The Goodyear tire company ran over another nail yesterday when its president apologized for a pro-Marxist, anti-cop visual shown to employees at a training seminar, but audio of the event proved that the company dissembled about the matter in its initial statement.
Even as corporate chieftain Rich Kramer said the company isn’t anti-cop, the recording confirmed that unidentified corporate trainers told employees at the Topeka plant that Blue Lives Matter and All Lives Matter sentiments are not allowed.
Because when the rubber hits the road at Goodyear, all lives don’t matter. And anyone who doesn’t agree had better shut up.
The Trouble Begins
Goodyear’s wheels began coming off early this week when the visual — a slide at a company presentation — went viral. The slide said company employees can voice support for homosexuals and BLM, but not for these:
Blue Lives Matter
All Lives Matter
MAGA hats
Political affiliated slogans or material
After President Trump called for a boycott, the company tried a gear-jamming shift into reverse, but, in the end, confirmed the truth: The company backs propaganda from the anti-cop, anti-American, pro-communist BLM:
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.
Then came Kramer with a more elaborate explanation to say the company does indeed think highly of police.
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“The slide in question was created by a plant employee to try to explain what is acceptable to wear in the workplace,” he wrote. “The slide was not approved or distributed by Goodyear Corporate or anyone outside of that facility.”
Goodyear does not endorse any political organization, party or candidate. We have a longstanding corporate policy that asks associates to refrain from workplace expressions in support of any candidate or political party.
Second, Goodyear strongly supports our law enforcement partners and deeply appreciates all they do to put their lives on the line each and every day for our communities. We have proudly supplied tires to police and fire personnel for more than 100 years and that relationship is foundational to our company.
We have clarified our policy to make it clear associates can express support for law enforcement through apparel at Goodyear facilities.
Comments on Facebook about Kramer’s answer suggest that consumers are unconvinced.
The Audio
The audio that surfaced yesterday, which undermines Goodyear’s disingenuous explanation of the slide, shows why they are right.
The unidentified trainer told the employees that political attire “will no longer be allowed. No face masks, no shirts, anything political will not be allowed in the plant.”
But then he read what he said was company policy on “social justice” and “equity” issues.
“Some people may wish to express their views on social justice or inequity or equity issues such as black lives matter or LGBTQ pride on their face coverings, shirts or wristbands,” he said. “That will be deemed approved because it applies with a zero-tolerance stance. However if any associate wears all, blue, white lives matter shirts or face coverings, that will be not appropriate.”
Employees laughed and complained, but the trainer continued:
The reason for this is because these slogans are not reflective of a social justice or equity issue. K? So there’s rules now around what you can wear. Let’s try to comply with these so that way everybody feels good in this factory.
Think about what we do…. We all work together to make tires… That’s what we get paid to do.
Corporate Fear
But back to Kramer, whose declaration of admiration for the police doesn’t explain much.
He ducked the white elephant in the room: the ban on “All Lives Matter” attire and MAGA hats and his company’s support for the BLM terror outfit.
His company will, apparently, allow employees to disrupt employee morale with BLM or pro-homosexual attire that others might find offensive, not least because BLM, supported by leftist corporations, is waging a nationwide terror campaign of arson, looting, and vandalism fortified with anti-police and anti-white rhetoric.
An obvious question: Given the truth about BLM and Goodyear’s official support for the group, does the company also support BLM’s terror campaign and explicit racial animosity toward whites?
Photo: AP Images
R. Cort Kirkwood is a long-time contributor to The New American and a former newspaper editor.
