A fast-food worker’s union is demanding that Burgerville allow workers to wear leftist pins that say such things as “No one is Illegal” and “Abolish ICE”. Burgerville sent 9 workers home who refused to take the pins off. They brought them back the next day and paid them for the previous day.
Then the customers started complaining in droves and Burgerville reversed themselves again. The employees began calling the burger chain racists and white supremacists. Employees do not have the right to all free speech at work. They can quit and go out on the sidewalk and spew their leftist slogans but Burgerville does not have to pay them to protest.
The workers’ union, the Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU), wrote a Facebook post-Sunday calling Burgerville’s decision to ban employees from wearing political buttons “racist” and urged the fast-food chain to work with the union to allow employees to sport politically-charged buttons while working on their shifts.
Burgerville wants to be seen as a sustainable and progressive company but instantly sides with racist customers and commenters over their own workers. When given the choice between racism and justice, Burgerville has chosen racism.
Please, if you have the time, take to Burgerville‘s Facebook page and comment that black lives matter, comment that undocumented immigrants are welcome here, and tell them to work with the union on a button policy!
“We are instituting an updated uniform policy, and buttons and other messaging – both political and personal – will not be allowed. It is a policy that is common in public-facing businesses and is in alignment with our mission to Serve With Love,” the statement continued.
You can’t run a business when you are offending half of your customers and driving them off. What will the union do if Burgerville has to start laying off workers or closing stores? You can shoot yourself in the foot if you want to but it’s not very wise to do so.