FB rumor - Burger King is refusing to serve Wall Street protesters

[Duppers]

Is this true? I'm having a difficult time verifying this. Does anyone know this to be fact?

Thanks.

[leftstreet]

1. How can they tell a protester from an onlooker, or a shopper?

:shrug:

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. Carring a sign? Wearing a button? Wearing a t-shirt with a logo? nt

[Divine Discontent]

5. exactly, good post SI!

they may "bother" other customers and they complained. That's a possibility.

Heck, I went to BK a couple days ago and they told me that I couldn't use a free cone coupon I had got from the paper if I tried thru the drive thru, and I said that's clearly the choice of this store since it doesn't say that on the coupon, and she said yes. So, from store to store, maybe a manager is a dirtbag blowhard conservo...


http://www.zazzle.com/republicans_2012_keeping_millions_out_of_work_bumper_sticker-128002960205017719

[Sarah Ibarruri]

45. I'm sure the manager disagreed with the protesters, but I'll betcha the employees were not! nt

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. Anyone without champagne is suspected of being a protester.

[leftstreet]

4. lol

:-)

[SammyWinstonJack]

51. HA!

:spray:

[Riley18]

6. Occupy mainstreet on FB has info about Burger King not selling to protestors.

[jberryhill]

52. And Greenpeace has info about why they shouldn't be buying there

http://usactions.greenpeace.org/blog/grassroots/2010/08/24/burger-king-says-have-it-your-way-green

[msanthrope]

7. There's a Burger King on Wall Street ? Or is this a sick WTC joke? nt

[Duppers]

20. Beg your pardon !!

No fucking joke.

[msanthrope]

22. Which Burger King, then? nt

[sabrina 1]

8. Who owns Burger King?

If it's true, then they can always protest outside of Burger King. Demand higher pay for the workers, if they are not unionized, protest that. Boycott them etc.

I think they plan their protests each night, definitely put Burger King on the list.

[closeupready]

19. I believe I read here on DU couple years ago that Goldman Sachs bought it

from whatever corporate group owned it before them. So, this makes a certain kind of sense.

Googling "Burger King" and "Goldman Sachs", I found this link:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13392520/Burger-King-and-Goldman-Sachs

[midnight]

34. Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Burger King owner Goldman Sachs, netted over $70.3 million in total

Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Burger King owner Goldman Sachs,
netted over $70.3 million in total compensation in 2007,8 the most ever for a Wall
Street CEO.9
• Burger King fast food workers struggle to get by on a median wage of $6.93 per hour.For full‐time employees, this wage amounts to just over $14,000 annually, well below the federal poverty line for a family of three.10

Great link and info. thanks for posting... I hope someone can get this info. to the protesters.

[sabrina 1]

36. Thank you. That is very interesting. I never knew that and will

make sure not to go there ever again.

• Since a 2006 IPO by Burger King owners Texas Pacific Group (TPG), Goldman Sachs, and Bain Capital, revenues are up 23% and net income has increased 607%.6 • Burger King chief executive John Chidsey received total compensation of $5.4
million in 2008.7 Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Burger King owner Goldman Sachs,
netted over $70.3 million in total compensation in 2007,8 the most ever for a Wall
Street CEO.9

• Burger King fast food workers struggle to get by on a median wage of $6.93 per hour.For full‐time employees, this wage amounts to just over $14,000 annually, well below the federal poverty line for a family of three.10 Rather than offering affordable health coverage, Burger King leaves its workers to rely on publicly-funded health programs instead⎯ shifting the cost to taxpayers.11 • The health and other public assistance programs that Burger King employees must rely on due to sub‐poverty pay and lack of employer health coverage cost
an estimated $273.4 million in 2007.12 In other words, taxpayers are picking up the tab for a lot more than their combo meal at Burger King⎯ they’re paying over a quarter of a billion dollars a year to help make up for the company’s low pay and benefits

And more:

While Burger King and its top owners like Goldman Sachs have
taxpayers cover costs like worker health care, high CEO pay, and
bonuses, both companies oppose measures that would improve
conditions for workers:

• Burger King executives doled out $180,000 to lobbyists to fight pro‐worker legislation, including an increase in the minimum wage in 2006 and 2007.27 • Between 2006 and 2008, Burger King spent $319,648 in lobbying against several
laws, including the Employee Free Choice Act,28 a measure that would ensure
workers the freedom to form a union for a voice for improved wages, benefits,
and working conditions.

