Latest news with #Padfield
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shapiro backing flood relief loans; Shade Township bridge closed
CAIRNBROOK – The May 13 flooding will close another Somerset County bridge. And Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday his office will support an effort to help flood-battered Somerset County residents and businesses acquire Small Business Association aid. 'Committed to helping' Shapiro's support is another crucial step into acquiring multiple funding resources, emergency officials said Wednesday. For county residents impacted by the May 13 flood to receive low interest repair loans, Shapiro made a formal request to the U.S. Small Business Administration for the final clearance to make financial aid available. 'The flooding in southwestern Pennsylvania has been devastating, and the Shapiro administration has been on the ground providing support every day since the storm struck.' said Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield. Members of Padfield's staff have been conducting assessments in eight Somerset County communities that declared disasters as a precursor to the possibility of additional state support. That's included visits to Meyersdale, Garrett and Elk Lick Township, among others. 'Never seen it this bad': As Garrett strives to ease flood woes, council's own property among hard-hit areas For flood-battered Garrett Borough, one of the hardest-hit areas was the borough government's own backyard. The storm last week turned Garrett Community Park into a lake and the borough's office into a downstream drain. 'The Shapiro administration remains committed to helping Pennsylvanians recover and rebuild stronger than before, which is why we are working to secure federal low-interest loans as a tool to ensure homeowners and business owners have the support they need and can recoup unforeseen losses,' Padfield added. If approved, qualified renters, homeowners, private nonprofits and businesses within disaster declared areas could receive up to $500,000 in low-interest loans for residential repair and replacement. Loans up to $100,000 are possible for homeowners and renters to replace or repair personal property. Businesses could receive larger loans – up to $2 million – 'to cover disaster losses not fully covered by insurance.' Somerset County commissioners outline disaster recovery fund plan, make $10,000 donation The Somerset County commissioners will rely on an advisory board and eight flood-damaged communities to decide how a new disaster recovery fund is spent, they said Tuesday. Somerset County Emergency Management officials estimated earlier this week that at least six businesses reported first-floor flood damage in the southern part of the county. Somerset County EMA Director Joel Landis said his office was awaiting updates on a decision. County-owned bridge closed The deteriorating Shade Township bridge was already in line for replacement in the coming years, but last week's storm fast-tracked its closure, the county's EADS Group Engineer Andy Fedorko said. An area resident reported concerns about the span, which carries Whispering Pines Road over Dark Shade Creek, he said. A follow-up inspection showed one of the bridge's stone mansonary abutments further deteriorated from storm flooding, damaging mortar and causing additional material to break loose, he said. It made a bad problem worse on a bridge that previous saw its weight limit decreased to 3 tons due to preexisting concerns, Fedorko said. PHOTO GALLERY | 'We can't do it alone': Garrett hopes for help as state teams survey flood-hit areas in precursor to possible aid Don Hostetler's family bar survived Prohibition and generations of change in Garrett. On Monday, Hostetler was trying to figure out how Dub's Bar and Grill will survive four feet of floodwater from Buffalo Creek. Rockingham is one of several county bridges that have been closed over the past two years due to maintenance needs – most of which are set for repair or replacement projects. It's also one of at least three local bridges – county, state or township – that are now out of service due to damage inflicted by May 13 flooding. Further south, an emergency action plan is underway to build a temporary bridge in Boynton to enable U.S. Route 219 traffic to continue through the corridor. Design work for a new bridge at the Rockingham site was already in progress, and Fedorko said construction could start in fall 2026. Detours for the closure will be minimal, he said. 'Resource' support A pop-up emergency 'resource center' announced Monday for Somerset County will include a list of state agencies able to answer questions – and potentially provide support for flood-hit residents. Flood relief resource center planned in Meyersdale Somerset County is planning a one-stop shop to connect residents of hard-hit communities with flood relief resources. The resource center will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at Meyersdale Volunteer Fire Department, 202 Main St., Meyersdale. Landis and county emergency management staff organized the resource center to make it easier for Somerset County residents to get support, regardless of their post-flooding issues. Padfield said state agencies are joining the three-day event, recognizing it's a 'crucial time' for many people. Some of the resources provided by organizations staffing the resource center can help with replacing vital documents such as birth certificates and driver's licenses, checking insurance coverage for damages, trauma/crisis response and mental health resources, state officials said. Others can provide benefits and disabilities support, tax assistance, tips on how to avoid scams, and other recovery information. 