Ford Shareholders Turn Away Proposal to Amend Non-Discrimination Policy
by Allie Martin
May 11, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A pro-family activist says he's not surprised that a motion to remove sexual orientation from Ford Motor Company's equal employment policy did not pass. However, conservatives still say it was a victory.
Flanked by four high-level corporate officers, Ford Motor's chairman William Ford, Jr., opened today's annual shareholders meeting by saying the company is profitable in most of the world. "Worldwide our total vehicle sales have gone up for the last two years," he said. "The exception to our worldwide success is our North American automotive operations."
The two-hour meeting gave shareholders the chance to review a list of ten proposals, among them a resolution from a retired Illinois doctor that asked Ford to remove reference to sexual orientation from its written non-discrimination policy. William Ford recommended a vote against the proposal. "Ford believes that our workplace should be free from discrimination," the company leader stated. "Such an environment is conducive to productive workers."
Ford shareholder Tom Strobhar, who is a pro-family activist from Ohio, publicly read the proposed resolution and spoke in its favor. He outlined several reasons why he felt his fellow shareholders should pass the resolution.
"Ford is paying domestic partner benefits while cutting retirement benefits. Our company is closing plants while building gay and lesbian centers," he stated. In addition, he said, the company gives shareholder money -- which Strobhar described as "the fruit of all our employees' labor" -- to the largest homosexual organizations in the country. "These organizations use it to aggressively promote same-sex marriage. In addition, we advertise in publications whose primary focus is gay sex."
The activist and shareholder rejects claims from Ford Motor that it needs homosexual-friendly policies to attract good people to work for the company. He attempted to prove his point by reading a campus recruiting policy from the University of Michigan.
"The University of Michigan policy asks that the company sign something saying they do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation," he explained, "but they do not require the employment policy to state as such. So I think [company leaders are] being a little bit disingenuous to suggest that our employment policy must reflect that."
He said it is no coincidence that Ford has lost billions of dollars while reaching out to pro-homosexual groups. "These policies have come about in the last few years. During that time we've lost over $50 billion in market value, and [investment firm] J.P. Morgan predicts there's a 43 percent chance of bankruptcy," Strobhar said. "It's a simple fact that some people are refusing to buy our products because of the above policies."
He adds that he knows of no other company that is doing more to promote homosexuality than Ford Motor or that has been more egregious about it. Ford, he says, "has kind of spit in the eye of conservative religious groups."
When all was said and done, the shareholders voted down the proposal to amend the automaker's equal employment policy to exclude sexual orientation. However, it needed one percent of the vote to be brought up again; it received five percent. Strobhar says he plans to have the proposal on the agenda at next year's meeting -- and hopes to have the support of a group of concerned Christian shareholders with him.
Shareholder Vote Is a Victory
Dr. Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association (AFA), says he is extremely pleased with the Ford shareholder vote. "The mere fact that five percent voted for this proposal came as a shock. I think it sends a loud message," says the AFA leader. "And we're very grateful that we got that five percent and that this issue can come back up again next year. We have a lot of time to work on it."
In March Wildmon's group announced a one-year boycott of the Ford Motor Company because of its ongoing financial support -- through advertising and grants -- of homosexual groups that promote same-sex "marriage." AFA had been closely monitoring the progress of Strobhar's proposed resolution.
Meanwhile, the head of the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ says 50,000 people have signed its online pledge to boycott Ford until the automaker stops supporting homosexual rights groups. Gary Cass says the petition and signatures have been delivered to Ford Motor Company chairman William Ford.
Cass notes that Ford is already in serious financial difficulty, but in his words, "We must put the well-being of our children ahead of Ford Motor Company's bottom line." The Center for Reclaiming America for Christ is one of more than 20 groups involved in the Ford boycott initiated by the American Family Association.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
