this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2024
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Summary

Costco’s board rejected a shareholder proposal to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, arguing they foster respect, innovation, and cultural alignment with customers and employees.

Shareholders claimed DEI could lead to lawsuits citing "illegal discrimination" against white, Asian, male, or straight employees, referencing legal cases like Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.

Costco countered that its DEI efforts comply with the law and enhance its culture, rejecting claims of legal risk.

The proposal will be voted on at Costco's January 23 shareholder meeting.

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[–] apfelwoiSchoppen 258 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Like great that Costco shut this down, because of decency and what is right but also… good fucking god the bar is so low.

[–] apfelwoiSchoppen 53 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

I also forgot to say that a new Costco recently went in in my city, bulldozed yet another black neighborhood. So excuse me while I see some PR covering up some structurally racist hubris. Like i said, the bar is exceedingly low.

[–] dual_sport_dork 22 points 4 days ago (2 children)

If they were going to bulldoze an inner city neighborhood, it's likely that neighborhood was going to be predominantly black whether they like it or not. The white flight phenomenon predates Costco by a wide margin, and that fuckery already happened decades ago. While there were already inroads to corralling the country's black population in cities around the turn of the century, the ball really got rolling on that in the post-war period following WW2 with redlining, block busting, widespread segregation prior to the civil rights movement, and the white middle class retreating to the then-new suburbs.

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[–] A_Random_Idiot 69 points 4 days ago (1 children)

You wouldnt think that people who are anti-dei would invest in companies like costco.

Costco has, notoriously, been very "woke", since before they were even told what woke was or to hate it by fox news.

[–] Emerald 32 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Costco has, notoriously, been very “woke”

Like seizing the means of $1.50 hotdog production?

[–] redhorsejacket 39 points 4 days ago (1 children)

“I came to (Sinegal) once and I said, ‘Jim, we can’t sell this hot dog for a buck fifty," Jelineck said, according to 425 Business. "We are losing our rear ends.’ And he said, ‘If you raise (the price of the) effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.’ That’s all I really needed."

I don't have a dog in this race (I've never had a Costco membership), but this quote makes me feel like Costco's leadership has at least one of their priorities straight.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

‘If you raise (the price of the) effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.’

Be careful you might get banned for promoting violence.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago

It's a conservative activist organization, not some random investors.

Costco's most recent "Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders," which contains information about business matters that will be voted on at the January 23, 2025 meeting, included an anti-DEI shareholder proposal that was submitted by the National Center for Public Policy Research.

Value Edge Advisors describes the National Center for Public Policy Research as a "reprehensible radical right" organization that has a history of filing anti-DEI lawsuits against various companies, including Starbucks, Nasdaq, and more. Its funders include right-wing groups like the Coors foundation.

https://boingboing.net/2024/12/28/costco-claps-back-at-reprehensible-radical-right-organizations-anti-dei-demand.html

[–] Duamerthrax 132 points 5 days ago (1 children)

DEI sounds like an incredibly easy and cheap policy to follow if you weren't already shitheels to begin with.

[–] BigTrout75 90 points 5 days ago (2 children)

The worst things about DEI is that it has become politicized. What was once another boring HR policy about being fair at work, is now weapon for idiots it get all upset about.

[–] chaogomu 67 points 5 days ago (7 children)

The thing is, DEI was always going to become political. Evey single conservative is some level of white supremacist.

You cannot hold conservative beliefs and also be a fan of diversity, equity, or inclusion.

The conservative mind sees people as all innately fitting into social hierarchies. And brown people are always at the bottom.

Trying anything that changes that hierarchy is seen as a direct attack on conservativism. Because in a very real way, it is. Which is the fucking point. DEI policies were a subtle attack on white supremacy via capitalism.

The argument was that companies that practiced DEI made more money.

It worked for a time, but the jackasses would rather throw money away than abandon their social hierarchies.

They're kind of mask off about it all now.

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Sounds like there's one company that cares more about employees than Nazi investors.

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[–] [email protected] 108 points 5 days ago (1 children)

First the hotdogs, now this. Go Costco management, go.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Don't forget the $5 rotisserie chicken! And paying their employees a livable wage too!

