke mold.”
President Donald Trump in an executive order: “I further order all agencies to enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.”
What Happens Next
Attorney Generals from Iowa, Kansas Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia have accused Cosco of engaging in “illegal” practices by maintaining their diversity programs and said that the company has 30 days to notify these states that it is repealing its policies, or it will have to “explain its failure to do so.”
Their letter of notice to Costco demands that the company respond within 30 days to notify the States that it has repealed its DEI policies or explain its failure to do so.
