UPS Ends Grants to Boy Scouts Over Discrimination

http://abcnews.go.com ^ | 11/13/2012 | By MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press

[massmike]

The philanthropic arm of shipping giant UPS said it will no longer give money to the Boy Scouts of America as long as the group discriminates against gays, the second major corporation to recently strip funding from the scouts. The UPS Foundation made the change Thursday after an online petition protesting its annual grants to the Boy Scouts attracted more than 80,000 signatures. UPS, based in Atlanta, follows computer chip maker Intel in withdrawing corporate support for the Boy Scouts. The UPS Foundation gave more than $85,000 to the Boy Scouts in 2011, according to its federal tax return. Federal tax returns for 2011 for Intel, the world's largest chip maker, were not immediately available. Some media reported the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company as giving hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.

[kidd]

I stopped giving to the United Way. That was easy.

I can stop using UPS. Even easier.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Have you opened up any of the electronics in your home to see if there is Intel inside?

[atomic_dog]

Our use of UPS is, most of the time, discretionary.

Maybe not well known to the general public but UPS ships most of the guns and ammo in the US. If I have to send a rifle to an out of state gunsmith it pretty much has to go UPS. Mostly because FedEx are dicks about it and AFAIK you have to have a FFL to ship USPS. Fedex also requires ammo to be shipped adult signature required, which can be a PITA, and UPS will leave it on the porch. I much prefer UPS. So if FedEx were to loosen up their policies and target firearms and ammunition they could poach a lot of business from UPS.

There may be another aspect to be considered about these policy changes. Someone should really look into how these proposals move up through the corporate structure. When I was in Business school they had us read a story called Dodkin's Job by Jack Vance. Ostensibly it was science fiction but it is a classic about organizations, especially linkages and how they work. The main character gets riled up about a directive issued to improve efficiency and takes it upon himself to pursue what idiot promulgated such idiocy and where in the organization it originated. I won't spoil it but it views management as a vast machine and inputs from some weird places can have far reaching effects.

I mention the story because I observed in my company a couple of decades later the same sort of occurrence. I started the company, it grew rapidly and after awhile not everybody knew everybody else. These really weird policies, socially progressive and unnecessary, started to be issued. I had hired a real CEO by that time but thankfully I still had enough juice to look into it. It turns out that they were all originating from some young administrative assistant. I had her sh*tcanned and it all went away.

I think it's worth looking into because one small gay flunky in a large organization could be implementing these policies without the organization itself being aware of it.

[Baumer]

I will also be boycotting UPS just as I have boycotted Levis for over 20 years.

[Jim Noble]

I presume that UPS then also wishes to end the Girl Scouts’ discrimination against male leaders taking teenaged girls camping?

[grobdriver]

The UPS Foundation made the change Thursday after an online petition protesting its annual grants to the Boy Scouts attracted more than 80,000 signatures.

The queers are out in force, emboldened by the election.

[oh8eleven]

I use ... believe it or not U.S. Mail.
Five years ago I had to send a PC power supply to my son in Shanghai, China.
Both Fed EX and UPS wanted about $90.
US Mail was $36.

[VAFreedom]

Guys, let’s be more sensible about this. step back and look at the big picture. so we’re going to boycott UPS because of their withdrawl of the grant. and go with company that has never gave the grant to boy scouts in the first place? because, by defination, (without any info to the contrary) isn’t UPS in the same standing now with FEDEX as company that doesn’t give money to boy scouts in the first place?

Well, I use USPS anyway since it is cheapter and just as fast.

[cymbeline]

Open gayness in the BSA makes me uncomfortable. Throw the openly gay boys in with a smattering of pedophyle adult leaders and you’ve got a scary mixture.

I’d like to see BSA and organizations like it quit taking money from large givers. BSA is probably already too big, bureaucratic and political. One could ask, if BSA accepts money from UPS, is UPS influencing BSA.

[basil]

Unfortunately, I think the BSA will see it’s demise before long.

I would certainly not have had my sons in scouting if I was having to worry about the possibility of sexual abuse..............

Of course I realize that it happened even when gays were not allowed to be Boy Scot leaders-—they could somehow go undetected for a while at least.

Is there one darned thing in this country that the gay/lesbian, etc etc community hasn’t ruined for the rest of us?

[MacNaughton]

29 ... I’d like to see BSA and organizations like it quit taking money from large givers. BSA is probably already too big, bureaucratic and political. One could ask, if BSA accepts money from UPS, is UPS influencing BSA.

Like all large organizations, BSA continues to need corporate charity. BSA has been reducing professional headcount for 20+ years by consolidating councils. It is a much leaner organization than it used to be. The future is bleak. More and more corporations are piling on BSA and changing their human resource department regulations for charitable giving to exclude charities which have exclusive membership policies, i.e., no open atheists or homosexuals.

[Moltke]

The obvious question that no one so far has raised in these threads is: WTH do the BSA need corporate sponsorship for in the first place? When I was a Scout (1970s, McLean, Va.) I had my own hiking boots, tent, sleeping bag. Little else was needed. Meetings took place at a local church. Trips, e.g. the week of canoeing down the Rappahannock River, didn’t cost much and were paid for by ourselves. Duh! What, can’t the little sh!ts these days do that without corporate sponsorship, being made to feel like they’re Michael Jordan?

I doubt I’d had a better time with an Intel or UPS logo on my boots.

[cableguymn]

backwards.

[Bender2]

Listening today to the Dallas area sports radio 105-THE FAN, on RAGE, the Richie And Greggo Extravaganza, this matter came up. This shows's hosts are two well into middle age men who come off as two petchulant 12-year old boys. Most times their banter is just that, banter--

However, today Richie jumped on the Boy Scouts with all four feet when reporting that UPS had dropped their donation to the Scouts because of their stand that their members be 'morally straight' in both the figurative and literally way. He said in effect he was all for not giving an money to an organization that fully supported hate and discrimination of gays.

Guess Richie could also throw most of organized religion as hate organizations like the Boy Scouts--

Now, the other half of RAGE, Greggo, a self-confessed drug addict that brags and makes fun of his continuing hijinks while doped up on Ambien sleep medication. All in good fun, of course.

Well, following on the heels of Richie's blasting the Boy Scouts for their dastardly hate, Greggo goes ballistic on the lack of hate for rivals in the NFL. This brought about by the Chicago Bears' Brian Urlacher shaking hands in apparent congratulations with a Houston Texan player over his interception return of a Jay Cutler pass for a touchdown.

Greggo could just not understand how any NFL player could not show true hate for his opponent and instead show such... such... shall we say "sportsmanship."

If one wonders why the United States is going to hell in a handbag... add sports radio in Dallas, Texas, to the mix--

[maxwellsmart_agent]

Do what I’m doing. Go back to Fed Ex.

[Morpheus2009]

All I have to say is WTH did Boy Scouting have to do with corporate contributors? I recall my Scout Troop taking care of most of its own finances through a variety of means. We even spent some fraction of our own bucks to make sure that scouts in the troop had tents, then the amount of money to go to the summer camp(s) as well, which by today’s standards, was still cheap in comparison to what plenty of kids spend annually on video games. I guess UPS meant that it wouldn’t offer sponsorship money, but then again, I guess the support from organized religious congregations isn’t what it used to be.

[Best and Brightest]

UPS Corporate Offices
Address: 55 Glenlake Parkway Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: (404) 828-6000 Hours:Mon-Fri 8:30am–5pmSat-Sun Closed