Chick-Fil-A Says It Has Made No Agreement To Stop Funding Anti-Gay Groups
Despite reports last week, Chick-Fil-A is saying through it’s CEO Dan Cathy that it has not made any change in its practice of negotiating to groups that oppose same-sex marriage and other “pro-family” groups:
Well, this Chick-fil-A back-and-forth is certainly getting old. For those who care about where a sandwich chain stands on marriage equality, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee assured his Facebook fans that Chick-fil-A is as bigoted as ever.
“I talked earlier today personally with Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick fil-A about the new reports that Chick fil-A had capitulated to demands of the supporters of same sex marriage,” Huckabee writes. “This is not true.” Cathy issued a statement that Huckabee posted on his website:
There continues to be erroneous implications in the media that Chick-fil-A changed our practices and priorities in order to obtain permission for a new restaurant in Chicago. That is incorrect. Chick-fil-A made no such concessions, and we remain true to who we are and who we have been.
Politico reminds readers it was Huckabee who organized the “Chick-fil-A appreciation day” this summer.
The Chicago alderman who was at the center of last week’s news wants clarification:
A Chicago alderman says Chick-fil-A’s president is publicly contradicting what company executives personally assured him for months — that the fast-food chain is changing its stance on gay marriage — and he asked the company Sunday to clarify.
Alderman Joe Moreno made news last week when he announced Chick-fil-A has ceased making donations to anti-gay groups and has enacted workplace protections for its employees against discrimination.
Moreno said the two concessions were the result of 10 months of negotiations he had with Chick-fil-A executives as he weighed whether to support a new Chick-fil-A restaurant in his Chicago ward. He said the executives gave him documents backing up the new positions.
(…)
Moreno said Sunday that Cathy’s statement “at the least, muddied the progress we had made with Chick-fil-A and, at the worst, contradicted the documents and promises Chick-fil-A made to me and the community earlier this month.”
Moreno said Chick-fil-A executives gave him a letter earlier this year saying the company’s non-profit arm, the WinShape Foundation, will not support organizations with political agendas. “We were told that these organizations included groups that politically work against the rights of gay and lesbian people,” Moreno said.
He said the executives confirmed to him that both the foundation and the company in 2012 has not given money and will not give money to those groups.
Cathy’s conflicting statement, Moreno said Sunday, is “disturbing.”
“I am simply asking Mr. Cathy to confirm statements and documents that HIS company executives provided to me,” Moreno said in a written statement, capitalizing “his” for emphasis.
If Chick-Fil-A wants to continue it’s previous practices regarding what type of groups it donated to, that is certainly its right. However, with these two stories it seems like they’re trying to have it both ways, telling the public that they’re not donating to groups with political agendas while reassuring Hucakbee and people who support him that “ we remain true to who we are and who we have been.” You can’t have it both way guys.
I eat there for the food. I don’t go there for the politics.
Wanna bet?They’re Republicans that are in it for the money.
Again, it sucks being a chickalay franchisee. But hey, you pay monthly for this crap.
@Davebo:
Again, there are no Chick-Fil-A franchisee. The stores are all corporate owned.
This whole controversy is about “having it both ways.” Chicken restaurant or political commentator? Hmmmm…how about both?!
As far as I’m concerned, Huckabee and the rest are getting duped. I’m sure Cathy really is committed to anti-gay causes.
But that’s no reason to buy chicken from him…..sheesh.
@Stormy Dragon:
Who told you that?
From the Chick-Fil-A “Franchise Application Information” page:
@Herb:
Note the key word is that you are a franchise “operator”, not an owner. Chick-Fil-A doesn’t use franchise they way it’s normally meant:
“Chick-fil-A uses a model significantly different from other restaurant franchises, notably in retaining ownership of each restaurant. Chick-fil-A selects the restaurant location, builds it and retains ownership. Whereas franchisees from competing chains pay almost $2 million up front to open a franchise, Chick-fil-A franchisees need only a $5,000 initial investment to become an operator.[1] The company gets 10,000–25,000 applications from potential franchise operators for 60–70 slots they open each year. Chick-fil-A gets a larger share of revenue from its franchises than other chains, but the formula works well for operators – franchisees make an average of $190,000 per year. In 2010 Chick-fil-A took the industry lead in average sales per restaurant, making an average of $2.7 million per restaurant in 2010 (McDonald’s was second with $2.4 million per restaurant).”
The operator doesn’t have any equity or property interest in the store. They are essentially just paying for the right to manage a corporate owned store some period of time. And at the end of that period, the company is free to replace them with another person anytime that contract expires.
@Herb:
From Chick-Fil-A’s own site:
As said, a Chick-Fil-A does not own a business the way, say, a McDonald’s franchisee does. They’re essentially just a general manager with a really good profit sharing plan.
@Stormy Dragon:
Wow….
Pretty bold of them to call that a “franchise.” Sounds like Huckabee’s not the only one getting duped.
@Herb:
Given the difference in entry costs ($5,000 for Chick-Fil-A vs. $2 million for a McDonald’s), they’re not really targetting the same type of people. It’s a great oppurtunity for the right sort of person.
@Stormy Dragon:
Well, that’s true. McDonald’s is going for the entrepreneurial type and Chick-Fil-A is going for….the gullible?
I’d rather pay $2 mill to own a McDonald’s than pay $5K to manage a Chick-Fil-A.
@Herb:
Yeah, but do you have $2 mil to spend on a McDonald’s? I don’t. And as noted, the average Chick-Fil-A operator takes home $190k/year. Paying $5k for a position that pays $190k/year isn’t really a bad deal. It doesn’t seem really accurate to describe them as dupes.
@Stormy Dragon:
Yeah, but don’t make the mistake of comparing Chik-Fil-A’s psuedo-franchise system to McDonald’s legit one.
You should compare it to all the other management style jobs you can get without paying 5K.
@Herb:
The average salary for a McDonald’s store manager makes $40k/year:
http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/McDonald-s-Store-Manager-Salaries-E432_D_KO11,24.htm
So CfA is being evasive about what they’re doing. A bunch of fundies lied. Imagine my surprise.