'Key county agencies will be on hand to provide our residents with access to needed programs and services during this critical period of recovery,' Somerset County President Commissioner Brian Fochtman said. 'We are pleased to work in partnership with the commonwealth to ensure they receive all of the help they need.' PHOTO GALLERY | Somerset County residents reeling as floodwaters recede; officials document damage to provide aid Fueled by a full day of intense rain, the rapidly rising Casselman River filled Mark Smith's Mount Davis Road auto shop and nearby homes. Officials toured hard-hit areas Wednesday, going from property to property to document damage. Pennsylvania's departments of Aging, Agriculture and Health, Environmental Protection, Human Services and Transportation are attending. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department and Office of Attorney General also will have representatives at the center.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's war on 'woke': Both sides say the issue is further dividing the country
In a speech to a joint session of Congress in March, President Donald Trump took direct aim at diversity, equity and inclusion policies, saying hiring and promotion practices should be based on merit, not race and gender. "We've ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be 'woke' no longer," said Trump, using the term some conservatives have adopted to negatively describe progressive values. In the first 100 days of his new administration, Trump has wielded the power of the Oval Office in an attempt to root out DEI programs beyond the federal government, threatening to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding and grants from universities, including Harvard University, unless they fall in line. A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released on Sunday indicated that the country is almost evenly split on the issue. While 51% of respondents said they believe DEI efforts help level the playing field, 47% said such policies create unfair discrimination. Despite the president's claim that DEI in America is history, supporters say Trump's war against what they refer to as "wokeism" is far from over. "It's definitely not over. And those of us who want to see corporate America get back to neutral and focusing on uniting Americans around creating value rather than dividing us on the basis of race and sex, we have a long, long way to go," said Stefan Padfield, executive director of the Free Enterprise Project, which is part of National Center for Public Policy Research, a non-partisan conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. Padfield said one of his primary focuses is on "reversing what we might refer to as the woke capture of corporate America" by filing shareholder proposals, engaging in litigation and conducting educational research across the nation." "One of the things that I and others on our side are concerned about is this idea and this notion that somehow we've won," Padfield told ABC News. Using the analogy of the Allied troops storming the beach at Normandy during the 1944 D-Day invasion, Padfield said, "Could you imagine if the Allied forces just packed up and left and claimed to have won World War II after they took Normandy beach? It would be a very different world." "So, we've got a very long march to go and certainly the proponents of DEI and related ESG [environmental, social and governance] agendas, they're making very clear that they're not going to go quietly, certainly," Padfield said. In a letter dated Feb. 12, 2025, a coalition of the nation's largest civil and human rights organizations, including the NAACP and the National Urban League, asked for an urgent meeting with congressional leadership "to discuss actionable steps to protect diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans." The letter was addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. "We are deeply concerned about the recent executive actions by the Trump Administration that seek to undo decades of bipartisan support for civil and human rights," the coalition wrote. "Diversity is and will always be one of America's greatest strengths because a diverse America is an innovative and prosperous America," the letter said. "Diversifying our institutions, providing opportunities, and working to ensure that everyone is included are not partisan values. These values strengthen our nation and are rooted in our country's history of advancing equal opportunity and 'liberty and justice for all.'" The letter goes on to characterize the actions taken by the Trump administration as "misguided" and, according to the coalition, "seek to erode progress and stifle opportunity for all." The letter emphasizes that America's strength and leadership "in an increasingly diverse and competitive world depends on our ability to be an inclusive society." It goes on to say that history has shown that without clear-cut guidelines that encourage diversity, equity and inclusion, institutions will "continue discriminatory and exclusionary patterns that hold us all back." Some corporations have taken Trump's cue and have started to eliminate or roll back DEI programs. After Minnesota-based retailer Target announced in January that it would phase out some of its DEI initiatives, the Rev. