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American companies continue to lead the world in politically correct foolishness. Perhaps General Motors should be the poster child for this stupidity disease. The company’s “diversity” initiative includes spending company money to support “affinity groups” that celebrate the “collective mixture of similarities and differences” that make up GM’s workforce. However, the company has refused to recognize groups of employees that share a common religious background, while openly supporting at least one affinity group of gay and lesbian employees. The “logic” behind this discrimination is bewildering. One employee won’t stand for it any longer and has filed a discrimination complaint against the company.
According to General Motors’ web site, the company started officially sanctioning affinity groups in 1999. “Any employees who believe they would benefit from affinity or networking can start a group provided they are able to meet the guidelines and reporting requirements established by GM Diversity Initiatives,” according to the web site.
However, according to Brian Akre, G.M.’s director of news relations, as quoted by Cybercast News Service, the company “does not recognize religious or political organizations as company-sponsored affinity groups because of the divisiveness inherent in trying to accomodate their widely disparate views.”
Despite that policy, G.M. has no hesitation in sanctioning GM PLUS, a group with the stated mission of supporting gay and lesbian issues. Specifically, the group’s stated purpose includes to “promote a specific, written, advertised employment policy that prohibits discrimination based upon sexual orientation,” and to “advocate benefit programs that recognize domestic partners and non-traditional families.”
Are these not political and even religious goals? Is this not a divisive issue?
However, the company has repeatedly refused to sanction a Christian Employee Network (CEN). In his application for inclusion of CEN in the affinity group program, John Moranski specifically stated that “we are an inter-denominational group and will not promote a particular church or religious denomination in the workplace.” The group was formed to coordinate activities of interest to Christian workers, such as a lunchtime prayer session on the National Day of Prayer. Unlike GM PLUS, CEN does not have as a stated or unstated goal the evangelization of co-workers or organized lobbying for changes in laws or company policies.
And yet, the company refuses to acknowledge and support this group of employees with a shared faith because of the “divisiveness” of such a concept.
Moranski filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on June 20.
Drew Gardner is the lawyer representing Mr. Moranski in the matter. Gardner says “We believe that GM’s recognition of GM PLUS and denial of the GM
Christian Employee Network in light of GM PLUS’s stated objective to
promote and advocate particular moral and ethical, as well as political,
beliefs, is not only hypocritical, but also illegal under Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
Strong words. And a strong case.
But to make things even more bewildering is what G.M.’s Akre says when his “divisiveness” argument springs an obvious leak. According the the CNS report, Akre claims that G.M.’s affinity groups are limited to those “whose focus is based on primary dimensions of diversity, which are factors that cannot be changed or chosen, such as ethnic background, gender or physical disabilities.”
To this Bible-believing Christian, to say that an individual’s “sexual orientation” falls into the category of a factor that “cannot be changed or chosen”, well, them’s fighting words!
And I, for one, am glad that John Moranski and Drew Gardner have taken up the fight!
Contact Noah.
