NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | December 21, 2018 | PAGE 25
Guest Opinion
By Will Layng Executive Director of Portland Jobs with Justice
Does Burgerville really ‘serve with love’?
Growing up in a Presbyterian family in Atlanta effort to organize a union to win fair wages and
in the ’80s, I learned important lessons about enough hours to be able to support themselves,
faith, religion, and food. One thing I learned affordable health care so they can take care of
was that after the blessing before dinner, it was themselves, and a voice at work. Workers
best to avoid talk of religion until we finished have won elections to recognize their union at
eating. Very few things can make you feel less two stores and recently won another election
welcome than someone trying to stuff their re- at a third store in Portland. However, Burg-
ligious beliefs down your throat along with erville has been hostile to workers’ organizing,
your mashed potatoes.
and has been slow in negotiating a contract
As the Executive Director
with workers at the union-
of Portland Jobs with Justice,
ized stores. The company’s
I’ve been surprised to learn
anti-union campaign led to
Burgerville has been
that Vancouver-based Burg-
an ongoing boycott and reg-
hostile to workers’ or-
erville and its longtime
ular strikes and pickets at
ganizing, and has been
leader, Tom Mears, think
several stores.
very differently about reli-
Turns out that Mears is
slow in negotiating a
gion and food. Mears wrote
just
part of the Christian cor-
contract with workers at
a book in 2017 called ‘Serve
porate
filler involved in this
the unionized stores
With Love,’ which tells the
recipe. The website for
story of how Burgerville
Serve With Love has an en-
transformed itself into a
dorsement from a retired
“mission led” company,
Wells Fargo executive, Jeff
based on lofty principles: upholding the dig- Grubb. Grubb is a paid trustee of another Van-
nity of all, making health care available for couver-based entity, the M.J. Murdock Chari-
employees, and helping workers grow and suc- table Trust, a $1.2 billion endowed foundation.
ceed.
The Murdock Trust, among many laudable
While most Christians would support those grants and investments, granted almost $1 mil-
principles at face value, we should look deeper lion to the Alliance Defending Freedom, an
at what Mears’ book is actually serving up. anti-LGBTQ hate group founded by James
The book is promoted by a global organization Dobson. They also gave nearly $500,000 to the
called the Nehemiah Project, which exists to Freedom Foundation, an anti-worker group
train “kingdom companies” in “Biblical entre- opposing minimum wage improvements, paid
preneurship(™)”. And if you are scratching sick days, and public employee unions.
your head wondering what that means, you
Dealing fairly with real life employees de-
can pay the Nehemiah Project $3,770 to get manding justice and ending connections with
certified in it at one of their seminars!
hate groups and anti-worker foundations seem
Like a day-old french fry, it gets more un- like great ways to live out Mears’ and Burg-
appetizing. Burgerville workers throughout the erville’s words. We can talk about Biblical en-
Portland area have been involved in a two year trepreneurship(™) after everyone has eaten.
Happy Holidays
from
Letter Carriers
Branch 82
Santa’s Helpers for 243 Years!