Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
As Trump Attacks DEI, Some on the Left Approve
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 4 months ago on
February 6, 2025

Jaz Brisack, who helped start the union organizing campaign at Starbucks and does not think companies were ever particularly sincere about their Diversity and Equity Inclusion (DEI) policies, at home in Buffalo, N.Y., Feb 26, 2022. While many Democrats and activists are rallying to defend diversity programs, some say they distracted from more fundamental efforts to empower workers. (Brendan Bannon/The New York Times)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A few days after President Donald Trump issued an order urging the private sector to end “Illegal DEI Discrimination and Preferences,” the Rev. Al Sharpton led about 100 people into a Costco in New York City’s East Harlem neighborhood for a so-called buy-cott. The idea was to shop and support the company for maintaining its diversity, equity and inclusion policies amid pressure from the new administration.

But the gesture by the civil rights activist did not win universal acclaim on the political left. In interviews, self-identified socialists and other leftists worried that Sharpton’s action helped bolster the company at a moment when it faced pressure from unionized workers, who had threatened to strike beginning Feb. 1.

“Al Sharpton making Costco into a titan of progress that needs mass support days before a potential strike,” Bhaskar Sunkara, the president of the progressive magazine The Nation, grumbled on the social platform X.

Costco did not respond to a request for comment.

The episode illustrates an underappreciated tension on the left at a time when Trump has targeted diversity initiatives: Some on the left have expressed skepticism of such programs, portraying them as a diversion from attacking economic inequality — and even an obstacle to doing so.

“I am definitely happy this stuff is buried for now,” Sunkara said in an interview. “I hope it doesn’t come back.”

Corporate DEI Initiatives Takes Many Forms

Corporate-backed initiatives promoting diversity can take various forms. Starbucks, for instance, pledges to “work hard to ensure our hiring practices are competitive, fair and inclusive” and says it is “committed to consistently achieving 100% gender and race pay equity.” It also offers antibias training.

But socialists like Sunkara and others who share his critique say they prefer activism that focuses on class rather than racial or gender and sexual identity. They tend to see labor unions and worker-led organizing as a more effective solution to inequality.

Though deeply suspicious of Trump, whom they see as attacking DEI policies for political gain and as a pretext for slashing government, these leftists see the turn against DEI programs as an opportunity to reorient Democrats in a direction that will deliver more gains for workers and be more palatable to a majority of voters.

Sharpton said in a subsequent phone interview that he favored building a coalition of civil rights groups and unions to fight inequality, and that he had scheduled his Costco action far enough before the strike deadline that it wouldn’t interfere. He said he would have suspended a second buy-cott had there been a strike involving Costco workers, who announced a tentative deal to avert a work stoppage on Feb. 1.

Debate on Diversity Surface at Democratic Party

The debate over diversity initiatives even surfaced during the recent race to lead the Democratic Party. At a candidate forum before the party selected a new chair last weekend, candidates were asked if they would commit to appointing more transgender people to at-large Democratic National Committee seats, and to making sure the holders of the seats were ethnically diverse.

One of the candidates, Faiz Shakir, refused, saying he disagreed with constituting the committee based on people’s identities.

In an interview, Shakir, a former manager of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, said DEI programs often served to divide the working class and “soften the actual confrontation with corporate power we need in society.” Workplace DEI policies essentially buy off workers on the cheap, he said, adding: “You get a penny for your efforts. A little trinket here or there, that should mollify you.”

Those on the left who have studied diversity initiatives like anti-racism and implicit-bias trainings point out that such programs may not work as advertised. A study of hundreds of employers over three decades suggests that the beneficial effects of such training tends to fade within days and that mandatory training can even increase racial resentments.

Some Believe DEI Undermines Unions

While some on the left nonetheless support DEI, leftist critics argue that these programs tend to advance the interests of companies rather than workers. “DEI is fundamentally a tool of management,” said Jennifer C. Pan, author of “Selling Social Justice: Why the Rich Love Antiracism,” a book to be released in May by publishing house Verso, which characterizes itself as radical.

In her book, Pan cites examples of how employers and anti-union consultants deploy DEI programs as a way to undermine union campaigns by defusing pressure from workers.

