Nationwide Home Depot Boycott Planned for July: What To Know
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The People's Union USA is organizing a month-long boycott of home improvement retailer The Home Depot.
Newsweek has reached out to the founder of the People's Union USA via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Consumer-led boycotts against well-known and prolific American corporations have been sweeping the country since late February. Some boycotts have taken specific action at companies accused of scaling back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, following the commencement of President Donald Trump's second term in office, where he moved to dismantle such practices.
The People's Union USA is organizing a month-long boycott of home improvement retailer Home Depot in July 2025.
The People's Union USA is organizing a month-long boycott of home improvement retailer Home Depot in July 2025.What To Know
The People's Union USA is a non-partisan group focused on "economic resistance, corporate accountability, and real justice for the working class." Its founder, John Schwartz, said in a video shared to Instagram and TikTok: "This July, we are boycotting Amazon, Starbucks and Home Depot for the entire month of July. And we're not just doing this because of their political view, we are doing it for the people."
He said in the video that The Home Depot has "Quietly erased their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion page, as if standing for fairness or for equality or for representation, was something to be ashamed of. That was a choice."
A section of the website that had championed the company's DEI efforts was taken down. The move came after Trump's orders to axe DEI programs in public and private sectors across the country.
DEI initiatives were created to promote the fair treatment and full participation of individuals, in particular those who are from historically underrepresented or marginalized groups.
Companies including Meta, Walmart and McDonald's have made changes to their DEI policies. Other companies, including Apple and Costco, have continued theirs.
What People Are Saying
A spokesperson for The Home Depot, in a statement shared with Newsweek: "For over 45 years, our business success has been driven by our eight core values, including respect for all people and taking care of our people. We're proud to have a culture that welcomes everyone, and we believe it helps us achieve our business goals by supporting associates, building relationships and fostering innovation."
People's Union USA founder John Schwartz, in a TikTok video about the boycott: "We the people have had and seen enough. So this July, we make a different kind of noise. We stop shopping with them, we stop funding the systems that don't serve us. And we shift our energy to small businesses, to local shops, to the people who actually care. Because we are the economy."
What Happens Next
The group is continuing to spearhead boycotts of major American companies. The boycotts against The Home Depot, Amazon and Starbucks will last for the month of July.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
a minute ago
- NBC News
Palantir joins list of 20 most valuable U.S. companies, with stock more than doubling in 2025
Palantir has hit another major milestone in its meteoric stock rise. It's now one of the 20 most valuable U.S. companies. The provider of software and data analytics technology to defense agencies saw its stock rise about 3% on Friday to another record, lifting the company's market cap to $375 billion, which puts it ahead of Home Depot and Procter & Gamble. The company's market value was already higher than Bank of America and Coca-Cola. Palantir has more than doubled in value this year as investors ramp up bets on the company's artificial intelligence business and closer ties to the U.S. government. Since its founding in 2003 by Peter Thiel, CEO Alex Karp and others, the company has steadily accrued a growing list of customers. Revenue in Palantir's U.S. government business increased 45% to $373 million in its most recent quarter, while total sales rose 39% to $884 million. The company next reports results on Aug. 4. Earlier this year, Palantir soared ahead of Salesforce, IBM and Cisco into the top 10 U.S. tech companies by market cap. Buying the stock at these levels requires investors to pay hefty multiples. Palantir currently trades for 273 times forward earnings, according to FactSet. The only other company in the top 20 with a triple-digit ratio is Tesla at 175. With $3.1 billion in total revenue over the past year, Palantir is a fraction the size of the next smallest company by sales among the top 20 by market cap. Mastercard, which is valued at $518 billion, is closest with sales over the past four quarters of roughly $29 billion.