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a megachurch in the Atlanta suburb of Stonecrest, Georgia, organized a 40-day "fast" of Target. Bryant said he encouraged followers of his movement to fight back with their pocketbooks and not shop at the chain's stores from the first day of Lent, March 5, until Easter Sunday. In an interview with ABC News, Bryant said he announced at his church on Easter that the "fast" is now a full-fledged boycott of Target. "We began the boycott against Target because the Black community felt betrayed," Bryant said. Among the programs Target said it is phasing out is one established in the wake of the 2020 police-involved killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man. The program assists Black employees in building meaningful careers and promoting Black-owned businesses. "For them to roll back DEI, it was felt as a slap in the face," Bryant said. Bryant noted that the Montgomery bus boycott led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1955 and 1956 lasted 381 days. "We have just been boycotting Target for 10 weeks and I think that the African American community is resolved that we're not going back into the store until we see a market change," Bryant said. In response to the boycott, Target, which has 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said in a April 23 statement, "We have an ongoing commitment to creating a welcoming environment for all team members, guests, and suppliers." "It's core to how we support and grow our business," Target said. "We remain focused on supporting organizations and creating opportunities for people in the 2,000 communities where we live and operate." But Target isn't the only major U.S. company scaling back on DEI programs. McDonald's, Meta, Walmart, Ford, John Deere and Harley-Davidson have all announced they are eliminating some DEI programs. Some of the companies changed their DEI programs after coming under pressure from conservative groups. Conservative political commentator and anti-woke activist Robby Starbuck publicly attacked Walmart's DEI programs. This prompted the big-box retail giant to announce it was rolling back diversity policies and pivoting from the term DEI in internal communications. After Walmart said it was eliminating the use of the phrase "DEI" altogether, Starbuck said in a social media post, "This is the biggest win yet for our movement to end wokeness in corporate America." In a statement to ABC News, Walmart said, "Our purpose, to help people save money and live better, has been at our core since our founding 62 years ago and continues to guide us today. We can deliver on it because we are willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America." The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal funding and grants from universities nationwide that decline to roll back DEI programs or curb protests on campuses, including pro-Palestinian demonstrations that the administration deems antisemitic. Some universities have fought back against the administration. The Trump administration threatened to withhold from Harvard University $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value after demanding that the school end its DEI programs, adopt what the administration deems merit-based admissions, and cooperate with immigration authorities. But Harvard President Alan Garber has refused to give in to the White House's demands, writing in an April 14 letter addressed to members of the Harvard community, that the school "will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights" by agreeing to the terms proposed by the Trump administration. MORE: Harvard sues Trump administration over threats to cut funding if demands go unmet On April 21, Harvard sued the Trump administration, asking a Massachusetts federal judge to block Trump's funding freeze, arguing that it is "unlawful and beyond the government's authority." Harvard also argued that by withholding funds, the Trump administration is violating the First Amendment, flouting federal law, and threatening life-saving research. "All told, the tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution's ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions," Harvard's lawyers wrote. Trump's Department of Education has also attempted to pressure public schools K-12 to do away with DEI programs or risk losing federal funding. Education groups sued the administration over the move. MORE: 2 federal judges block Trump's effort to ban DEI from K-12 education Federal judges in both Maryland and New Hampshire issued rulings this month siding with the education groups. "This Court takes no view as to whether the policies at issue here are good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair," wrote