FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: James Arnold or Mary Collins Atkinson (202) 224-2353
July 13, 2021 

Cotton Demands Answers Regarding Raytheon Diversity Training

Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) wrote a letter to Gregory Hayes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Raytheon Company, demanding information about the company’s use of training materials that rely heavily on racial stereotypes and appear to violate federal non-discrimination law. Cotton requested a response from Raytheon by July 23rd.

In part, Cotton wrote, “The training materials in question, such as Raytheon’s ‘Stronger Together Employee Guide,’ encourage employees to become ‘anti-racists,’ a term popularized by Ibram X. Kendi, who the guide approvingly quotes. This material is rooted in a radical ideology called Critical Race Theory that denounces the United States as systemically racist and rejects important aspects of the American civil-rights tradition, including equality before the law.”

“Setting aside the business sense of your company’s advocacy, Raytheon’s employee trainings appear to violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which forbids employers from discriminating on the basis of race or engaging in any activities that ‘limit, segregate, or classify’ employees,’”Cotton continued.

Text of the letter may be found here or below.

 

July 13, 2021

Mr. Gregory J. Hayes

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Raytheon Company

870 Winter Street

Waltham, MA 02451-1449

Mr. Hayes,

I’m writing in response to a troubling news story that alleges your company is using training materials that rely heavily on racial stereotypes and appear to violate federal non-discrimination law.

The training materials in question, such as Raytheon’s “Stronger Together Employee Guide,” encourage employees to become “anti-racists,” a term popularized by Ibram X. Kendi, who the guide approvingly quotes. This material is rooted in a radical ideology called Critical Race Theory that denounces the United States as systemically racist and rejects important aspects of the American civil-rights tradition, including equality before the law. Kendi, for example, openly advocates for discrimination on the basis of race to correct perceived injustices. Your company’s trainings repeat aspects of Critical Race Theory, urging employees not to treat each other equally, without regard to race, but “equitably,” a term that is often used to justify unequal treatment on the basis of race.

Your company’s trainings also contain gross stereotypes about various groups, including the racial stereotype that black people as a group are “exhausted, frustrated, stressed, barely sleeping, scared, and overwhelmed.” The guide also stereotypes white people, Christians, ablebodied individuals, straight people, and English speakers, as members of “privileged” groups who have “the luxury to ignore ... injustices.”

Finally, your company’s trainings direct Raytheon employees to a variety of radical reading materials, including an article that advocates the “Defund the Police” movement. Given Raytheon’s extensive business with law-enforcement groups, I find it hard to believe that the “Defund the Police” movement is in the interests of Raytheon’s shareholders, let alone its employees and customers—all of whom are normal citizens who would suffer the consequences of rising crime.

Setting aside the business sense of your company’s advocacy, Raytheon’s employee trainings appear to violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which forbids employers from discriminating on the basis of race or engaging in any activities that “limit, segregate, or classify” employees.”

The previous administration observed that the kind of stereotyping and scapegoating commonly found in these trainings “may contribute to a hostile work environment and give rise to potential liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” 

Government contractors, as stewards of federal taxpayer dollars, have a special obligation to treat their employees equally, without regard for race. In fact, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act ensures that “no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin...be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 4 If Raytheon or any other contractor is not fulfilling its legal obligations, Congress will respond, which could affect that company’s contracts and ability to do business with the U.S. government in the future.

With these concerns in mind, please disclose to my office by July 23 any training materials on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that Raytheon uses to teach its employees. Please also disclose any vendors, companies, or individuals that Raytheon pays to administer such trainings.

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