Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company bans workers from wearing MAGA hats and other "politically affiliated slogans" while on the job, but allows Black Lives Matter and pro-LGBT gear, according to a photo of the company's "zero-tolerance policy" shared by an employee.
The employee told Topeka’s 13WIBW news that a Topeka-area plant manager presented a slide of acceptable and unacceptable expressions at a diversity training seminar. While supporting Black Lives Matter and the LGBT community is acceptable, MAGA hats and gear related to Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, or other political affiliations are unacceptable.
Goodyear spokeswoman Melissa Monaco said that the company is dedicated to fostering an "inclusive" workplace and bans political expressions that "fall outside the scope of equity issues."
"Goodyear is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace where all of our associates can do their best in a spirit of teamwork," Monaco said. "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."
President Donald Trump responded to the leaked photo in a tweet Wednesday morning, calling on the public to boycott Goodyear for banning the MAGA caps.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1296092859226042368
Many institutions have implemented anti-racism and diversity training for their employees amid a summer of racial-justice and anti-police protests. Seattle’s Office for Civil Rights created a whites-only diversity training earlier this summer, and Google said it would launch a series of anti-racism training seminars by 2021.