U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher of Maryland, a Trump appointee, on Thursday. "But this Court is constitutionally required to closely scrutinize whether the government went about creating and implementing them in the manner the law requires. The government did not." New Hampshire U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty also issued an order Thursday partially blocking the Department of Education from withholding funding to public schools that did not end DEI programs. "Ours is a nation deeply committed to safeguarding academic freedom, which is of transcendent value to all of us and not merely to the teachers concerned," McCafferty wrote, adding the "right to speak freely and to promote diversity of ideas and programs is…one of the chief distinctions that sets us apart from totalitarian regimes." The Department of Education did not immediately respond to the rulings on Thursday. Supporters of doing away with DEI programs claim the policies are racist, discriminatory and further divide the nation, while advocates for keeping the programs argue it is racist, discriminatory and divisive to end them. Rev. Bryant told ABC News that he believes Trump is pursuing his "war on woke" to appeal to his base. "I think he's playing to his base of uneducated white males, who for some reason feel threatened," Bryant said. "They're getting ready to see that America is better when we're together, not when we are segregated." Bryant said Trump's fight against wokeism has been an attack on civil rights that demonstrators have shed blood and died for going back to the 1950s and 1960s. "It looks like we're going back to yesteryear and it's a very disturbing probability," Bryant said. On the other hand, Padfield described most DEI programs in corporate America as "overt racial discrimination." "It's problematic because it sets the corporation up for legal liability and it's problematic on a moral basis because that's not the country that we want to live in, where some of our most powerful institutions have decided that the way to get what they want in terms of demographic outcomes is just start brazenly and, in fact, proudly, discriminating on the basis of race and sex," Padfield said. Padfield added, 'The problem is that the pro-DEI solution actually makes things worse and divides us further. And what I'm hoping for is that ultimately corporate America wakes up and starts addressing these inequalities on a colorblind basis." Trump's war on 'woke': Both sides say the issue is further dividing the country originally appeared on
29-04-2025
- Politics
Trump's war on 'woke': Both sides say the issue is further dividing the country
In a speech to a joint session of Congress in March, President Donald Trump took direct aim at diversity, equity and inclusion policies, saying hiring and promotion practices should be based on merit, not race and gender. "We've ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be 'woke' no longer," said Trump, using the term some conservatives have adopted to negatively describe progressive values. In the first 100 days of his new administration, Trump has wielded the power of the Oval Office in an attempt to root out DEI programs beyond the federal government, threatening to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding and grants from universities, including Harvard University, unless they fall in line. A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released on Sunday indicated that the country is almost evenly split on the issue. While 51% of respondents said they believe DEI efforts help level the playing field, 47% said such policies create unfair discrimination. Despite the president's claim that DEI in America is history, supporters say Trump's war against what they refer to as "wokeism" is far from over. "It's definitely not over. And those of us who want to see corporate America get back to neutral and focusing on uniting Americans around creating value rather than dividing us on the basis of race and sex, we have a long, long way to go," said Stefan Padfield, executive director of the Free Enterprise Project, which is part of National Center for Public Policy Research, a non-partisan conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. Padfield said one of his primary focuses is on "reversing what we might refer to as the woke capture of corporate America" by filing shareholder proposals, engaging in litigation and conducting educational research across the nation." "One of the things that I and others on our side are concerned about is this idea and this notion that somehow we've won," Padfield told ABC News. Using the analogy of the Allied troops storming the beach at Normandy during the 1944 D-Day invasion, Padfield said, "Could you imagine if the Allied forces just packed up and left and claimed to have won World War II after they took Normandy beach? It would be a very different world." "So, we've got a very long march to go and certainly the proponents of DEI and related ESG [environmental, social and governance] agendas, they're making very clear that they're not going to go quietly, certainly," Padfield said. Target boycott In a letter dated Feb. 12, 2025, a coalition of the nation's largest civil and human rights organizations, including the NAACP and the National