It’s sad that in today’s world almost everything seems to be politicized. But even people that love politics would like to take a break from it sometimes. You might think going grocery shopping would be one of those things you could do without dealing with politics. However, when businesses push the woke agenda politics invades even your grocery shopping experience. Schnuck’s is an example.
Last summer Schnuck’s promoted its “Unity is Power” campaign with all its employees wearing “Unity is Power” shirts. One might ask what’s wrong with that? Perhaps nothing. But the wording “unity is power” carries other connotations.
In the case of Schnuck’s it refers to their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) program. While the front of the Schnuck’s shirts read “Diversity is Power”, the back read “We Value Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” This was at least the second year the grocery chain has promoted the campaign using shirts.
The unity message is actually divisive to some people. Some wonder if Schnucks wants everyone to feel welcome, or wants to make sure everyone has an equal chance to succeed. Some feel “equity” has shoved “equality” off the table.
Following are some quotes from Schnuck’s “Unity is Power” web page;
As we strive for racial equity and social justice, we support our Black teammates and teammates of Color. We express our values through how we treat each other, how we use our resources and how we affect our communities.
We’re proud to celebrate Pride Month along with our LGTBQ+ teammates.
We are creating a workplace where our Black teammates, as well as teammates of Color and diverse backgrounds, feel they belong and can grow their careers because they feel valued, and can see a path forward in our company through intentional inclusion in new management development programs.
We will continue to spend advertising and marketing dollars with companies who aim to provide news coverage and entertainment for primarily Black audiences and will aim for equitable representation in our creative materials.
As we recruit and focus on workforce development in our communities we will continue our efforts to support reintegration into the workforce for justice-involved teammates.
So, should people who prefer to not have DEI shoved down their throats shop at Hy-Vee? To be fair the company has faced BLM protestors on one hand and donated $1 million to racial unity and equality as well as won a DEI award on the other.
But Hy-Vee doesn’t appear to put DEI in the forefront of what it does. And there are no reports of anything like marketing programs where employees where “Unity is Power” shirts.
In the end “the power of the purse” will prevail here. The outcome is in the hands of consumers. Will Schnuck’s go broke having gone woke? Ultimately that’s your decision.
