August 28, 2024 -- From Alan Stern, former Chair of the Washington County Democratic Committee, New York. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions of the WCDC, the NYS Democratic Committee, or the Democratic Party.
"Lowe's is the latest company to bend the knee to online MAGA extremists and abandon its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. From The Advocate:
An internal memo from the company, obtained by multiple outlets, informed employees that Lowe's will no longer be participating in the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) corporate equality index, and that its internal employee support resources for those belonging to minority groups will all be combined into one umbrella program. The company also said it would end its sponsorship and participation in community events such as parades, festivals, or fairs — referring to LGBTQ+ Pride parades.
Here’s the letter Mary Lou and I sent to Lowe’s Corporate this morning:
Dear Lowe's Corporate,
We are writing to express our intense displeasure with Lowe’s abandonment of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. In consequence, you can no longer count on us to patronize your stores.
Over the years, we took a great deal of satisfaction in giving our trade to Lowe’s, chosen over your main competitor because of their public stances. We have purchased several major appliances from Lowes, most recently a mini split system, as well as countless items large and small from most of your departments. From now on, we are instructing contractors we employ to purchase materials, even if they cost us more, from other suppliers for any project for which we hire them. Over the years, we have built a large greenhouse and a three bay pole barn, repaired run-in sheds, repaired and electrified fencing in our pastures, replaced two decks attached to our house and built three additional floating decks around our property. A large percentage of the materials came from Lowes. Lowes has been the store where we most frequently purchase things like paint, lighting, hardware, etc. - but no more.
You will feel the economic impact of bowing to the pressure of extremists and ignoring the sentiments of customers like us.
We do not have the influencing reach of Robby Starbuck who, by his claim, warned you of his plans to expose your “woke” policies and takes credit for forcing your actions. He claims more than 500,000 followers. We publish a blog with followers only in the hundreds but rest assured that we will use that platform to call out your rejection of good corporate policy, including how your company respects and manages its employees as well as how it respects and interacts with the community in which it operates.
The policies you have withdrawn were positive examples of the corporate philosophy of triple bottom line, that, along with a focus on profit, includes respect for people – employees as well as customers and communities - that Dow Jones research shows enhance profitability and competitiveness. To paraphrase your publicly available policies, they were explicit in promoting an inclusive and diverse workplace to bring out the best in your associates, customers and the communities where you work. You acknowledged that fostering an inclusive culture, building a diverse team and encouraging accountability increases your associate engagement and improves customer service.
Diluting the explicit language and, more importantly, turning away from the efforts your company undertook to implement it, you no longer retain the moral and corporate behavior compass they gave you.
Your former policies recognized this and were a main reason contributing to our customer loyalty. Removing those policies is THE reason you are losing it.
Sincerely,
Alan Stern
Mary Lou Stern
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