The Burger King burglary

Consumers have another reason to be suspicious of the creepy "Burger King," the fast food chain's mascot who, according to the commercial, wakes up in strangers' beds with a maniacal grin on his face. In addition to a controversy involving tomato farmer's wages, the king has come under fire for spying.

In a recent Democracy Now! interview, activists from labor rights groups in Florida accused Burger King of attempting to infiltrate their ranks. The Student/Farmworker Alliance based in Florida say that two people contacted their group posing as students interested in gaining access to a conference call. After being pressed for basic information the first caller, who said he was from West Virginia, was never heard from again. The call actually originated from Davie, Fla., only miles away from Burger King's headquarters in Miami.

The second caller, only three days after the first caller, posed as a student in Broward County in Florida. Like the first caller, she was interested in gaining access to the conference call. The caller's name is Cara Schaffer and is the president of a Florida "security" firm called Diplomatic Tactical Services.

Activists in the Student/Farmworker Alliance believe they were targeted because of their coordination with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a community-based labor rights group in Florida. The CIW advocates wage increases for Florida tomato pickers. According to a letter on their website, the farmers endure "sub-poverty wages, no raise in nearly 30 years, and denial of fundamental labor rights." The letter is addressed to Burger King, which is a "major purchaser of Florida tomatoes."

After CIW successfully secured wage increases for the workers from Taco Bell and McDonald's in 2005 and 2007, respectively, the group now focuses its resources on Burger King. However, Burger King is adamantly opposed to any wage increase despite the intense campaign against it featuring petitions, boycotts, demonstrations, and U.S. Senate hearings.

Although it would be in the interests of Burger King to resort to subversive activity in order to destabilize pesky labor rights groups, spokespersons for the corporation maintain that they have no knowledge of what their employees may or may not be doing on corporate computers and email accounts. That is, Burger King's official stance is denial of any wrongdoing.

Nevertheless it is certainly no coincidence that Diplomatic Tactical Services, which prides itself in "covert surveillance," attempted to gain access to an important conference call with the same labor rights group that is now pressuring Burger King. According to the DTS website, "Surveillance of areas identified as probable locations of illegal activity is a necessary part of dealing with a work stoppage (union activity)."

The spying allegation is another blow to Burger King's reputation. Submitting to the wage increase would be in everyone's interests, which is only a penny more per pound of tomatoes picked. For a company that earns over $2 billion in revenue every year, the one cent increase isn't drastic. Burger King remains unmoving with its decision.

The Burger King Express in the Elliot University Center purchases its tomatoes from a North Carolina distributor, and therefore is not directly involved with the modern day slave conditions in Florida. However, injustice in one location reflects the global integrity of Burger King, and their customers. Advocates for improved working conditions and higher wages should explore the resources on the Coalition of Immokalee's website (www.ciw-online.org), and find creative means to express their concerns with surrounding Burger Kings. Is it important to you that we struggle in solidarity with the workers who produce our goods? "Have it your way."