by
Jerry Sloan (Project Tocsin)
The Coors Brewing Company is to be commended for its progressive policies for diversity and for granting Domestic Partners Benefits to its employees. In light of these policies some segment of the Translesbigay Community is now saying we should not be punishing a progressive company for old not-so-progressive policies and for real or imagined sins.
The City of West Hollywood recently passed a resolution commending the Coors Brewing Company on the advice of its Lesbian and Gay Advisory Council and on 2 June 1197, Christopher Street West, the sponsor of the L.A. L/G Pride Parade, among the world’s largest, is holding a public meeting to see if their organization should lift the ban on Coors products.
However, there is a major obstacle for the gay community to accept that the Coors house is completely in order in terms of non-discrimination. For years the Company has disingenuously maintained there is no connection between and the Company and the Adolph Coors Foundation and the newer Castle Rock Foundation, which have historically and currently fund anti-gay organizations.
Since the Coors Brewing Company’s claims regarding these relationships this is transparently untrue, many of us believe that it is sending mixed signals as to their true objectives.
First of all, the people now running the Company are only a management team hired by the Company Board of Directors. While there are non-family members sitting on the board of directors of the Adolph Coors Company it is Family members who are the executive committee. Thus the Coors family is in fact The Company. The Coors Family Trust holds ALL of the voting stock and various Family members own most of the preferred stock (non-voting) in the company. In other words the Coors Family completely controls the company and reaps most of the benefits from that company which bears its name.
Therefore we must look to the views and activities of the Coors Family for indications of the long-range policies of the Coors company in matters facing the gay and lesbian community. Management teams come and go. While in place management teams do the bidding of the Owners who can change their minds about the current policies. This is also true at the Coors family controlled foundations. Here are a few facts which support our views in this matter.
- FACT: Documents filed with the Security Exchange Commission report the Adolph Coors Foundation and the Castle Rock Foundation jointly hold 732,413 shares of the Adolph Coors Company, the holding company which owns the Coors Brewing Company.
- FACT: A report filed 30 July 1996 with the Security Exchange Commission by ACX Technologies, inc., reports that 857,744 shares of ACX stock are held by the Adolph Cours Foundation.
- FACT: Since the founding of ACX Technologies the Company has done hundreds of millions of dollars of business with ACX Technologies.
- FACT: The Company, The Foundations and the Family are like an inseparable Siamese twin: The actions of one necessarily reflect on the other and in reality ARE the actions of the other.
Given all of the above, will the Adolph Coors Company/Family answer these questions for us?
- Since the Coors Family has made such great strides in becoming an example for corporate America in its policies of diversity at the Coors Brewing Company, is the Coors Family willing to be consistent in not funding either through the Company or Foundations or even their own personal wealth, organizations and individuals who do not meet the standard which they have put in place in the Coors Brewing company?
- This question actually depends closely on the answer to the first: Can you assure us that with the purchase of Coors products that the corporate dividends which ultimately come from the sale of Coors products will not be used to fund anti-gay causes and organizations? Especially the dividends of those stocks held by the Foundations.
- What are the non-discrimination policies in place at Adolph Coors Company, the Adolph Coors Foundation and the Castle Rock Foundation? Do the employees of these companies have the protection of an anti-discrimination clause based on sexual orientation and domestic partners benefits?
- Can you assure the Translesbigay Community that Jeffery Coors who reaps GREAT financial benefits from both his personal stock in the Adolph Coors Company and the business done between the Coors Brewing Company and ACX will not use his money to finance anti-gay causes and organizations. Can you assure us he will resign as Chair of the Board of the Free Congress Foundation which is a vehement, vindictive, virulent anti-gay organization?
- Is it not true that many of the same family members who sit on the Board of Directors of the Company also sit on the Boards of the Foundations? Is it not hypocritical of them to have Domestic Partners Benefits for Coors Brewing Company employees and also make grants to organizations who actively oppose Domestic Partners Benefits?
- If the Coors Family is so proud of the Coors Brewing Company’s progress in the fields of anti-discrimination, cultural diversity, the environment and domestic partners, why does the Coors Family work with, hold memberships in, make grants to organizations such as the Heritage Foundation, The Free Congress Foundation, the Leadership Institute, the Institute on Religion and Public Life, Young America’s Foundation, the Media Research Center, the Center for Study of Popular Culture ALL of whom oppose such policies in one way or another?.
