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Demonstrators holding signs reading "Our Sweat Is Not Free" and "Greed" in Spanish
listen to speakers in front of the Burger King headquarters building in Miami.
listen to speakers in front of the Burger King headquarters building in Miami.
Burger King Cracks Down on Anti-Union Activity
May 16, 2008 4:56 PM
Burger King fired two unnamed employees and cut ties with a security firm after reports they were defaming and spying on a tomato-pickers union.
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Burger King denied all knowledge of the anti-union activity of its employees and security firm Diplomatic Tactical Services Inc.
The activities in question were carried out against the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a group that represents Florida tomato-pickers in their demands for a penny-per-pound wage increase equal to that given by other fast-food companies.
Several Burger King employees and a business partner responded to the workers’ demands with a campaign to infiltrate and discredit union activists.
Burger King Vice President Stephen Grover used his daughter’s YouTube screen-name to post allegations that the coalition was pocketing money intended for workers.
Grover joins a number of other corporate executives caught posting anonymous online comments about their company or a competitor. Last year, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey was caught touting his company’s stock on Yahoo Finance boards.
Burger King also tried to spy on the Student/Farmworkers Alliance, a student activist group working with the CIW. A Burger King employee and DTS President Cara Schaffer called the SFA, claimed to be college students and asked to listen in on a conference call. The SFA did not reveal any sensitive information to them, however.
These tactics recall union-busting tactics used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Pinkerton Agency was infamous for infiltrating unions until the 1935 National Labor Relations Act outlawed the practice.
Although labor spying is less prevalent today, this case, and others like it, illustrate that spying remains a concern for many employees and unions.
The activities in question were carried out against the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a group that represents Florida tomato-pickers in their demands for a penny-per-pound wage increase equal to that given by other fast-food companies.
Several Burger King employees and a business partner responded to the workers’ demands with a campaign to infiltrate and discredit union activists.
Burger King Vice President Stephen Grover used his daughter’s YouTube screen-name to post allegations that the coalition was pocketing money intended for workers.
Grover joins a number of other corporate executives caught posting anonymous online comments about their company or a competitor. Last year, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey was caught touting his company’s stock on Yahoo Finance boards.
Burger King also tried to spy on the Student/Farmworkers Alliance, a student activist group working with the CIW. A Burger King employee and DTS President Cara Schaffer called the SFA, claimed to be college students and asked to listen in on a conference call. The SFA did not reveal any sensitive information to them, however.
These tactics recall union-busting tactics used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Pinkerton Agency was infamous for infiltrating unions until the 1935 National Labor Relations Act outlawed the practice.
Although labor spying is less prevalent today, this case, and others like it, illustrate that spying remains a concern for many employees and unions.
Headline Links: Burger King fires two employees and DTS
Burger King released a statement saying that has fired two unnamed employees for “unauthorized activity on public Web sites which did not reflect the company's views and which were in violation of company policy.” It also ended its relationship with DTS “for violation of the company's code of conduct.”
Source: International Herald Tribune
The Fort Myers News-Press believes the two employees that were fired are vice president Steven Grover and spokesman Keva Silversmith. Grover was linked to critical comments made on YouTube, and Silversmith may have posed as a student named “Kevin” to gain access to the Student/Farmworkers Alliance.
Source: Fort Myers News-Press
Background: Burger King’s labor dispute with tomato-pickers
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers won a penny-per-pound wage increase from fast-food giants Yum Brands in 2005 and McDonald’s in 2007. The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, which supplies tomatoes to Burger King, has resisted the wage increase, which would cost Burger King an estimated $250,000 a year.
Source: The New York Times (free registration may be required)
In April, labor activists revealed Burger King’s use of dirty tricks. Appearing on Democracy Now, Student/Farmworker Alliance Co-Coordinator Marc Rodrigues said that there had been two attempts to infiltrate the SWA. Posing as students who wished to join the SWA, an anonymous Burger King employee calling himself “Kevin” and DTS President Cara Schaffer asked to be a part of SWA conference calls. The SWA recognized them as frauds and revealed no useful information.
Source: Democracy Now
Grover, using his daughter’s YouTube user-name, left comments critical of the CIW in the comment section of a YouTube video. He accused the CIW of being an “attack organization lining the leaders pockets” and said, “they make up issues and collect money from dupes that believe their story. To (sic) bad the people protesting don't have a clue regarding the facts. A bunch of fools!”
Source: Socialist Worker Online
Related Topic: Corporate online comments scandal
While Whole Foods CEO was trying to acquire rival Wild Oats, he made anonymous comments on Yahoo Finance boards hyping his company’s stock and criticizing the other company. Though it was an embarrassment to Whole Foods, there were no legal ramifications and he successfully acquired Wild Oats.
Source: findingDulcinea
Historical Context: Labor spying
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was infamous for infiltrating unions, most notably the Molly Maguires in the 1870s. In 1935, the National Labor Relation Act outlawed spying on labor unions. In 1937, the La Follette Civil Liberties Committee found labor spying was a “common, almost universal practice in American industry … Large corporations rely on spies. No firm is too small to employ them.” There were over 300 Pinkerton union members, and a third of them had risen to become union officers.
Source: Time
Labor spying became much less common after the NLRA, but there are still many instances of corporate spying. “It is illegal—in theory at least—for companies to harass or fire workers for union activity … but law-breaking is now common in American workplaces, and corporations that engage in chronic union-busting activities are often just slapped on the wrist,” writes AlterNet, a left-wing online news magazine.
Source: AlterNet
© 2008 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
