A union representing employees of the Social Security Administration has demanded that the Biden administration kill a new “pronoun policy” geared toward transgender workers, saying it forces political views on members.

American Federation of Government Employees Local 2505 filed a Union-Management Grievance Friday over a policy announced internally on Wednesday called the “Policy on Prohibiting Discrimination, Including Harassment, Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, or Gender Expression,” which the agency calls the Pronoun Policy for short. The union, which represents 600 low-level employees in Oklahoma and Arkansas, said the policy changed restroom access, the dress code, and “created a new form with the employee’s name, gender identity, pronouns.”

“All of the changes are violations of Article 1, Section 2 as they changed existing terms and conditions of employment,” the grievance said. “Having made these changes without advanced notice and the opportunity to bargain, in addition to SSA violating 5 USC 71, SSA also violated Article 1, Section 2.”

The grievance went on to say the policy violates employees’ freedom of religion and free speech rights by forcing workers to address people by their preferred pronouns and creates a hostile work environment for employees who do not agree for political or religious reasons.

“This new policy will create a chilling effect on them and is essentially forcing them to agree with this political view in spite of their own personal political or religious beliefs,” it added.

On March 1, SSA Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi announced the policy to employees with the subject “Building an Equitable and Inclusive Culture: Gender Identity.”

“Soon, you will receive notice of a mandatory training to help you prepare for full implementation of the policy, which will happen on March 31, 2023. Available starting March 2, this training will increase your knowledge of using pronouns and gender-neutral language and supporting employees and colleagues in the workplace,” the email said.

The 27-page policy, obtained by The Daily Wire, defines the terms agender, bigender, cisgender, gender diverse, genderfluid, genderqueer, and gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and two-spirit, and lays out numerous ways in which the agency will support employees who wish to transition to one of those categories.

“The agency makes note that every transition is different, and some employees may want none of these changes, all of these changes, some of these changes, or additional changes not listed in these procedures,” it said.

It provides a 19-part form to be filled out to manage an employee’s gender transition, and an email template for managers to announce an employee’s new gender that says “The agency supports [PROPER NAME] in their transition/affirmation… If you are interested in learning more about how SSA supports gender transition/affirmation, I invite you to refer to [insert link to policy/COSS statement of choice].”

It says transgender employees may use the bathroom of their choice, and that “continued intentional misuse of an employee’s name or pronoun could… lead to disciplinary action.”

“At meetings, employees, managers, and supervisors can introduce themselves with the pronouns they use, which may prompt others at the meeting to share the pronouns they use, e.g., ‘Hello, my name is Michael. My pronouns are he/him.’ Additionally, employees, managers, and supervisors should consider including their proper names, pronunciations of their names, and pronouns in their email signatures, e.g., Brianne (Bree-anne) Doe (they/theirs),” it adds.

Ralph Dejuliis, the union local president, said two employees have already asked for a religious exemption. He told The Daily Wire that under Kijakazi, social justice initiatives were distracting the agency from basic issues that were preventing it from serving needy Americans efficiently.

“SSA has already put out a video for all the employees to watch on gender transition. How many people have been working on this… when it takes six months to get an initial disability decision?” he said.

Dejuliis said his personal politics are liberal and progressive, but he finds it inappropriate to force any brand of politics on people through a government job.

“It’s forcing everyone to have a liberal socially work position,” he said. “I represent people in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Half the people I represent have concealed carry permits. They are not woke.”

The policy has “a name for people who don’t like gays and transgender: transphobic. You make up a special name to demonize people? Why don’t you call me sinner because I don’t go to your church?” he said.

A spokesman for the Social Security Administration dismissed the local chapter’s complaint.

“The allegations in this locally filed grievance are inaccurate,” Mark Hinkle told The Daily Wire. “We have resolved the bargaining obligations associated with the referenced policy with all of the unions representing Social Security employees, at the national level.”

In Kijakazi’s email to staff, she said “I want to thank everyone including the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) workgroup, our union partners, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer + (LGBTQ+) Advisory Council for your collaboration.”

But Dejuliis said he was blindsided by the policy.

“The union’s role is to enforce its contract,” he said. “When they’re telling our members we will discipline you for not following this new policy, that’s a violation of this contract and protections of constitutional rights. You can’t order me to say certain things that are not related to my job.”

Kijakazi’s email added that, “In my Pride Month video message last June, I discussed the agency’s work to increase equity and equality for gender-diverse and transgender customers. In October, the agency began offering people the choice to self-select their sex in their SSN record, without needing to provide medical or legal documentation of their sex identity… Our new internal Pronoun Policy marks the latest milestone in our work to support President Biden’s Executive Order on Preventing and Combatting Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.”

Lately it seems like national brands are competing for the title “Wokest of Them All.” For many, that means incorporating trans-identifying individuals into marketing campaigns whenever they can.

The latest example of this came courtesy of Hershey’s, a legacy chocolate brand. The Pennsylvania-based candy manufacturer decided to celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day by featuring a man in their campaign. This was justified and even celebrated by activists because Fae Johnstone publicly claims to be a woman, too.

Johnstone was one of five people featured in the Hershey’s “Her For She” campaign, which is said to “shine a light on the women and girls who inspire us every day.”

“The chocolate’s out of the wrapper! Honoured to be featured in this campaign by [Hershey’s] Canada for #InternationalWomensDay alongside 4 brilliant sisters and change-makers,” Johnstone posted alongside the video promo on Twitter.

“We still have a long way to go in the fight to end misogyny, patriarchy and gender-based violence,” the LGBTQ activist shared in a follow-up. “I hope this campaign helps give more young women and girls role models and possibility models. And shows them how we can change the world, together.