Urban League, asked for an urgent meeting with congressional leadership "to discuss actionable steps to protect diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans." The letter was addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. "We are deeply concerned about the recent executive actions by the Trump Administration that seek to undo decades of bipartisan support for civil and human rights," the coalition wrote. "Diversity is and will always be one of America's greatest strengths because a diverse America is an innovative and prosperous America," the letter said. "Diversifying our institutions, providing opportunities, and working to ensure that everyone is included are not partisan values. These values strengthen our nation and are rooted in our country's history of advancing equal opportunity and 'liberty and justice for all.'" The letter goes on to characterize the actions taken by the Trump administration as "misguided" and, according to the coalition, "seek to erode progress and stifle opportunity for all." The letter emphasizes that America's strength and leadership "in an increasingly diverse and competitive world depends on our ability to be an inclusive society." It goes on to say that history has shown that without clear-cut guidelines that encourage diversity, equity and inclusion, institutions will "continue discriminatory and exclusionary patterns that hold us all back." Some corporations have taken Trump's cue and have started to eliminate or roll back DEI programs. After Minnesota-based retailer Target announced in January that it would phase out some of its DEI initiatives, the Rev. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a megachurch in the Atlanta suburb of Stonecrest, Georgia, organized a 40-day "fast" of Target. Bryant said he encouraged followers of his movement to fight back with their pocketbooks and not shop at the chain's stores from the first day of Lent, March 5, until Easter Sunday. In an interview with ABC News, Bryant said he announced at his church on Easter that the "fast" is now a full-fledged boycott of Target. "We began the boycott against Target because the Black community felt betrayed," Bryant said. Among the programs Target said it is phasing out is one established in the wake of the 2020 police-involved killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man. The program assists Black employees in building meaningful careers and promoting Black-owned businesses. "For them to roll back DEI, it was felt as a slap in the face," Bryant said. Bryant noted that the Montgomery bus boycott led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1955 and 1956 lasted 381 days. "We have just been boycotting Target for 10 weeks and I think that the African American community is resolved that we're not going back into the store until we see a market change," Bryant said. In response to the boycott, Target, which has 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said in a April 23 statement, "We have an ongoing commitment to creating a welcoming environment for all team members, guests, and suppliers." "It's core to how we support and grow our business," Target said. "We remain focused on supporting organizations and creating opportunities for people in the 2,000 communities where we live and operate." But Target isn't the only major U.S. company scaling back on DEI programs. McDonald's, Meta, Walmart, Ford, John Deere and Harley-Davidson have all announced they are eliminating some DEI programs. Some of the companies changed their DEI programs after coming under pressure from conservative groups. Conservative political commentator and anti-woke activist Robby Starbuck publicly attacked Walmart's DEI programs. This prompted the big-box retail giant to announce it was rolling back diversity policies and pivoting from the term DEI in internal communications. After Walmart said it was eliminating the use of the phrase "DEI" altogether, Starbuck said in a social media post, "This is the biggest win yet for our movement to end wokeness in corporate America." In a statement to ABC News, Walmart said, "Our purpose, to help people save money and live better, has been at our core since our founding 62 years ago and continues to guide us today. We can deliver on it because we are willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America." Universities under fire The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal funding and grants from universities nationwide that decline to roll back DEI programs or curb protests on campuses, including pro-Palestinian demonstrations that the administration deems antisemitic. Some universities have fought back against the administration. The Trump administration threatened to withhold from Harvard University $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value after demanding that the school end its DEI programs, adopt what the administration deems merit-based admissions, and cooperate with immigration authorities. But Harvard President Alan Garber has refused to give in to the White House's demands, writing in an April 14 letter addressed to members of the Harvard community, that the school "will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights" by agreeing to the terms proposed by the Trump