Another Round Of Chick-fil-A Protests Planned

By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 8, 2012 2:00PM

Andy Thayer, of the Coalition Against NATO/G8 & Poverty Agenda (CANG8) addresses the media during May's NATO summit protests.(Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist)

It appears that another series of protests against Chick-fil-A are in the works as the current round has started to recede. Greg Hinz at Crain’s Chicago Business reports activist Andy Thayer, who was arguably the most organized of the NATO Summit protesters, is entering the fray and giving a boost in the efforts of gay rights activists angry at Chick-fil-A’s Dan Cathy’s comments about same-sex marriage.

Thayer points to a 2007 profile of Chick-fil-A in Forbes that shows how deep the Cathy family’s Christian beliefs are ingrained in operating the company and makes a compelling argument that it isn’t only the gays being discriminated against by the Cathys.It’s been well-known that Chick-fil-A’s are closed on Sundays so employees may attend church or be with their families. But comments in the article by founder and CEO Truett Cathy indicate that employees’ contracts with the company extend to God.

Using the Forbes profile as a guide, Thayer argues Chick-fil-A is essentially a megachurch that happens to serve above average mall food. From the Forbes article.

Loyalty to the company isn't the only thing that matters to Cathy, who wants married workers, believing they are more industrious and productive. One in three company operators have attended Christian-based relationship-building retreats through WinShape at Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga. The programs include classes on conflict resolution and communication. Family members of prospective operators--children, even--are frequently interviewed so Cathy and his family can learn more about job candidates and their relationships at home. "If a man can't manage his own life, he can't manage a business," says Cathy, who says he would probably fire an employee or terminate an operator who "has been sinful or done something harmful to their family members."

The parent company asks people who apply for an operator license to disclose marital status, number of dependents and involvement in "community, civic, social, church and/or professional organizations."

But Danielle Alderson, 30, a Baltimore operator, says some fellow franchisees find that Chick-fil-A butts into its workers' personal lives a bit much. She says she can't hire a good manager who, say, moonlights at a strip club because it would irk the company. "We are watched very closely by Chick-fil-A," she says. "It's very weird."

The Forbes article also points out that Chick-fil-A has been sued a dozen times since 1988. Since Chick-fil-A is an independent contractor they aren’t necessarily subject to federal hiring discrimination laws and can get away with asking prospective employees if they’re married and believe in God.

Whatever Chick-fil-A is doing, it’s profitable. The Forbes piece lays out the standard franchise contract which starts with a low $5,000 initial franchise fee:

”Chick-fil-A pays for the land, the construction and the equipment. It then rents everything to the franchisee for 15% of the restaurant's sales plus 50% of the pretax profit remaining. Operators, who are discouraged from running more than a few restaurants, take home $100,000 a year on average from a single outlet.”

Turnover at Chick-fil-A is below the industry standard.

The turnover among Chick-fil-A operators is a low 5% a year. Among hourly workers turnover is 60%, compared with 107% for the industry. "We tell applicants, 'If you don't intend to be here for life, you needn't apply,'" says Cathy, who opened his first restaurant in 1946.

Thayer is expected to bring an estimated 100 protesters outside the Chick-fil-A Loyola Water Tower location today. Thayer told Hinz Chick-fil-A’s actions “may not be illegal in much of Chick-fil-A’s Southern bastions, but is so in Illinois.”