BK ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF INTERNAL INVESTIGATION; CALLS CONTINUE FOR INDEPENDENT INQUIRY

Update 5/14/08: As news broke of Burger King's decision to fire two highly-placed executives for their roles in the dual scandals that have rocked the fast-food giant in the past several weeks, calls continued for an independent inquiry aimed at finding out, "how far up the corporate ladder this scheme went."

In an Associated Press article entitled, "Burger King fires 2 over executive's secret blog criticizing farm worker's group," Burger King also announced that it would discontinue its use of Diplomatic Tactical Services, "a private investigation firm whose president allegedly posed as a student activist to infiltrate the farmworker group and its supporters."

The AP article continued, "Coalition co-founder Lucas Benitez said in a statement the group welcomed Burger King's actions but said more needed to be done 'to clear the path toward a sincere partnership for more humane conditions in Burger King's tomato supply chain.'"

Others apparently agreed. Senator Bernie Sanders (shown speaking on the right at a March press conference announcing the CIW's national petition campaign in Washington), who has taken a strong interest in the fast-developing campaign since his visit to Immokalee this past January, said in a statement reported in today's Ft. Myers News-Press:

"A major corporation like Burger King should not have a vice president posting inflammatory anti-worker messages on the Web, nor should it be hiring spies to infiltrate non-violent, pro-worker organizations. That is outrageous.

Sanders also called for further investigation.

"... we should make sure that we find out how high up the corporate ladder this scheme went."

Is this the end of the story?... A steady drumbeat of revelations of wrongdoing over the past several weeks (scroll down for more on those revelations) appears to have lead directly to the highest levels of the world's second-largest burger chain. Whether Burger King's announcement will be sufficient to control the damage from those revelations -- or whether other investigations will continue until there is no longer any doubt that all those responsible for the malfeasance are identified -- is still to be determined.

One thing, however, is clear. Burger King's campaign of resistance to more humane conditions in Florida's tomato fields -- its refusal to pay a fairer price for tomatoes so that workers may earn a fairer wage, its decision to join forces with the most conservative elements of the Florida tomato industry to deny the existence of a human rights crisis in the fields today, and its efforts to undermine the integrity of the farmworker community organization fighting to address that crisis -- must now end.

At long last, Burger King must join Yum Brands and McDonald's in support of the principles of Fair Food. That is, in the words of Senator Dick Durbin from the same Ft. Myers News-Press article, "the only way to end this honorably for BK."

PRESSURE GROWS ON BK AND ITS CEO FOR ACTION IN RESPONSE TO GROWING SCANDAL

Update 5/12/08: Continuing coverage into the widening Burger King scandal has uncovered public statements by BK CEO John Chidsey similar to those that landed BK vice president Steven Grover in hot water when he was discovered to have been behind a series of anonymous internet attacks on the CIW. Here's some of the latest coverage:

• "Invasions of Privacy," the Nation, 5/11/08
  
  
• "Burger King locked in dispute with farmworkers," National Public Radio, 5/8/08 (with audio)
  
  
• "Activists out Burger King dirty tricks operation," the Independent, 5/9/08 (UK)

Here's an excerpt from the Nation article:

"... As recently as October, Chidsey delivered a lecture at his alma mater, Davidson College, and made statements almost identical to the ones now linked to Grover. Chidsey said of dealing with CIW, 'The union said the money has to go in the union coffers and "we'll decide what's better for the workers."'Two weeks prior to this statement the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – which had been closely involved in negotiations for the wage increase – had written Burger King to request that it stop making these false statements to the press. The Carter Center and Yum Brands issued similar statements defending CIW. Chidsey also mocked the very notion of farmworker poverty (which has even been documented by the Bush Administration's Department of Labor), saying, 'The facts on the tomatoes are very straightforward…. The average tomato picker in the state of Florida makes $12.56 an hour. If you're really good, you can make $20 bucks an hour…. They already make more than we pay our workers.' All of this is patently false.

But here's where Burger King's credibility takes another huge hit. According to Wilson, Grover's comments 'do not reflect the opinion of the company' and led to Burger King 'conducting our investigation and [we] will take appropriate action once we have a full understanding of the facts.' Yet Chidsey's comments are on the record and he's the man at the helm of the corporation. Does that mean the CEO's comments are not the opinion of the company he leads? And, if that's the case, doesn't Chidsey at the very least owe a public apology that sets the record straight about CIW and farmworker poverty? Further, why should investigations or disciplinary action be taken against Grover or any other Burger King employees but not the CEO?..." (italics added) read the article in its entirety here

The Nation story also contains calls by Senators Durbin, Kennedy, and Sanders for Burger King to immediately support the principles for farm labor reform established in the Taco Bell and McDonald's agreements.

Meanwhile, Burger King's internal investigation continues...

EXPLOSIVE NEW OP/ED IN NEW YORK TIMES BY ERIC SCHLOSSER RAISES STAKES IN BK'S "SPYGATE"
(New York Times illustration)

Update 5/7/08: With a powerful new op/ed published in today's New York Times, entitled "Burger With a Side of Spies," award-winning investigative author Eric Schlosser takes the spreading "spygate" scandal to a new level.

Schlosser reports that Burger King executives not only confirmed to him that the fast-food giant hired the private security firm "Diplomatic Tactical Services" to spy on the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA), but that Burger King CEO John Chidsey (right) knew about the company's use of the firm, whose owner, Cara Schaffer, was denied a private investigator's license by the state of Florida.