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

And paying their employees a livable wage too!

Honestly, that needs to be at the top of the list.

It shows that it is possible for a company to be very profitable without having to shit on its workers.

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[–] Doomsider 26 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Pressure from the rich racist fucks who own everything. Something is clearly wrong with them.

[–] finitebanjo 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Technically, shareholder votes allow everyone who owns a stock share to vote. I regularly vote on Volkswagen, VYM, and others because a third of my savings are in stocks. It ain't much but it's honest work.

With that in mind, that means these votes very well could be from racist common folks, which is an even more grim scenario.

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[–] Snapz 67 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Hey pieces of shit that proposed this, please don't boycott Costco. ! Pleasssseee!!! It would be such a bummer to have shorter lines and to not see you dragging your shitty kids around the store by the arm with you're cart full of cheese and camo jackets.

[–] ZoopZeZoop 24 points 5 days ago (9 children)

What's wrong with a cart full of cheese? I haven't bulk bought cheese in my adult life, but I have bought several bars and several bags of shredded cheese at the same time. I'd do it again, too!

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 days ago

The shareholders are clowns.

[–] [email protected] 84 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Nice. Some good news for a change.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 5 days ago (3 children)
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[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago

Okay... but "Shareholders" means just one group of its many shareholders. It's not like they are rejecting the consensus of their shareholders or something.

I could buy some shares and then send them a letter suggesting they leave the wholesale food market and they could reject that proposal.

[–] buddascrayon 66 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The shareholders argued that the Supreme Court ruling in the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard found that Harvard’s use of race when choosing who to admit to the school violated the 14th Amendment.

We are just gonna keep paying a godawful price for allowing this vile stacked court.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName 21 points 5 days ago (2 children)

For as long as you're alive anyway.

[–] AngryCommieKender 27 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Or until someone Luigi's them during a progressive's term. Not that that will ever happen. The progressive term, not the other thing.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName 18 points 5 days ago (11 children)

We're moving to a future where the elite will live in a fortified city where only the rich and elite can enter, while the plebs live outside the walls and luigi is just a plumber.

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[–] [email protected] 62 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

Hiring is one of the places DEI belongs, I only have a problem when it dictates creative endeavors.

Good on Costco. Get fucked shareholders

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[–] carl_dungeon 70 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Shareholders can go get fucked, Costco, do the right thing.

[–] [email protected] 71 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Costco is one of the very few for profit publicly traded companies that seem to have their head on straight.

If you haven't already, listen to Acquired's episode on Costco.

One of my favorite quotes that I'm going to butcher: raising prices is like a drug. Once you start doing it, it's hard to stop. We choose to find value and savings the hard way and to keep our prices competitive. Raising prices is the last thing we do.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

Ok, but biggest owners are Blackrock & Vanguard megavultures (like all the everythings).

The proposal came from a racists NCPPR group, so without significant support & the board just jumped at the free PR opportunity.

[–] phoneymouse 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

How is Vanguard a mega-vulture? Their ownership stake derives from their index funds, which make up American retirement funds like 401ks and IRAs. They mostly vote according to board recommendations, but have increasingly tried to offer customers other voting options.

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 5 days ago

let's not hire people from color to avoid lawsuits about racism

Awesome proposal

[–] finitebanjo 11 points 4 days ago
[–] [email protected] 39 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Costco knows their customers stan DEI because on average they’re more wealthy and educated.

[–] legion02 45 points 5 days ago (6 children)

Doubt it. Costco as a corporation has been very employee-friendly for a long time. I've heard Costco employees call the job a career killer because many who have aspirations for another career after they finish their degree (I've heard they have good education programs too) wind up working for Costco corporate because the pay and benefits are so good and Costco prefers to promote from within when possible.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I still don't understand why everyone's so obsessed with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. He's been dead for over 20 years.

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[–] ikidd 21 points 5 days ago (4 children)

With Jelinek no longer at the reins, this might be the beginning of the end for Costco's progressiveness. It'll depend on which shitbirds are pushing for the anti-DEI resolution. Jelinek would have told them to go fuck themselves, much as he did throughout his tenure when there were pushes for typical line-goes-up enshittification policies.

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