You can get anything at Costco, including DEI

Take it from this longtime, committed shopper: There are many reasons for shopping at Costco. For starters, you can get anything you want, at a good price: from a loaf of bread, to a flatscreen TV, to a whole pallet of bottled water, to fresh flowers, a shrimp platter, best-selling books, men or women’s clothing, a plush new sofa, prescription drugs, or new hearing aids — and top it off with my favorite, the best lunch deal in America, a hot dog and coke (with refill) for just $1.50.

But now there’s another good reason for shopping at Costco: You can get something even more valuable every time you walk through the door. You can get a chance to share in a display of America at its very best.

Last week — three days after President Trump signed an executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusionor DEI programs in federal agencies — Costco shareholders voted by 98 percent to reject pressure by the Trump administration to reconsider or abandon the company’s policies in support of DEI. Costco has built a successful, effective, diverse work force and they voted to stand by it.

By refusing to end its DEI programs, Costco was not only taking a political stand against Donald Trump. It was doing something much more powerful. First, by affirming that DEI programs are nothing more than the fundamental building block of America, as expressed in the opening words of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This means, in practice, that all American men (and women), of every race and creed, should have an equal shot at jobs, promotions and benefits.

In other words, if we’re really going to deliver on the promise of America, if we’re really going to practice what we preach, a corporation’s workforce should look like America, reflecting the great mix of men, women, white, Black, brown, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, young, old, Protestant, Jew, Catholic, Muslim or non-believer that make up this great nation. On that level, Costco’s workforce delivers.

And that’s the second powerful message Costco sent this week: such diversity, such DEI policies, are good for business. They’ve certainly been good for Costco. With 300,000 employees and 77.4 million members nationwide, Costco’s profits have soared 35 percent in the last 12 months and tripled over the last 5 years. So Costco, no matter what Trump says, is going to stand by DEI. With good reason. As they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Even though he claims he has nothing to do with it, Trump’s executive order ending DEI in federal agencies is right out of the pages of Project 2025, which argued that DEI is “bad for business.” But, as with most of what Trump says, the truth is just the opposite. In three different recent studies, the global management firm McKinsey and Company encouraged companies to adopt diversity policies in hiring and promotions because they’re good for the bottom line. “The most diverse companies are now more likely than ever to outperform less diverse peers on profitability.”

In one final break with reality, Trump crowed that he was ending DEI and replacing it with “merit-based” hiring. Which is, you must admit, laugh-out-loud funny. There’s not one “merit-based” test on the planet that would put forth Pete Hegseth as qualified to be secretary of Defense. He’d be lucky to get a job as stockboy at Costco.

Bill Press is host of “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.” Follow him on BlueSky @BillPress.bsky.social.

Topics

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