Those who share her view often cite evidence suggesting that unions are more effective than DEI programs in closing wage gaps between employees of different genders and races by raising wage floors and improving benefits like paid sick leave. Unlike a labor contract, they note, DEI goals typically don’t impose a direct legal obligation on companies.

Other studies have found that union membership also reduces racial bias, perhaps because unions enlist workers of different races to work together to achieve shared goals.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Noam Scheiber/Brandon Bannon
c. 2025 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Signs Proclamation Banning Travel From 12 Countries, CBS News Reports

DON'T MISS

Sunnyvale Pitmaster Smokes Fresno BBQ Competition for Golden Ticket to World Championships

DON'T MISS

What We Know About the Colorado Attack on Israeli Hostage Demonstrators

DON'T MISS

Visalia Motorists Take Note: Traffic Shift Coming to Riggin Avenue

DON'T MISS

Really, Secretary Rubio? I’m Lying About the Kids Dying Under Trump?

DON'T MISS

Judge Denies Release in Caleb Quick Killing. Defense Cites Alleged Assaults by Victim

DON'T MISS

Nebraska Is the Latest State to Ban Transgender Students From Girls’ Sports

DON'T MISS

US Vetoes UN Security Council Resolution Demanding an Immediate Gaza Ceasefire

DON'T MISS

International Basketball Comes to Fresno: Armenia vs. Costa Rica

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: A New Research Hub in Southeast Fresno?

UP NEXT

Sunnyvale Pitmaster Smokes Fresno BBQ Competition for Golden Ticket to World Championships

UP NEXT

What We Know About the Colorado Attack on Israeli Hostage Demonstrators

UP NEXT

Really, Secretary Rubio? I’m Lying About the Kids Dying Under Trump?

UP NEXT

Judge Denies Release in Caleb Quick Killing. Defense Cites Alleged Assaults by Victim

UP NEXT

Nebraska Is the Latest State to Ban Transgender Students From Girls’ Sports

UP NEXT

US Vetoes UN Security Council Resolution Demanding an Immediate Gaza Ceasefire

UP NEXT

International Basketball Comes to Fresno: Armenia vs. Costa Rica

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: A New Research Hub in Southeast Fresno?

UP NEXT

Fresno’s Southeast Plan Has a $2.2B Price Tag for Phase 1. Can the City Afford It?

UP NEXT

Trump: Putin Said Russia Would Respond to Ukraine Drone Attacks

Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments

2 hours ago

Did That Clint Eastwood Interview Happen? Yes, Kind Of.

3 hours ago

Biden’s IRS Doubled Audits on the Wealthy, Data Shows

3 hours ago

Millions Would Lose Their Obamacare Coverage Under Trump’s Bill

3 hours ago

New CA Bill Would Streamline Solar Conversion for Dry Farmland

4 hours ago

Supreme Court Rules Catholic Charity Exempt From State Unemployment Taxes

4 hours ago

Alonso Muscles Up With 2 HRs, 5 RBIs as Mets Belt Dodgers

4 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Fermin Solorzano

4 hours ago

Supreme Court Rejects Mexico’s $10B Gun Lawsuit Against American Gun Manufacturers

4 hours ago

Trump Says After Xi Call That US and China Will Resume Trade Talks

4 hours ago

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

Fresno police detectives want the community’s help to solve the shooting death of 24-year-old Taylor Washington on April 10. When offi...

25 minutes ago

25 minutes ago

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

2 hours ago

Derek Carr Explains Mysterious Retirement. He Didn’t Want to ‘Just Take the Saints’ Money’

2 hours ago

What Do Valley Leaders Say About Trump’s Threat to Yank High-Speed Rail Funding?

2 hours ago

Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments

3 hours ago

Did That Clint Eastwood Interview Happen? Yes, Kind Of.

3 hours ago

Biden’s IRS Doubled Audits on the Wealthy, Data Shows

3 hours ago

Millions Would Lose Their Obamacare Coverage Under Trump’s Bill

4 hours ago

New CA Bill Would Streamline Solar Conversion for Dry Farmland

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend