Iowa City, IA – National Co+op Grocers (NCG) today is voicing its strong opposition to discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, specifically in the face of North Carolina’s recent passage of HB 142.
Equality is one of NCG’s core values. NCG stands with the ACLU, the North Carolina NAACP, and Human Rights Campaign in expressing strong concern about HB 142, which was recently signed into law to replace the equally discriminatory HB 2 “bathroom bill.”
The new law effectively prohibits cities from adopting nondiscrimination ordinances until at least 2020, and in particular, prohibits state and city agencies, including public universities and school boards, from adopting policies protecting transgender people’s right to access public restrooms consistent with their gender.
“We believe in treating each person with kindness, respect and humanity. Beyond creating an uncomfortable and inhumane personal environment, discriminatory laws such as HB142 create an unfriendly business environment and reduce NCG and its co-ops’ ability to continue attracting a talented workforce to the area,” said Robynn Shrader, NCG’s chief executive officer. “With a regional office in Carrboro, frequent conferences in Chapel Hill and eight member co-ops throughout the state with 10 retail locations, we have a vested interest in ensuring that North Carolina remains a safe and equal place for all.”
As part of its continued support of the LGBTQ community in North Carolina, including efforts to combat discriminatory legislation, over the past two years NCG has contributed more than $25,000 collectively to Southerners on New Ground (SONG) and the LGBTQ Center of Durham.
About NCG
National Co+op Grocers (NCG), founded in 1999, is a business services cooperative for retail food co-ops located throughout the United States. NCG helps unify food co-ops in order to optimize operational and marketing resources, strengthen purchasing power, and ultimately offer more value to natural food co-op owners and shoppers everywhere. Our 148 member and associate co-ops operate more than 200 storefronts in 38 states with combined annual sales of nearly $2 billion. NCG is a winner of the dotCoop Global Awards for Cooperative Excellence and a Certified B Corporation. Find a map of NCG member and associate co-ops. To learn more about co-ops, visit www.strongertogether.coop.
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Media inquiries may be directed to Eric Davis (eric@harvest-pr.com; 612-424-7545).