Trump-aligned group’s latest target is airline diversity efforts
America First Legal, a conservative group aligned with former President Donald Trump, is targeting three of the country’s biggest airlines as it ramps up its attacks on corporate diversity initiatives. American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest are facing a civil rights complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that alleges their efforts to hire and promote more women and people of color amount to “illegal racial and sex discrimination.” “Major corporations think that it’s OK to have goals for the demographic makeup of their workforces, with no self-awareness of the illegal practices that they will undoubtedly take to achieve those goals,” Gene Hamilton, America First Legal’s general counsel and vice president, said in a statement Wednesday. “When you board a plane, the last thing you care about is the skin color of the pilot and crew on board.” AFL, led by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, and Hamilton, a Justice Department official under that administration, ramped up its campaign against corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies after the US Supreme Court’s decision to remove race as a factor in college admissions in June. It filed similar complaints against more than 20 companies, including Nordstrom Inc. and Salesforce Inc., and brought lawsuits against firms including Meta Platforms Inc., as it seeks to establish itself as a leader in the growing conservative movement to use the courts to kneecap employment diversity programs. As well as its complaint to the EEOC, AFL sent letters to the boards of American, United and Southwest claiming their programs are a “waste of corporate assets.” Each of the airlines has publicly disclosed their diversity in hiring programs. American in 2020 said it would enhance its recruitment of Black professionals, United said it prioritized interviewing diverse candidates, and Southwest said it increased its racial and gender diversity. AFL’s complaints don’t focus on any particular individual that has claimed harm from the programs. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-11-02/general/trump-aligned-group2019s-latest-target-is-airline-diversity-efforts
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Trump-aligned group’s latest target is airline diversity efforts
America First Legal, a conservative group aligned with former President Donald Trump, is targeting three of the country’s biggest airlines as it ramps up its attacks on corporate diversity initiatives. American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest are facing a civil rights complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that alleges their efforts to hire and promote more women and people of color amount to “illegal racial and sex discrimination.” “Major corporations think that it’s OK to have goals for the demographic makeup of their workforces, with no self-awareness of the illegal practices that they will undoubtedly take to achieve those goals,” Gene Hamilton, America First Legal’s general counsel and vice president, said in a statement Wednesday. “When you board a plane, the last thing you care about is the skin color of the pilot and crew on board.” AFL, led by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, and Hamilton, a Justice Department official under that administration, ramped up its campaign against corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies after the US Supreme Court’s decision to remove race as a factor in college admissions in June. It filed similar complaints against more than 20 companies, including Nordstrom Inc. and Salesforce Inc., and brought lawsuits against firms including Meta Platforms Inc., as it seeks to establish itself as a leader in the growing conservative movement to use the courts to kneecap employment diversity programs. As well as its complaint to the EEOC, AFL sent letters to the boards of American, United and Southwest claiming their programs are a “waste of corporate assets.” Each of the airlines has publicly disclosed their diversity in hiring programs. American in 2020 said it would enhance its recruitment of Black professionals, United said it prioritized interviewing diverse candidates, and Southwest said it increased its racial and gender diversity. AFL’s complaints don’t focus on any particular individual that has claimed harm from the programs. <br/>
