26 April 2008

Why would someone put an operative in the ranks of a nonviolent, peaceful group?

That would be Burger King, who isn’t just refusing to pay tomato pickers an extra cent, it’s now engaging in attacks and other subversive activities against groups like the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Student/Farmworker Alliance.
And it looks like Burger King's anti-labor activities run deeper than just its refusal to pay the extra cent. Amy Bennett Williams of the Fort Myers News-Press wrote a story last week that tied Burger King to "libelous" attacks via email and online posts against the Coalition of Immokalee Workers-- a respected anti-slavery group that has helped to prosecute six federal slavery cases and has been praised by the FBI, federal prosecutors, members of Congress, and civil rights organizations. Even worse is an alleged attempt to infiltrate a key CIW ally, the Student/Farmworker Alliance, by using Diplomatic Tactical Services, "a security and investigative firm that advertises its ability to place 'operatives' in the ranks of target groups." … What about the allegations of emails and online posts as reported by the Fort Myers News-Press? Did executives have any awareness of these--some of which were traced to Burger King Headquarters? Again, declined to comment.

Absolutely appalling and disgusting behavior by a mega-corporation that is profiting by gross exploitation and human trafficking.

While I don't frequent eating establishments like Burger King anymore, I'd implore anyone that does to choose a more justice aware competitor.

Comments

No comments yet

Add Comment

This item is closed, it's not possible to add new comments to it or to vote on it