NBC News
a minute ago
- NBC News
Some Republicans push to undo gambling tax hike they passed in Trump's megabill
WASHINGTON — Some top Republicans are regretting that they inserted a tax hike on gamblers into President Donald Trump's megabill, with several lawmakers who supported the legislation now calling for rolling back that policy. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., the chair of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, told NBC News that the provision was a 'mistake' and needs to be undone. 'It was definitely not something that we did in the House. I don't understand why the Senate decided to do something like that,' Smith said in a brief interview Wednesday. 'And so it is definitely a provision that — I'm interested in making sure that we fix the Senate's mistake.' The new law cuts the tax deduction on 'wagering losses' from 100% to 90% of losses starting in 2026, disrupting the current dynamic where bettors can offset losses with gains and pay taxes only on net earnings. The new policy could tax gamblers even in years where they break even or net-out losses. For instance, a bettor who wins $100,000 and loses $100,000 in the same year would be stuck with a taxable income of $10,000. 'It would be potentially catastrophic for the industry as it would disproportionately affect high volume gamblers,' said Jack Andrews, the professional sports bettor who goes by that alias. 'Those high volume players are the lifeblood of most casinos,' he added. 'If they realize they could lose, and still have taxable income to pay that they didn't make, they'll stop playing. Or find ways to play that don't generate a paper trail.' Andrews said the new law 'could result in players losing money gambling, but still owing taxes on 'income' they didn't make.' The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the gambling tax change will raise $1.1 billion over a decade. At least a couple of senators who supported the megabill — which passed with only GOP votes — want to undo the gambling tax. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee have signed on to legislation to roll it back, alongside Nevada's two Democratic senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen. The bill is called the Facilitating Useful Loss Limitations to Help Our Unique Service Economy Act, or the FULL HOUSE Act. 'It's unfair. It makes no sense,' Cruz, who plays poker in his spare time, said in an interview of the tax provision. 'The income tax is designed to tax actual income,' he said. 'For example, playing poker for profession — not allowing them to deduct their losses means they're paying taxes not on their actual income.' 'I think we should fix it,' he added. Cruz said most Republicans voted to pass the gambling tax change without knowing about it, a damning indictment of the legislative process for the bill. 'Nobody really takes responsibility for introducing it,' Cruz said. 'None of us knew about it. It's a very big, beautiful bill, and so there are lots of provisions there that at the end, things were moving very fast. I don't know of anyone who was aware of the provision at the time it passed.' The provision was introduced in the mid-June version of the bill, with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, overseeing the tax portion as chair of the Senate Finance Committee. And he, too, is open to revisiting it. 'Senator Crapo is open to receiving feedback from affected stakeholders and learning more about industry reporting and compliance,' a Crapo spokesperson said. 'To comply with the rules of reconciliation, every provision from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act needed to be modified to create a budgetary effect. In order to retain the gambling loss provision, it was changed to 90 percent,' the spokesperson added. 'While the committee heard from gaming associations on other provisions after text was released on June 16th, there were no concerns raised with lowering the threshold.' The blowback from bettors has since grown since Trump signed the bill into law on July 4, and Democrats have added it to their list of grievances with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 'Republicans' hastily put-together bill is full of provisions that are completely counterproductive and harmful to Americans. The provision limiting the wagering loss deduction will have a negative impact on Nevada, and it's one of the many reasons I voted no,' Cortez Masto, the author of the FULL HOUSE Act. On July 10, she sought unanimous consent on the Senate floor to pass the legislation but was met with an objection from Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., which prevented speedy passage. Her office said she will 'continue to explore all options available to restore the 100% dedication for gambling losses and protect Nevada's gaming and hospitality industries.' If the tax change isn't undone, it will come as a shock to some bettors, as 'many of them wouldn't realize this until they do their 2026 taxes, which would be early 2027,' Andrews said. But reversing it won't be so easy. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., poured cold water on the proposals from some Republicans to roll back parts of the bill. Asked by NBC News on Tuesday whether measures offered by his colleagues to undo the Medicaid cuts and gambling tax were going to succeed, Thune said flatly, 'No.' 'There are members out there who are saying, we'd like to do this or that differently. That's always the case,' Thune said. 'This was a big piece of legislation that had a lot of moving parts. Not everybody got everything they wanted, but at the end of the day, it's historic in its breadth and the things that it addresses.' The White House didn't immediately return a message seeking comment on whether Trump is open to revisiting the provision. Other Republicans say they're unfamiliar with the industry blowback to the gamblers' tax change. 'I honestly, frankly, haven't had a chance to look at it. So I don't even know what they're talking about,' Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., the second ranking Republican on Ways and Means, said. On the other hand, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, sounded surprised by how much attention the issue is getting. 'Why do so many people care about the gamblers tax?' he quipped. 'I'm kind of agnostic. I don't, frankly, understand why it's such a big deal. But happy to look at anything they propose.'
Bloomberg
a minute ago
- Bloomberg
Trump's UK Trip Mixes Presidential Duty and Personal Interests
This is Washington Edition, the newsletter about money, power and politics in the nation's capital. Every Friday, White House correspondent Akayla Gardner delivers a roundup of the key news and events in politics, policy and economics that you need to know. Sign up here and follow us at @bpolitics. Email our editors here. Donald Trump's trip to Scotland that begins today brings back into focus the ever-present overlap between his presidential duties and his personal interests.