administration. On April 21, Harvard sued the Trump administration, asking a Massachusetts federal judge to block Trump's funding freeze, arguing that it is "unlawful and beyond the government's authority." Harvard also argued that by withholding funds, the Trump administration is violating the First Amendment, flouting federal law, and threatening life-saving research. "All told, the tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution's ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions," Harvard's lawyers wrote. Trump's Department of Education has also attempted to pressure public schools K-12 to do away with DEI programs or risk losing federal funding. Education groups sued the administration over the move. Federal judges in both Maryland and New Hampshire issued rulings this month siding with the education groups. "This Court takes no view as to whether the policies at issue here are good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair," wrote U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher of Maryland, a Trump appointee, on Thursday. "But this Court is constitutionally required to closely scrutinize whether the government went about creating and implementing them in the manner the law requires. The government did not." New Hampshire U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty also issued an order Thursday partially blocking the Department of Education from withholding funding to public schools that did not end DEI programs. "Ours is a nation deeply committed to safeguarding academic freedom, which is of transcendent value to all of us and not merely to the teachers concerned," McCafferty wrote, adding the "right to speak freely and to promote diversity of ideas and programs is…one of the chief distinctions that sets us apart from totalitarian regimes." The Department of Education did not immediately respond to the rulings on Thursday. Two sides, similar arguments Supporters of doing away with DEI programs claim the policies are racist, discriminatory and further divide the nation, while advocates for keeping the programs argue it is racist, discriminatory and divisive to end them. Rev. Bryant told ABC News that he believes Trump is pursuing his "war on woke" to appeal to his base. "I think he's playing to his base of uneducated white males, who for some reason feel threatened," Bryant said. "They're getting ready to see that America is better when we're together, not when we are segregated." Bryant said Trump's fight against wokeism has been an attack on civil rights that demonstrators have shed blood and died for going back to the 1950s and 1960s. "It looks like we're going back to yesteryear and it's a very disturbing probability," Bryant said. On the other hand, Padfield described most DEI programs in corporate America as "overt racial discrimination." "It's problematic because it sets the corporation up for legal liability and it's problematic on a moral basis because that's not the country that we want to live in, where some of our most powerful institutions have decided that the way to get what they want in terms of demographic outcomes is just start brazenly and, in fact, proudly, discriminating on the basis of race and sex," Padfield said. Padfield added, 'The problem is that the pro-DEI solution actually makes things worse and divides us further. And what I'm hoping for is that ultimately corporate America wakes up and starts addressing these inequalities on a colorblind basis."
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DEI Lives at Levi's: Less than 1% of Shares Voted to Ditch Diversity Programs
Levi Strauss & Co. is used to being a bit of a social lightning rod, having been early to support same-sex marriage, speak out on gun violence and institute paid family leave. So it's little surprise that the battle over diversity, equity and inclusion — a cause supercharged by U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to dismantle DEI in the government — landed at its annual meeting. The National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, formerly submitted a proposal to shareholders calling for the company to 'consider abolishing its DEI program, policies, department and goals.' Shareholders have apparently considered the topic enough. Investors holding less than 1 percent of Levi's shares voted in favor of the proposal, according to a company spokesman. Levi's board advised shareholders to vote against the proposal. That has shareholders aligned behind the board, which advised against the proposal, indicating 'we believe in the strong business case for a diverse and inclusive workforce.' Michelle Gass, president and chief executive officer of Levi's, told WWD earlier this year: 'We've been committed to diversity and inclusion for literally decades, and it's the core to who we are. So our commitment remains unchanged. We will do what's right for our people, for our business. And at the end of the day, building a diverse and inclusive workplace helps us deliver stronger results.' David Jedrzejek, senior vice president and general counsel, confirmed at the virtual annual meeting that Levi's did not use quotas or discriminatory policies in its recruitment or promotions. Stefan Padfield, executive director of the National Center's Free Enterprise Project, made his case at the meeting, arguing that DEI programs risk illegal discrimination. 