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HRC May, Possibly Do Something About Target- Maybe

08/20/10-by bridgette P. LaVictoire
MoveOn has decided to show some spine and call for a full on national boycott of Target. While this may not be successful, it may cause some nervousness. Indeed, it seems to be causing some investors a certain amount of consternation as they have already begun to consider liquidation of their assets in the company.

The Human Rights Campaign’s response to the call for a boycott appears to be to drop them from their Corporate Equality Index. Maybe. According to HRC’s Press Secretary Michael Cole “The recent political contributions by Target and Best Buy are cause for reflection on the criteria used for future editions of the Corporate Equality Index (CEI). While considering all of this, it’s important to keep in mind that the CEI has made a tremendous impact in the real lives of LGBT people in large part because it has been a predictable and transparent roadmap for companies to institute fair workplace policies. Instead of making capricious decisions about scoring criteria, we believe that a responsible consideration of all of the facts is the smartest way to move forward.”

MoveOn, which has shown some serious fortitude going after Target, has not been really joined by the HRC in their willingness to go all the way with the battle. Instead, the HRC seemed willing to use this to try and get some money out of Target for other causes rather than raising a hew and cry over the company’s support for a homophobic gubernatorial candidate.

The HRC is only now considering how to adapt their Buyer’s Guide, which uses the CEI, to cope with Citizen’s United. In June 2009, both Target and Best Buy scored 100% for their CEI. According to Cole “Because we understand the impact of leaving Target and Best Buy on the various products associated with the Buyer’s Guide, both companies will soon be removed from it. HRC will not encourage people to shop at either store and believes that consumers should make their own decisions after careful consideration of all of the information available to them.”

That is how you take on ‘the Man’. You threaten to possibly, maybe, potentially, do something which might make them look bad.

Of course, the issue was discussed between Michael Signorile on his radio show and the HRC’s Fred Sainz. Here is the portion of the interview relevant to the whole thing:

Signorile: My question is, how is the $150,000 that you’re donating…a punishment to Target?…What are you doing exactly to Target?…Are you joining the boycott? Moveon.org is calling for a boycott.Is HRC telling people they shouldn’t shop at Target?

Sainz: No, the organization doesn’t have an official position on the boycott. We think that consumers need to make their own decisions and that each person has an awful lot of choices today…And certainly this will inform consumers’ decisions on where they should make their purchases…

—-

Signorile:…The [Corporate] Equality Index is a position on the boycott, because the reason you give the equality index is to tell people where to shop…

Sainz: No, that’s not true.

Signorile:…and what companies they should support…

Sainz: No, no, that’s not true. The Corporate Equality Index is a measure of the workplace practices of companies. It was started as a guide of what the best employers are for LGBT people…It is not meant to be a statement on a company’s wholistic behavior. It is rather a measurement of the workplace practices of a company. That’s really–-

Signorile: HRC does tell people to shop at equality-friendly businesses, even has an app that is devoted to that.

Sainz: That is true.

Signorile: Okay, so the equality-friendly businesses are those that score high on the Corporate Equality Index.

Sainz: That is true…

Signorile: So right now, at this moment, Target still has a 100, and that means that’s a good place to shop.

So, the HRC is disappointed, but not willing to do much more than demand some money from Target for help overturning Prop 8 while others including the non-LGBT group MoveOn is ramping up a national campaign including protests and boycotts. Talk about spineless lobsters.