This was enough to set off a firestorm on Twitter, with the hashtag “BoycottHersheys” trending all day and many critics voicing their confusion over why the brand would choose a so-called trans woman for a promotion meant to celebrate women.

“You get the feeling that these companies *always* despised women — they were just waiting for the right moment to stick it to us,” author Abigail Shrier tweeted. “Here’s the thing about real women, [Hershey’s]: We have long memories.”

“There are 3.9 billion females out there and Hersheys decided to pick a misogynist dude for International Women’s Day,” another person observed.

“They decided to also release a commercial that featured one of the best women in the world, one of the best women in the world, a dude,” Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro said on his podcast Thursday. As for how this particular campaign could help women, he joked, “It will help single, lonely 40-year-old women relieve their depression by eating as much chocolate as possible, presumably.”

Hershey’s is not the only company enlisting trans-identifying people to promote their products. An estimated 1.4% of Americans identify as transgender per a 2022 poll, with a vast overrepresentation among younger adults and teens. But despite this statistically small number of the total population, many companies have decided that showing off their trans acceptance is the best way to sell stuff. Or virtue signal to the masses, at least.

People may remember not so long ago when Gillette tried to pull a similar stunt. In 2019, the brand posted an ad called “First Shave, the Story of Samson,” showcasing trans activist Samson Bonkeabantu Brown shaving for the first time as part of their #MyBestSelf campaign. Brown, who identifies as male but is female, gets lessons from dad for the occasion.

“Whenever, wherever, however it happens – your first shave is special,” the video caption says.

“Growing up, I was always trying to figure out what kind of man I want to become and I’m still trying to figure out what kind that I want to become,” Brown says in the video, as The Daily Wire previously reported.

“Now don’t be scared. Shaving is about being confident. You are doing fine,” Brown’s father says during the clip.

“It’s not just myself transitioning. It’s everyone around me transitioning,” the trans activist continues.

The ad ends with a close-up shot of Brown smiling, with overlaying text that says, “The best a man can get.”

“We anticipated there would be some negative response to this video, however we’re thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive responses we’ve seen, from both consumers as well as organizations,” a statement from Gillette said after the ad launch.

“As a brand committed to helping men look, feel and act their best, it’s important to us to embrace inclusivity in how we portray masculinity. This is especially true for Samson and others in the trans community, which is why we created ‘First Shave.’”

And there’s more where that came from. Makeup brands are rife with trans representation, with Benefit Cosmetics and Elf Beauty bragging about how they’ve been including trans-identifying individuals in ad campaigns since 2015.

“When you see societal shifts like this as a brand, you have a choice: You either lead culture, go alongside culture, or you follow it,” Kory Marchisotto, chief marketing officer at Elf Beauty, said of their trans-inclusive ad campaigns, per Insider. “You have to ensure that you’re aligned with your community. If you’re a brand that’s not celebrating inclusivity today, you might have a problem in achieving your business objectives.”

On the grosser end of the personal care spectrum, the feminine hygiene brand Luteal released a graphic campaign called “Bleeding Beyond the Binary” featuring an array of people wearing white clothing stained with what appears to be period blood. These individuals have a range of body types and many are dressed to look like men in an effort to include trans men. “People have periods,” the ad says.

Brand founder Alexa Perry, who identifies as queer and nonbinary, defended the graphic ad.

“…Each and everyone of the people in this campaign have forged their own reality. They dared to imagine a world full of love and celebration. So we join them today in celebrating all of the possibility for change in a world that so desperately needs it.”

Not to be outdone, the wokest coffee company, Starbucks, released an ad focused on a trans person who wants to change names. The commercial, which is accompanied by sad piano music, features a woman with short hair who keeps getting referred to as “Jemma” throughout the day at various places. But when “Jemma” arrives at Starbucks, there’s an opportunity to change things.

The barista asks for the name for the order to write on the cup, prompting “Jemma” to say, “James.” Finally, the individual smiles on hearing “James” called out when the coffee order is ready. This British commercial won the Channel 4 Diversity Award in 2019.

“At Starbucks, writing your name on a cup and calling it out is a symbol of our warm welcome. It’s a small gesture, but it’s symbolic of what we believe in: Recognition and acceptance, whoever you are, or want to be. We welcome everyone,” the company said in their YouTube video caption.

Interestingly, trans representation in ads goes all the way back to 1997. Modern LGBTQ activists would most likely take offense at how the main character in the Holiday Inn ad that ran during that year’s Super Bowl game was met with shock and horror rather than joyous acceptance.

In that highly publicized ad spot, a “woman” is seen entering a high school reunion in a sexy dress while a voiceover describes the cost of various plastic surgeries. A man stops the bombshell and tries to guess at the person’s name before making a face upon realizing who the person is. “Bob? Bob Johnson?,” the man asks while looking horrified.

The voiceover concludes with the punchline, saying if those changes can be achieved with a few thousand dollars, then just imagine what a billion dollar renovation at Holiday Inn hotels will look like.

The ad caused an absolute uproar and was taken down a few days later.

These days, most people don’t bother to complain about ads promoting transgenderism, and those who do are shouted down as backwards and bigoted. The progressive agenda is so mainstream that it’s become exceedingly rare to find a new commercial or ad campaign that doesn’t intentionally include an underrepresented group.

The new Hershey’s campaign came as a surprise to no one who’s been paying attention to the infiltration of the ad industry. The best way to fight back is to stand up, speak out, and of course, stock up on Jeremy’s Chocolate with or without nuts.

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