Nike gets perfect marks from gay, lesbian group

As I've grown older (and hopefully wiser), I've come to realize the power of the dollar. I never used to think about it. I would buy whatever it was that I needed without really thinking about the philosophy of the company I was buying it from. If the company had oppressive policies towards its workers or was hostile to my community, by buying their products I am in effect an accomplice in their actions. I, in an indirect way, say that what they are doing is "ok".

Well, it's not ok. Just as I have the power of the vote in voicing who I think should be in government, I also have a vote with my money. Every single time you buy anything, you are casting a vote for the company that you are buying from. That is power!

We need to think more about that. Myself, I'm a Reebok customer but from now on, I will be buying Nike. Why? To cast my vote and let Nike know that I approve of their policies and what they do for all their workers. Just think, if every single gay American would do this, how many companies do you think would come around and create equal rights for its gay and lesbian workers and their domestic partners? News source for this story was The Business Journal of Portland.

Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike Inc. received a perfect score in the Human Rights Campaign's second ranking of how large domestic companies treat gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees.

The campaign, which bills itself as the nation's largest lesbian and gay political organization, rated companies on a scale of zero percent to 100 percent on seven factors including written non-discrimination policies, health insurance coverage for employees' same-sex domestic partners and diversity training.