Here are some highlights from the explosive op/ed (images below are from the DTS website):

• "In an interview, a Burger King executive told me that the company had worked with Diplomatic Tactical Services for years on “security-related matters” and had used it to obtain information about the Student/Farmworker Alliance’s plans."
  
  
• "Ms. Schaffer is the 25-year-old owner of a private security firm. Her company, Diplomatic Tactical Services, seems like the kind of security firm you’d find in one of Carl Hiaasen’s crime thrillers. Last year Ms. Schaffer was denied a private investigator’s license; she had failed to supply the Florida licensing division with proof of 'lawfully gained, verifiable experience or training.'”
  
  
• "Even more unsettling, one of her former subcontractors, Guillermo Zarabozo, is now facing murder charges in United States District Court in Miami for his role in allegedly executing four crew members of a charter fishing boat, then dumping their bodies at sea."
  
  
• "Burger King’s use of an unlicensed private investigator to spy on the Student/Farmworker Alliance may have been illegal under Florida law."
  
  
• "John Chidsey, the chief executive of Burger King, knew about the use of Diplomatic Tactical Services."

Schlosser concludes his article by calling for Congressional hearings into corporate espionage, adding, "Mr. Chidsey should get a chance to raise his right hand and tell members of Congress why he thinks this sort of behavior is acceptable."

Don't miss this eye-opening new article!

What does all this mean?... Three weeks ago, a report in the Ft. Myers News-Press broke the story of a multi-faceted "dirty tricks" campaign aimed at:

1. Discrediting the CIW through an anonymous, bogus blogger campaign of emails and internet postings questioning the CIW's integrity and calling the Immokalee farmworkers' organization the "lowest form of life" and "bloodsuckers," among other things. That smear campaign has since been tied to Burger King Vice President Steven Grover (above right, "Burger King VP puts self on grill; Daughter says dad wrote anti-coalition postings," 4/28/08)
   
   
2. Infiltrating the Student/Farmworker Alliance, a key CIW ally in the Campaign for Fair Food. The use of Diplomatic Tactical Services to infiltrate and spy on the SFA has now been tied directly to Burger King, with knowledge of the use of DTS being linked to BK CEO John Chidsey ("Burger With a Side of Spies," 5/7/08).

Over the course of the past three weeks, investigative reporters have followed the leads revealed in the original News-Press story in an effort to determine to what degree Burger King executives participated in the campaign against the CIW. Those efforts have succeeded in connecting the dots, and today the image of a multi-billion dollar corporation determined to spy on students and farmworkers, and defame the farmworkers' organization, has come into sharp focus.

The question remains, however: Just how much is there still to uncover in this whole tawdry affair? Given how outrageous the facts are to this point, it is almost impossible to believe that there is not more to this story.

Internal investigation... or public hearing? Yesterday, in a separate article, the News-Press reported that Burger King has promised to undertake "an internal investigation, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken" in response to the news of BK's Vice President Grover's involvement in the internet attacks against the CIW ("Burger King investigates VP's online postings," 5/6/08).

But, in light of the latest revelations in today's New York Times, how can an internal investigation have any credibility at all?

Clearly, a corporation implicated in this sort of unethical behavior cannot be trusted to investigate itself. Exhibit A: In announcing the coming investigation into Grover's internet attacks on the CIW, Burger King declared that "senior management of the company had no knowledge of Grover's postings." But isn't that the very question that any independent investigation would seek to answer? Furthermore, Steve Grover is himself senior management, so the real question becomes "Did other senior management have knowledge of Grover's actions?" Now, with BK CEO John Chidsey implicated in the spying scandal, any internal investigation is even less likely to get to the bottom of this ever-widening scandal.

Instead, as the stain of this dirty tricks campaign continues to spread, it is now clear that these allegations must be thoroughly investigated. An independent inquiry, such as the Congressional hearings suggested by Eric Schlosser in today's New York Times op/ed, is the right way to proceed.

The public has a right to know what corporations do to their critics. Because, ultimately, the public -- not Burger King -- will be the the judge.

Click here for a full report and exclusive photos from the historic Senate hearing!

• See a great report and analysis of yesterday's hearing from The Nation by clicking here.
  
  
• See all the press reports from the day's events here.
  
  
• See a video from the hearing and testimony from all the witnesses here.

UPDATE 4/16/08: The hearing came as the national Petition Campaign to End Slavery and Sweatshops in the Fields enters its final stretch before the April 28th action at Burger King headquarters in Miami, where signatures from across the country will be delivered as part of a creative mass procession. Increasing scrutiny of farm labor conditions in Florida -- and revelations of corporate espionage and underhanded internet attacks on the CIW tied to fast-food giant Burger King (see the Campaign Update from 4/14 below for details) -- have lent a new urgency to the Campaign for Fair Food and the national petition drive. Click here to sign the petition now, then join us this April 28th in Miami!

02/15/08: WAITING FOR WHOLE FOODS... Lucas Benitez of the CIW, pictured here on left awaiting an audience with Whole Foods representatives at the company's Austin, TX, headquarters, was in Austin for a four-day, whirlwind tour that included a huge BK protest, speeches and presentations, and a disappointing meeting with the sustainable food leader... click here to see the full report! And click here to go to the complete Breaking News Archive!