Goodyear's zero-tolerance policy that listed Black Lives Matter (BLM) as acceptable but Make America Great Again (MAGA) unacceptable attracted social media wrath on late Tuesday. Some social media users labelled the policy discriminatory and called for a boycott of the tire company.
The list of acceptable and unacceptable ideas was presented during Goodyear's diversity training program. While acceptable ideas included BLM and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride (LGBT), unacceptable ideas were "Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, MAGA Attire and Political Affiliated Slogans or Material."
A photo of a slide that mentioned the new policy was shared by an employee who said the training happened at a Kansas plant but the slide came from the company's corporate office in Ohio. The employee, who was not identified, called Goodyear's policy discriminatory and said that the company should conform to equality.
"If someone wants to wear a BLM shirt in here, then cool. I'm not going to get offended about it. But at the same time, if someone's not going to be able to wear something that is politically based, even in the farthest stretch of the imagination, that's discriminatory," the employee told WMTV. "If we're talking about equality, then it needs to be equality. If not, it's discrimination."
The photo has since gone viral on Twitter with users calling for a boycott of Goodyear products.
The criticism prompted Goodyear to issue a statement, in which it said the company did not encourage its employees to express support for political parties or candidates at the workplace.
"Goodyear is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace where all of our associates can do their best in a spirit of teamwork. As part of this commitment, we do allow our associates to express their support on racial injustice and other equity issues but ask that they refrain from workplace expressions, verbal or otherwise, in support of political campaigning for any candidate or political party as well as other similar forms of advocacy that fall outside the scope of equity issues," the company told WMTV.
