The second and third largest U.S. brewers—one a target of boycotts by gays for decades—have officially entered into a joint venture and will move their headquarters to the Windy City—one of the few cities to continue such a boycott.
As of July 1, MillerCoors, a new merger between SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co., officially began operation. Very recently, MillerCoors announced it would move its headquarters to Chicago. While Miller has been extremely pro-gay over the years—not only with its company policies, but also through its support of the LGBT community—many LGBT people are wary of Coors joining forces with Miller. Chicago has been one of the few cities to maintain an LGBT boycott of Coors products because of the anti-gay actions of the Coors family.
The merger integrates Miller's U.S. and Puerto Rico operations with Molson Coors' U.S. and Canadian operations. Miller has 58 percent economic interest, while Coors has 42 percent economic interest. That means that Miller receives 58 percent of the merger's income.
Miller has been very supportive of the LGBT community over the years, in terms of advertisements, sponsorship of events and more. They also have strong pro-gay company policies.
For years, Coors has been a target of boycotts by LGBT people. In the '70s, gay activists launched a Coors boycott in order to shed light on the anti-gay funding efforts of the Coors family.
The Coors family's private foundation—The Castle Rock Foundation—has donated to anti-gay causes. Coors Vice Chairman and major shareholder Peter Coors is president of the foundation. Other members of the Coors family have supported anti-gay causes and politicians, including the late Joseph Coors, who founded the conservative, anti-gay Heritage Foundation. In addition, Jeffrey Coors is a member of the Free Congress Foundation, which also has a reputation for supporting anti-gay efforts. There are others who benefit from Coors' profits that support anti-gay and other hateful efforts.
Pride at Work, an organized labor affiliate, recently expressed concern over the merger because of the activities of the Coors family. Its main concern is the Coors family supports anti-gay groups, politicians and efforts through this family foundation. The group even wrote to Miller executives with their concerns.
However, for years, Coors has tried hard to shake off the reputation the Coors family's actions have given it, and tried to distance itself from the family. In the '90s, Coors launched a gay-friendly campaign to help boost its image among gays.
One of the ways it has tried to shake this image is by making its company policies rock-solid for LGBT folks. In 1994, Coors created a gay-friendly employment anti-discrimination act, which was updated last year. In 1995, they started offering health coverage to the domestic partners of employees. In 2007, Coors added a COBRA benefit for same-sex partners. The company even has adoption assistance for its LGBT employees.
Coors has improved its company policies so much, that for all four years of its existence, the big brewer has received a 100 percent on Human Rights Campaign's ( HRC ) Corporate Equality Index. HRC says that to its knowledge, the activities of a significant shareholder have not affected the company's policies related to LGBT employees.
Coors has also tried to make itself more visible in the LGBT community. For example, in June 2008, Coors became the first U.S. corporate sponsor of The Matthew Shepard Foundation's Campaign to Erase Hate.
In 2008, Miller received a score of 90 on HRC's Corporate Equality Index. The company started offering health insurance to domestic partners of employees in 2000. It adopted a anti-discrimination policy covering gender identity in 2003. However, Miller is slightly behind Coors when it comes to company policies.
Even though Coors has improved its company policies, many still say that what matters are the anti-gay actions of the Coors family.
Chicago has been one of the few cities to continue an LGBT boycott of Coors products. According to the Bay Area Reporter, the San Francisco boycott is still strong, as well. Just last October, bar owner Chuck Renslow and several others wrote an open letter to the LGBT community in Windy City Times in response to Coors' advertisement in the publication. Renslow and others highlighted the anti-gay activities of the Coors family over the years.
Sidetrack co-owner and community activist Art Johnston said that he is currently seeking more information about the merger, and has a 'wait and see' attitude.
'This merger poses some difficult questions for us since Miller has been by far the best beer company for our community and Coors clearly the worst,' Johnston said.
Sidetrack, like several LGBT bars in Chicago, does not serve Coors, according to one of its bartenders.
Chuck Renslow, a gay bar owner and a strong proponent of the Chicago Coors boycott, said that he still needs to learn more about the merger, but is pleased Miller is the leader in the joint venture because 'Miller has been pro-gay right along.'
Renslow said that while Miller was being picketed for participating in International Mr. Leather, the company's support for the LGBT and leather community remained strong. 'I asked them if they needed to back down and they said, 'Absolutely not,'' he said.
Like Johnston, Renslow believes in a wait-and-see approach to the situation. However, he said that all along, the boycott has been about policy.
'Here, you have two companies now who are pro-gay,' Renslow said.
The way Renslow sees it, if Miller has more economic interest in the joint venture than Coors, and both companies have pro-gay policies, as long as the actions of Coors' shareholders don't impact the company's policies, the boycott may start to seem 'silly.'
All in all, time will only tell how Chicago's LGBT community will eventually react to the merger.
Anheuser-Busch, the makers of Budweiser, is another beer company with strong ties to the LGBT community that is merging, with InBev, an international company. Budweiser and Bud Light both sponsor major community events. LGBT groups are waiting to see how this may impact their event sponsorships, advertising and company policies.