- At least seven members of the Coors Family attend meetings of or are members of the Council for National Policy (CNP) including Holly, Jeffery, Carin, and Darden. Also, Linda Tafoya, Executive Director of the Foundations and Anthony Grampsas of the Company are members of the CNP. Unsurprisingly, many of the leaders of grantee organizations are also members of the CNP.There is not one of the 500+ members of the CNP that the informed person would not consider to be actively and virulently homophobic! As one looks at the political arena today, when ever there is a fight against gay equality, affirmative action, cultural diversity, the environment, or for school vouchers, which would destroy public education, there is usually a member of the CNP either leading the charge or financing it. Will those members of the Coors Family who reap great financial benefits from their Coors holdings resign as members of the CNP?
- Since the Company has not been honest about its relationship to the Coors Family and the Foundations in the past, what assurances can you give us the Company/Family is going to be honest now or in the future?
- Given the Coors Family’s historic opposition to gay and lesbian civil rights, how can we be assured that the current positive company policies will not be overturned when the boycott is withdrawn?
TO THE COORS COMPANY AND FAMILY: LETS BE FRANK. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, AND THE ACTIONS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE FROM THE COORS FAMILY:
(1) A PUBLIC RENUNCIATION OF THE ANTI-GAY AGENDA OF THE FAR-RIGHT IN THE U.S.;
(2) END FUNDING OF OBVIOUSLY ANTI-GAY ORGANIZATIONS, AND AS DEMONSTRATION OF THIS NEW COMMITMENT;
(3) MAKE SIGNIFICANT FUNDING OF GAY AND LESBIAN CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY CENTERS FROM COORS FAMILY-RELATED FOUNDATIONS.
TO THE TRANSLESBIGAY COMMUNITY: ARE WE DUMB ENOUGH TO SETTLE FOR A FEW CRUMBS FROM THE PRAGMATIC PROFIT-ORIENTED COORS COMPANY/FAMILY. WILL WE CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THEIR LIES AND HALF-TRUTHS? WILL WE DO AS THEY ASK AND JOIN THEM IN FINANCING OUR ENEMIES BY BUYING THEIR PRODUCTS?
COORS FAMILY MEMBER CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION TITLES 1
These are the men that lead the company and the foundations.
WILLIAM K. COORS
TRUSTEE OF THE ADOLPH COORS FAMILY TRUST 2
CHAIR OF THE BOARD AND PRESIDENT ADOLPH COORS COMPANY
CHAIR OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF ADOLPH COORS COMPANY
CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF ACX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF THE ADOLPH COORS FOUNDATION 3
CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF THE CASTLE ROCK FOUNDATION
JOSEPH COORS
TRUSTEE OF ADOLPH COORS FAMILY TRUST
VICE CHAIR OF ADOLPH COORS COMPANY
MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF ADOLPH COORS COMPANY
DIRECTOR EMERITUS OF ACX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
DIRECTOR OF THE COORS BREWING COMPANY
PETER H. COORS
TRUSTEE OF ADOLPH COORS FAMILY TRUST
VICE PRESIDENT OF ADOLPH COORS COMPANY
MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ADOLPH COORS COMPANY
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF COOR BREWING COMPANY
VICE CHAIR COORS BREWING COMPANY
MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COORS BREWING COMPANY
MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTOR OF THE ADOLPH COORS FOUNDATION
MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CASTLE ROCK FOUNDATION
JEFFERY H. COORS
TRUSTEE OF THE ADOLPH COORS FAMILY TRUST
PRESIDENT OF ACX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
TRUSTEE OF THE ADOLPH COORS FOUNDATION
TRUSTEE OF THE CASTLE ROCK FOUNDATION
JOSEPH COORS, JR.
TRUSTEE OF THE ADOLPH COORS FAMILY TRUST
PRESIDENT OF ACX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
1 Most of this material is taken from Form 10-K405 filed 28 March 1997 on behalf of the Adolph Coors Company and Form SC13D/A filed 30 July 1996 with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission
2 ALL 1, 200,000 shares of the voting stock of Adolph Coors Company is owned by the Adolph Coors Family Trust
3 The Adolph Coors Foundation and the Castle Rock Foundation jointly hold 732,413 shares of Class B stock of the Adolph Coors Company. According to Form 990 on file with U.S. Internal Revenue Service the Castle Rock Foundation makes most of its grants to organizations that promotes agendas which are anti-gay, anti-affirmative action, anti-environmental, anti-abortion, pro-school vouchers, such as the Free Congress Foundation, Heritage Foundation, Institute on Religion and Public Life, Young America’s Foundation, Center for the Study of Popular Culture.