Pinkerton, formally the Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, a precursor to the FBI that is infamous for infiltrating unions of big businesses, has been accused of "rainbow-washing" for changing its Twitter avatar to a Pride logo.
The security guard and detective agency, which was created by Allan Pinkerton in 1850 after emigrating to the U.S. from Scotland, gained notoriety in 1861 after its founder claimed to have foiled an attempt to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln in Baltimore.
The agency, which is known for its logo of a large eye accompanied by the slogan "We Never Sleep," gained prominence following the alleged assassination attempt, and later became involved in infiltrating unions during labor strikes.
At its height, the agency grew to larger than the U.S. Army and created one of the world's first criminal databases.
It went on to use guards on behalf of corporations against several labor movements, including the Homestead Strike of 1892, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921. It was laregly absorbed by the FBI and later offered security services after being bought by Swedish firm Securitas AB in 1999.
The agency is still providing security against movements and protests, and had its employer license revoked in the city of Denver, Colorado on June 7, a year after a contracted and unlicensed security guard at the company fatally shot someone outside a political rally.
What caused the Pinkerton Detective Agency rainbow-washing controversy?
On Sunday, journalist Kim Kelly tweeted that the agency had changed its Twitter avatar of its iconic eye logo to include the Pride flag in celebration of Pride Month in the U.S.
Reacting to the logo, Kelly wrote: "The Pinkertons—yes, *those* Pinkertons, the most notoriously violent strikebreakers in U.S. history, who murdered countless workers in the name of capital—changed their avatar for #Pride Month, and I'll be damned if it's not one of the most dystopian things I've ever laid eyes on."
The Pinkertons—yes, *those* Pinkertons, the most notoriously violent strikebreakers in U.S. history, who murdered countless workers in the name of capital—changed their avatar for #Pride Month, and I’ll be damned if it’s not one of the most dystopian things I’ve ever laid eyes on pic.twitter.com/uCMZPxa9B9
— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) June 14, 2021
Kelly then linked to an article written for Motherboard, a Vice News vertical, which claimed that Pinkerton is still used by companies to spy on union activities, as Amazon hires the company to surveil warehouse workers and monitor labor unions and environmental activists.
Responding to Motherboard at the time of the article in 2020, Amazon said: "Like any other responsible business, we maintain a level of security within our operations to help keep our employees, buildings, and inventory safe.
"That includes having an internal investigations team who work with law enforcement agencies as appropriate, and everything we do is in line with local laws and conducted with the full knowledge and support of local authorities."
Twitter users responded to Pinkerton's change of avatar with criticism on Sunday, as one person wrote: "Happy Pride! In celebration of civil unions we will be destroying yours." Another said "Peak woke unionbusting."
Several other users expressed surprise that the agency was still working, as one wrote: "Wait the Pinkerton Agency is STILL AROUND?." Another said: "Wait, they still exist?"
Others accused the agency of engaging in "rainbow-washing," with one person writing: "The pinkwashed capitalism stuff doesn't really get more on the nose than this, huh." Another said: "Rainbow Capitalism has officially crossed the event horizon."
What is rainbow-washing?
Rainbow-washing, often referred to as pink-washing, has become a widely used term in the U.S. to refer to corporations using Pride month to distract from negative behavior or practices.
Pride Month is marked in June to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people and to honor the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.
Companies across the U.S. change their profile pictures and marketing to include the Pride flag throughout June every year, but some face criticism and are accused of "rainbow-washing" if the organisation does not accompany the logo with inclusive changes inside the company.
Reputation Inc, a business reputation organisation, defines rainbow-washing as something organisations engage in to superficially show support without having to take meaningful action, writing that "the LGBTQ+ community has long been marginalised and underserved."
"It is important that corporations show up year-round and make a beneficial contribution, not just pay attention for one month of the year because it's popular and politically correct to do so."
Newsweek has contacted Pinkerton for comment.
