Amazon.com’s Whole Foods Market doesn’t want to be forced to let workers wear “Black Lives Matter” masks and is pointing to the recent US Supreme Court ruling permitting a business owner to refuse services to same-sex couples to get federal regulators to back off.

National Labor Relations Board prosecutors have accused the grocer of stifling worker rights by banning staff from wearing BLM masks or pins on the job. The company countered in a filing that its own rights are being violated if it’s forced to allow BLM slogans to be worn with Whole Foods uniforms.

Amazon is the most prominent company to use the high court’s June ruling that a Christian web designer was free to refuse to design sites for gay weddings, saying the case “provides a clear roadmap” to throw out the NLRB’s complaint.

The dispute is one of several in which labor board officials are considering what counts as legally-protected, work-related communication and activism on the job.

  • jasondj@ttrpg.network
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    1 year ago

    Honesty, imo, shame on Amazon for not barring anything but solid-colored, patterned, or Bezos-Empire-Branded masks, explicitly, in their dress code.

    I’m a (mostly) vegan, liberal AF, solidly middle-class, homeowner married millenial parent (i.e the portrait of a Whole Foods customer), and I agree with BLM, but I would be put off by any political or politicalized messaging in a supplier/customer relationship. I’m here for your general tao seitan and a TTLA…not for your influence.

      • Nahvi@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Believe it or not it is possible to fully support a political ideal while still thinking corporations should stay out of politics.

        For example, I think that cops taking money from people (Civil Asset Forfeiture) without charging them with a crime is amoral, unconstitutional (4th amendment), and un-American.

        If, however, I saw a sign about it in my local McDonald’s I would definitely be like WTF?!?

        • quinnly@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          It’s not “Black Lives Matter After Business Hours”

          If you don’t believe black lives matter all the time, then you don’t believe black lives matter at all

          • Nahvi@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Yeah, I tried that line on my youth pastor when I young zealous member of a church. His response didn’t make me happy, but did give me the opportunity to look at how others saw my actions.

            If you have to wear a BLM patch for people to realize that you believe black lives matter, then are you showing it with your actions?

            Of course his version was about my cross necklace that wasn’t allowed at work (no jewelry at all) and Christ’s love.

            The simple fact is that more often than not, you will have a bigger impact on those around you when you show them that black lives matter with your actions, rather than by wearing a BLM patch. The people around you have seen a BLM patch and already formed an opinion about what it means. Many people that need to see and hear the message the most will turn their brains off as soon as they see the logo.

    • wild_dog [they/them]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      I’m a (mostly) vegan, liberal AF, solidly middle-class, homeowner married millenial parent (i.e the portrait of a Whole Foods customer

      you could have left this description out and we would still know this about you from this bootlicker take

    • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Saying that black people exist and should remain alive is not a political statement. Do you want to ban hats that say “veteran” too? Or maybe charity and cancer awareness logos?

      Being a live black person is not a political act. Think about that when ordering some seitan and being “liberal AF”, whatever that means.

      • Nahvi@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Political - adj - Of, relating to, or dealing with the structure or affairs of government, politics, or the state.

        I don’t know if you really don’t know the difference between being black and supporting the BLM movement, but there is a definite difference. A good quick measure is would a politician hold an opinion on it? For a specific example do you think Tim Scott (one of the black Republican Presidential Candidates) would wear a BLM face mask?

        I will assume that you are arguing and good faith and genuinely don’t see the difference, so here are a few contrasting examples:

        Wearing a hat that says Veteran is a statement of fact, like wearing a hat with your college’s logo. It is not inherently political or supporting any particular political ideal.

        Wearing a VFW hat on the other hand, would be political. The VFW seeks to educated and change the opinions of legislators regarding veterans.

        If a black person was wearing a hat that said I am Black. That would be a statement of fact and not inherently political or supporting any particular political ideal.

        Wearing a BLM hat on the other hand would be political. The BLM organization and supporters of the BLM ideals seek to educate and change the opinions of legislators and the public regarding black people.

        Without typing out the same comparisons again, cancer awareness and most charities would fall under political ideals also. They almost always seek to influence government legislation or funding.

      • freeindv@monyet.cc
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        1 year ago

        Saying that black people exist and should remain alive is not a political statement

        It’s absolutely political because it sits on the false premise that others argue otherwise. Nobody does, it’s a false premise used to create racial divide and lower the moral of the black community

    • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago
      1. Politicize the idea the that an ethnicity shouldn’t be arbitrarily beaten by police.
      2. Ban that idea because it’s “politicized”
      3. Everyone is ok with it because despite politicize is a verb we’re supposed to pretend this isn’t being done by someone that thinks it’s ok for police arbitrarily beat the shit out of minorities.

      It’s almost like this a system of some kind. And maybe racist? A racist system? So not only aren’t we doing enough to take on systemic racism, corporations like Amazon are creating new forms of systemic racism.