With 270 stores and 40,000 employees, Menards is the third largest home-improvement chain in the US and one of the largest privately held corporations in the country. But its stores sell more than building supplies; their employees are sold a bill of goods in the form of right-wing ideology.
Menards has been encouraging employees to take an at-home online “civics” course that characterises the economic policies of President Barack Obama as a threat to the success of businesses like Menards and, by extension, to the employees’ well-being. Those who pass the course are acknowledged in company publications and bulletins. Website alternatenews.tumblr.com says: “While workers are not required to take it, those hoping for promotion may feel pressure to do so.”