The Associated Press reports that PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi has added her voice to "the growing list of company heads and municipal officials voicing opposing to North Carolina's new law that prevents specific anti-discrimination rules for LGBT people for public accommodations and restroom use."
That list now consists of more than 120 executives with a wide variety of companies that do business in North Carolina, including Salesforce, Levi Strauss & Co., Airbnb, Barnes & Noble, Kellogg's, Apple, Pfizer, LinkedIn, Hyatt, YouTube, Starwood, Facebook, Google, Bank of America, Hilton, American Airlines, IBM, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Wells Fargo.
The law, which was fast-tracked by the Republican legislature and GOP Gov. Pat McCrory, was a response "to a Charlotte City Council ordinance approved in February that would have extended protections to gays and lesbians as well as bisexual and transgender people while at hotels, restaurants and stores. Charlotte also would have allowed transgender people to use the restroom aligned with their gender identity ... The new law blocked Charlotte's rules and prevented other local governments from approving similar ordinances. And government agencies of all kinds must now require people who use multi-stall public restrooms to use the one that corresponds with their biological sex."
In a letter to McCrory, Nooyi wrote that the law is "completely inconsistent" with the way her company treats its workers, and that it undermines efforts to advance North Carolina's long-term interests.
The story notes that "NCAA President Mark Emmert says he has spoken to North Carolina's governor about the state's new law excluding LGBT people from antidiscrimination protections, making clear if it remains in place it will affect the state's chances to host major college athletic events."
However, proponents of the law say there is significant support for it both in the business community and among voters.
That list now consists of more than 120 executives with a wide variety of companies that do business in North Carolina, including Salesforce, Levi Strauss & Co., Airbnb, Barnes & Noble, Kellogg's, Apple, Pfizer, LinkedIn, Hyatt, YouTube, Starwood, Facebook, Google, Bank of America, Hilton, American Airlines, IBM, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Wells Fargo.
The law, which was fast-tracked by the Republican legislature and GOP Gov. Pat McCrory, was a response "to a Charlotte City Council ordinance approved in February that would have extended protections to gays and lesbians as well as bisexual and transgender people while at hotels, restaurants and stores. Charlotte also would have allowed transgender people to use the restroom aligned with their gender identity ... The new law blocked Charlotte's rules and prevented other local governments from approving similar ordinances. And government agencies of all kinds must now require people who use multi-stall public restrooms to use the one that corresponds with their biological sex."
In a letter to McCrory, Nooyi wrote that the law is "completely inconsistent" with the way her company treats its workers, and that it undermines efforts to advance North Carolina's long-term interests.
The story notes that "NCAA President Mark Emmert says he has spoken to North Carolina's governor about the state's new law excluding LGBT people from antidiscrimination protections, making clear if it remains in place it will affect the state's chances to host major college athletic events."
However, proponents of the law say there is significant support for it both in the business community and among voters.
- KC's View:
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What I don't understand about the list of executives who abhor the North Carolina action is how come it isn't longer? To put it in crass commercial terms, I don't understand why any business or business leader would come out in favor of legislation that actively engages in discrimination against people who might someday be their customers.
To me, not saying anything in this case is as bad as saying the wrong thing.
Putting aside the commercial aspects, though, it would appear that some folks would like to roll the clock back to another time, and would also like to make sure that nobody else tries to make progress in this area. They may be successful in the short term, but they are on the wrong side of history, in my view, and history will not be kind to them and their decisions.