• Burger King’s record also includes a history of inadequately protecting against sexual harassment at its restaurants, opposing measures to improve employee safety on the job, and child labor law violations.

If all this is true, then people need to know about it. I thought they were owned by a family. Goldman Sachs! It makes perfect sense then that they would be opposed to the current protests which are directly aimed at THEM. I would think if the protesters knew this, they would not want to patronize them either.

Sounds like they've slipped under the radar.

[PeaceNikki]

46. They are franchised. 90 percent are privately owned and operated.

[NYC_SKP]

9. Call them up...

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=615&q=undertakers&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=2370l2370l0l3575l1l1l0l0l0l0l104l104l0.1l1l0&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il

[Duppers]

10. Found this YouTube verification.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DOs9hJLuYfF4%26feature%3Dshare&feature=share&v=Os9hJLuYfF4&gl=US

Thx, all.

[msanthrope]

11. Your Link Doesn't Link to Anything. nt

[Duppers]

14. Yikes.

Am posting fr my phone... Will ck again.

Got a PM of it & used another browser, so I hope this works...


http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DOs9hJLuYfF4%26feature%3Dyoutu.be&feature=youtu.be&v=Os9hJLuYfF4&gl=US

[msanthrope]

24. Nope. Still BS. nt

[NutmegYankee]

25. Is this the video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiFltwDZzEg

[Duppers]

30. That's IT !!!

Don't know why my link would not work. But thank you much! :)




And I don't know why msanthrope was calling b.s. on this. Sheesh!

[makhno]

44. Sad to see

The minimum wage worker behind the counter offers the trust fund brat an out with "you could buy some fries", but the kid keeps prattling on about "sitting there all day" while mugging for her friend's iPhone.

Idiots. Get the fries and stop harassing workers who are simply trying to make ends meet and who know full well they can be replaced at management's whim in the absence of a union.

Get your message together or do what's normally done to fast food establishments during civil unrest:

[meow mix]

12. nice of BK to extend this courtesy.. you can barely call that stuff food.

they are better off without it!

[quinnox]

13. If I owned a business and

a bunch of guys with masks on their faces came in and were rowdy I would refuse to serve them too.

[sabrina 1]

26. You would? Why?

Aside from the fact that most of the protesters look like ordinary citizens to me and are not wearing masks, I'm just wondering why anyone wearing a mask would scare you so much?

BK is not refusing to serve them because anyone was wearing a mask, it is what they are protesting BK doesn't agree with obviously, assuming it's true.

Would you refuse to serve someone wearing a button stating they are protesting Wall St. crooks who took down this country's economy? Because the only masks I've seen there are clearly worn by people who are opposed to the corporate takeover of the US.

[quinnox]

27. I would be concerned that I was about to be robbed

I don't know why these young men are wearing masks into my business, so I would kick their ass out of there as soon as possible.

[sabrina 1]

38. If you were in NYC right now, you would know that those masks

identify people who are protesting against Wall St crime. If they were wearing masks at all.

But never mind that, we have discovered the real reason, and it isn't about masks.

It seems they are owned by Goldman Sachs. Thanks to DUer Closeupready in this thread for the information.

Here, you can read it for yourself http://www.scribd.com/doc/13392520/Burger-King-and-Goldman-Sachs

So Burger King management, Goldman Sachs, issued orders to their employees not to serve the protesters. Good thing they did that. I doubt that the protesters would WANT to give them their money had they known who owned them and their anti-worker, anti-women policies.

I'll have to try to get this information to them so they can get the word out to everyone not to patronize the very people they are protesting against.

I did not know this and probably never would have had they not acted like the Corporate thugs they apparently are, prompting people to start asking questions about them. The first question their behavior caused me to ask was 'who owns them' but I never dreamed it would be the Kings of Wall St. themselves. A good new name for them might be 'Wall St. King'.

