General Mills opposes Minnesota amendment to ban same-sex marriage
Jun 15, 2012 (Menafn - Pioneer Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --General Mills broke Minnesota's long corporate silence over the proposed marriage amendment, saying it opposes efforts to amend the state constitution to provide that only a union between one man and one woman will be recognized as marriage in Minnesota.
"We do not believe the proposed constitutional amendment is in the best interests of our employees or our state economy -- and as a Minnesota-based company we oppose it," the foodmaker said Thursday, June 14.
The move drew cheers and jeers. Gay-marriage supporters hailed the decision as historic and courageous. Opponents said General Mills had "declared a war on marriage."
But both sides felt the debate shift, as one of Minnesota's best-known companies took a public stand on a topic that corporations have avoided, fearful of provoking a consumer backlash. That's a special risk for a highly visible food company like General Mills, which relies on the goodwill of millions of consumers, and is home to brand icons like the Pillsbury Doughboy, Betty Crocker and the Trix Rabbit.
A backlash didn't take long to develop Thursday.
"This will go down as one of the dumbest corporate PR stunts of all time," said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage. "It's ludicrous for a big corporation to intentionally inject themselves into a divisive social issue like gay marriage.
"It's particularly dumb for a corporation that makes billions selling cereal to the very people they just opposed."
But
General Mills executives say the stand reflects long-held corporate values: inclusion, fairness and equality for its employees. The Golden Valley-based company is regularly named among the nation's best corporate workplaces.
"While General Mills doesn't normally take positions on ballot measures, this is a business issue that impacts our employees," Ken Charles, General Mills' vice president of global diversity, wrote on the company's blog.
"Obviously, there are strongly held views on both sides," Charles added. "We acknowledge those views, including those on religious grounds. We respect and defend the right of others to disagree. But we truly value diversity and inclusion -- and that makes our choice clear."
For gay-marriage supporters, the announcement raised new hopes that Minnesota's other major corporations also might take public stands, not just offer private support.
"This is an issue where business leaders are going to be very thoughtful about the right approach and they're going to want to see where their peers are," said Tom Horner, a public relations executive urging business leaders to oppose the amendment, which goes to Minnesota voters in November.
"To have a company of the stature of General Mills, and the stature of a CEO like Ken Powell step up in such a proactive way, that is hugely important."
General Mills is only the second Fortune 500 company in Minnesota to oppose efforts to amend the state constitution to restrict marriage to a man and a woman.
St. Jude Medical was the first, but it makes medical devices, not supermarket staples.
Jonathan Baker of the National Organization for Marriage last month sent letters to more than 150 Minnesota corporations, advising them to adopt a neutral stance on the marriage issue.
"We are watching carefully," the letters said.
The organization already is boycotting Seattle-based Starbucks, which has opposed a similar amendment that's on the November ballot in Washington state.
But it's not clear that the Starbucks boycott has had the impact its advocates hoped. Thus far, the organization says, more than 43,000 consumers have joined the "Dump Starbucks" movement to "stop their corporate assault on marriage."
But 650,000 consumers have joined the "Thank You, Starbucks" online campaign to show "supporting equal rights is good business," according to sumofus.org, the group that's doing the campaign.
General Mills CEO Powell first announced his company's decision Wednesday at an in-house gay-pride event, attended by about 400 gay and lesbian professionals, who roared their approval.
The decision quickly drew strong reactions, both ways.
John Helmberger, chairman of Minnesota for Marriage, said General Mills "has decided to play PC politics by pandering to a small but powerful interest group that is bent on redefining marriage, the core institution of society."
A different reaction came from Cupcake, the Minneapolis bakery that will soon open a location on St. Paul's Grand Avenue.
"Would like to send out a big thank you to General Mills!" it posted on its Facebook page. It urged its customers to "please give your support back to them -- buy Gold Medal Flour. Cupcake does."
Tom Webb can be reached at 651-228-5428. Follow him at twitter.com/TomWebbMN Julie Forster can be reached at 651-228-5189.
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