Tag Archives: business

Freedom For All Americans reports: This morning, April 5, Paypal, a global company dedicated to facilitating online payments, announced that it is withdrawing plans to open a new global operations center in Charlotte. The reason for their plans to withdraw? North Carolina’s House Bill 2, which was ramrodded through the North Carolina General Assembly on March 23, with just 12 …

The American Public Transportation Association, which was founded in 1882 and has 1500 member organizations, says they really wish they could cancel their May convention in Charlotte over North Carolina’s hate law, but are unable to nullify their contract. From their statement: APTA is committed to being inclusive and does not condone discrimination of any kind against anyone who works …

As I noted several days ago, organizers of High Point Market Week, which bills itself as the world’s largest home furnishings trade show, say they are being deluged with cancellations in the wake of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signing his state’s hate bill into law. Yesterday the 26,000-member American Society of Interior Designers issued a statement backing the boycott …

Yesterday was the International Day of Transgender Visibility and in support Wells Fargo lit its 48-story Duke Energy Center tower in Charlotte in pink, white, and blue, which are the colors of the transgender pride flag. Also yesterday Wells Fargo joined the 80+ major corporations who have called for the repeal of North Carolina’s hate law. From the Charlotte Observer: …

Crain’s Chicago reports: Mayor Rahm Emanuel is issuing an executive order banning official city travel to North Carolina. And, seeking to gain from a flap over the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people there, Emanuel says he’ll be contacting North Carolina companies that might be interested in relocating to a “more inclusive” Chicago. In comments after an unrelated …

Late last night Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff posted the below gorgeous clip in thanks for the veto of Georgia’s anti-LGBT bill. The video features audio from Harvey Milk’s legendary “you gotta give ’em hope” speech as scenes of gay pride parades, the San Francisco skyline, and a diverse collection of people go by. JMG reader Cuberly tells us that the …

North Carolina’s openly gay Replacements LTD founder Bob Page today issued a statement in reaction to his state’s hate law. His message in full: Today, I take the unusual step of sending you a personal message. Perhaps you, like millions of others, have heard that North Carolina’s recent passage of House Bill 2 – which has been called the worst …

The New York Times reports: The onslaught of criticism, economic sanctions and a lawsuit being leveled at Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina grew on Tuesday, as the largest corporation in his state joined the fight against a new law that eliminated anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Bank of America, which has its headquarters in Charlotte, …

From a Facebook post by the NC Safe Coalition: “While business owners in other states have received criticism and have even been forced out of business for standing up for common sense, hundreds (334) of North Carolina business owners have signed on to a letter thanking Governor Pat McCrory and the General Assembly for passing a law affirming the privacy …

North Carolina’s High Point Market Week bills itself as the world’s largest home furnishings industry trade show and mere days after the state’s anti-LGBT bill was signed into law, the show’s organizers say they are being deluged with attendee cancellations for next month’s convention, which delivers an estimated $5.4B to the local economy with its spring and fall events. Via …

Yesterday major corporations took to social media or released statements to denounce North Carolina’s new anti-LGBT law. See some of their messages below. Perhaps most prominent among them is IBM, the state’s largest private employer. Fortune reports: Big Blue, North Carolina’s largest employer, posted a statement on Thursday that expressed disappointment with the new law, which LBGT rights supporters widely …

The Human Rights Campaign today announced that 60 major corporations have jointly endorsed the Equality Act. Companies on the list include Amazon, Apple, Google, Twitter, IBM, Facebook, Hilton, Hyatt, MasterCard, General Mills, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo. See the full list below. Via press release: Since HRC joined with lawmakers and advocates last July to introduce the Equality Act in Congress, HRC …

From the petition posted by MoveOn: Donald Trump has repeatedly belittled Latinos, Muslims, Black people, women and people with disabilities with his hate speech, misogyny, Islamophobia, and racism. This has greatly inflamed a national atmosphere already hostile to these groups and is inspiring a dramatic rise in harassment and violent attacks against these groups. Now companies like Google, AT&T, Coca …

Politico reports: The drug industry’s most notorious CEO, who exulted in making a fortune by jacking up the price of a life-saving medicine, will plead the Fifth Amendment on Thursday morning when he appears for the first time before lawmakers he trashes on Twitter. The appearance of former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli, the hoodie-wearing, hip-hop-loving indicted millennial multimillionaire, will …

USA Today reports: Al Jazeera America, the American cable news outlet owned by Qatar-based Al Jazeera, plans to shut down less than three years after its much-ballyhooed launch, unable to overcome low ratings, operational problems and a lack of advertisers. The cable news network will be phased out by April 30, according to a memo that was e-mailed to staffers …

Bloomberg Business reports: One of China’s newly minted technology billionaires signed a deal to buy a controlling stake in Grindr, the world’s biggest gay social-networking app. Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., an Internet games company that helped introduce Angry Birds to China, offered $93 million in cash for 60 percent of New Grindr LLC, the company said in a statement to …

Some time this week it’s likely that Star Wars will become the #1 domestic grossing film of all time. The Associated Press reports: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” marched confidently into the new year, raking in an additional $88.3 million over the New Year’s weekend and topping the box office for a third week, according to studio estimates Sunday. In …

Via New York Magazine: KaloBios, the biotech company briefly helmed by recently arrested “most hated man in America” Martin Shkreli, filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday. The company was already near collapse before Shkreli and a team of investors bought up a bunch of shares and he became CEO. He resigned from the San Francisco–based company shortly after getting arrested on …

Despite raising over $500K via Christian crowdfunding campaigns, Oregon’s anti-gay bakery refused to pay its fine. Until today: The co-owner of a Gresham bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple delivered a $136,927 check that covers the couple’s damages following the January 2013 incident. Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, …

In Missouri, as in many other states, it’s already completely legal to refuse to serve LGBT citizens as no such protections exist in state law. But that’s not good enough for GOP state attorney general candidate Josh Hawley. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports: Hawley wrote to legislative leaders urging them to pass exemptions for ministers, churches and businesses that do …