'Rather than promote unity, DEI programs can set the very individuals they claim to be helping up for failure and stigma,' Padfield said. 'Imagine what corporations could accomplish if they stop dividing us on the basis of race and sex and instead focused on raising the floor for all Americans in areas such as education, which are at the root of the pipeline problems driving our demographic inequalities.' DEI programs were broadly embraced by corporate America, especially with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in 2020. Just as politics whipsawed with the reelection of Trump, many companies also modulated their approach. The shareholder proposal noted that 'Alphabet and Meta cut DEI staff and DEI-related investments; and Microsoft and Zoom laid off their entire DEI teams.' But Padfield acknowledged he likely had a losing battle at Levi's, preempting the loss by addressing what he called a 'deceptive narrative…that low vote counts for proposals such as this one means shareholders legitimately support DEI.' 'The majority of votes are controlled by institutions and individuals who are subject to conflicts of interest,' Padfield said, pointing to asset managers who have funds focused on environmental, social and governance issues and proxy advisers who consult companies on ESG. 'The proper headline should perhaps read something like, 'No Trustworthy Shareholders Voted for DEI,'' he said. That claim could not be substantiated, but failed to recognize that Levi's and the vast majority of its shareholders are on the same page when it comes to DEI.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Disney dumps two DEI programs as investors pressure company to ax more woke initiatives: SEC filing
Disney is reportedly pulling back on its diversity, equity and inclusion policies — the latest major company to walk back the woke initiatives amid pressure from activist investors and the Trump administration. The media giant — which saw its bottom line hurt by the battle over Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill — quietly dropped its 'Reimagine Tomorrow' program from the DEI section of its 2024 SEC 10-K report, according to a recent regulatory filing The program, which was mentioned in its 2023 report, has a mission statement of 'amplifying underrepresented voices and features some of Disney's DE&I commitments and action,' according to its website. The initiative promised 50% of regular and recurring characters across the Disney universe would come from 'underrepresented groups.' The program sparked outrage in 2022 when a company-wide Zoom call was leaked on social media. One Disney executive touted her 'not at all secret gay agenda' at the company, while another boasted that the company was ditching the words 'ladies, gentlemen, boys, and girls' at its theme parks in order to not alienate transgender children. Although the program's website is still up and running, Stefan Padfield, director of the Free Enterprise Project for the National Center for Public Policy Research, told Fox News Digital on Monday that its exclusion from the SEC filing could signal change at the Mouse House. 'Disney dropping [Reimagine Tomorrow] from their DEI section could mean they're walking back their DEI investments, or it could signal they're hiding them,' Padfield said. 'Either they recognize that more litigation is coming, or it could be part of a vibe shift.' The company has also dropped its 'The Disney Look' appearance guidelines from the DEI section in its SEC filing. The 2023 SEC filing stated that the guidelines were 'updated to cultivate a more inclusive environment that encourages and celebrates authentic expressions of belonging among employees.' Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Disney's DEI policies were in part a reaction to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' 'Don't Say Gay' law, which barred the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation for kids in public schools. President Trump recently ordered an end to DEI in the federal government and for its contractors, which includes many private companies. Meanwhile, companies are also under pressure from conservative critics who say DEI programs are discriminatory against non-minorities. Corporations such as Meta and John Deere have rolled back their DEI programs, while others like Apple and Costco have pushed back. Google, GM, Intel, Pepsi, Comcast, Philip Morris and others have softened or deleted their DEI language. 'Where is your data that shows DEI serves the bottom line?' Padfield asked of companies that still employ DEI measures. 'The concern about the scrutiny about these questions is built into this movement we're seeing across companies. The Trump administration announced they'll investigate nine companies for their DEI practices, and you're seeing corporations scramble to not be among those nine,' he said. The DEI battle is also being fought in the courtroom. On Friday, Target was hit with a class-action suit, after shareholders alleged the retail giant misled investors about the risks of its DEI initiatives, which led consumers to boycott and its stock price to tank. Sign in to access your portfolio