Funny that you actually thought what they did might have a logical reason. Maybe I'm just cynical at this point, but I had a feeling it was something like this.

[WinkyDink]

43. Try wearing a mask in a bank.

[sabrina 1]

47. Burger King is owned by Goldman Sachs.

As for masks, not sure they were even wearing them. But other businesses there are serving the same people, masks and all, with no problem.

If BK is refusing, I think the reason is obvious. No need to make excuses for them.

[flvegan]

15. Lucky protesters, spared eating shit. Good.

[dana_b]

16. yes. from twitter last night:

YourAnonNews Anonymous
. @BurgerKing? RT @an0nyc: Just got kicked out of bk because they do not welcome the #Anonymous crowd.. Literally thats what i was told.


YourAnonNews Anonymous
Want to call the @burgerking that will not serve Anons? [phone] Tell the #Anonymous says hello! #occupywallstreet

I believe some were wearing the Guy Fawkes mask.

[Duppers]

18. Thx !!!

And thx all!!!

:)

[dana_b]

28. no problem but it looks like they weren't wearing masks

so I don't know what the problem was. Just more corporate b.s.

[Duppers]

31. No, no masks, but they identified themselves

as part of the protesters.


I wonder if the person calling b.s. on this is not some troll.

[pintobean]

17. Do they have access to showers

or laundry facilities?

[quinnox]

21. good question

they probably don't, and some of them have been out there for days, and smell to high heaven, which doesn't exactly make food businesses want to welcome them in with open arms.

[sabrina 1]

35. Would it be a problem if they didn't?

Would they refuse to serve the homeless eg? I have given homeless people money to buy food, often they are poorly dressed and haven't taken a shower. It never dawned on me that anyone would refuse to serve them simply because they had not showered in a couple of weeks. And as far as I know, no one has.

It would, imo, be even worse if people were refused service because they were not dressed up like Wall St. gamblers. Frankly if I owned a restaurant I would not want to serve Wall St. Criminals. Their MONEY is dirty.

[jberryhill]

50. It would be a problem if they were coming in solely to use the restrooms, yes

The larger issue of why anyone in their right mind would be out protesting corporate control, and then heading over to a corporate controlled store selling crap for food is a puzzler, though.

I guess Greenpeace is now under the bus:

[Duppers]

23. Yep. BK Contact site

http://www.bk.com/en/us/company-info/contact/index.html

Let's give them hell.

[Darth_Kitten]

29. That can only be good for them.

:evilgrin:

[Ian David]

32. What if we all placed an order at the drive thru and didn't stop pay for or pick up our food?

Or just parked in their drive-thrus, all across the country, until they agree to server the protesters?

[former9thward]

37. Based on some silly internet rumor?

What B.S.

[Darth_Kitten]

41. Or maybe just because their burgers are bad.

;)

[PeaceNikki]

49. These are franchises. You'll be hurting mom n pop small business owners, not the corporate overlords

[Chipper Chat]

33. In Wisconsin people were buying pizzas for the protestors.

Maybe somebody could do the same for the WS protesters?

[GoCubsGo]

42. I had heard that they were.

I don't remember the source, but there are loads of independent pizza joints in NYC, and I doubt any of them would turn away the business.

[sabrina 1]

53. People are buying food for them.

Liberatos Pizza has been sending pizzas ordered by people from all over the world, every day. The cardboard signs they are made from pizza boxes. Last week over $2,800 worth of pizza was ordered by people from overseas and the owner has named some pizzas after them, one name 'Occu Pies'.

[Chipper Chat]

54. I'll call up Herman Kane to see if he will talk to Godfathers.

Yeah, right.

[Warren DeMontague]

39. Clearly, the bourgeois aristocracy is frightened.

Even the king himself.

[Capitalocracy]

40. I worked at Burger King for a couple weeks when I was like 15

I've been a vegetarian since then.

[jberryhill]

48. What? Someone Is Not Letting Them Buy Corporate-Produced Crap?

Seriously?

I can't believe anybody in their right mind would want to eat that stuff, much less patronize Burger King.

Does this have something to do with using the restrooms?