500 signatures reached
To: Bojangles' Restaurants, Jose` Armario (CEO), John Broadfoot (franchise owner of Temple/Villa Rica, GA locations)
#BoTime is OVER: People over Profits! Paid Sick Leave NOW!
URGENT CALL TO ACTION! PLEASE SHARE!
YOUR EMPLOYEES DESERVE & DEMAND:
A safe working environment during the coronavirus outbreak.
Livable wages and REAL raises.
Paid Sick Leave.
Access to GOOD healthcare.
To quote Bojangles’ Corporate Social Responsibility mission, taken directly from the corporate website:
"At Bojangles’, we value what our customers value. And, we are on a mission to win the hearts of our customers by delivering quality and service all day, every day. We are focused on taking measured, responsible actions to improve our communities, support our team members, and steward our resources, while continuing to offer the one-of-a-kind Bojangles’ menu that our committed fans love."
YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE CHARGING YOU TO KEEP YOUR COMMITMENTS.
How you choose to handle your business in the coming weeks will have a detrimental effect on how the virus is spread. This outbreak shines the light on a truly broken economy, and workers deserve better! If you’ve been vigilant in reading the news about the spread of coronavirus from reputable sources such as the CDC and WHO, they recommend (as of March 15th) no events or gatherings of more than 50 people for the next 8 weeks. Keeping your stores fully functional and operating with “business as usual” is unacceptable. Businesses like Bojangles’ have an obligation to their employees and their communities to take responsibility during these uncertain times. Please set an example for the public. If people continue to see businesses like Bojangles’ conducting as though nothing is happening, you are downplaying the seriousness and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Bojangles’ as a company is failing the people who work to keep it up and running and the effects of COVID-19 are only making that more apparent. While regions of the U.S. are starting to mandate public closure and the CDC is recommending people to self-isolate as much as possible, your employees are still urged to show up for work putting themselves and your customers at potential risk.
Why is this important?
-A safe working environment. Please take some initiative to either shut down your stores completely or limit interactions between employees and customers by only utilizing the drive thru area instead of using the lobby area during the outbreak of COVID-19.
-Livable wages. While I cannot speak to the kinds of pay offered at corporate locations, I can speak out about the franchise location I work at. People are given bare minimum wages. I work with people who have not had raises in YEARS. Shift managers at my location start off at $8.50/hr. When crew members are not paid fairly and management positions are not awarded with fair wage increases, employees do not have anything to aspire to work towards and as a result are not enthusiastic to be “good” employees. When I was a general manager I was given a grossing annual wage of $31,200 a year (which was $600 a week, despite the fact I was expected to work 60+ hours regularly). Your employees deserve to be paid a living wage, regardless of their job title. If you can’t do that, then you shouldn’t be in business. Please take you pizza parties, $5 gas cards, and faux appreciation and shove it.
-Paid sick leave. Employees should not be forced to come into work when they are sick out of fear they won’t be able to afford their rent/bills/groceries/childcare/etc. (probably because they don’t get paid enough in the first place). This is especially important now because families all across America are worried they will not be able to make ends meet during the COVID-19 outbreak if they have to miss work.
-Access to healthcare. I cannot speak with certainty how healthcare benefits are handled at corporate store locations, though a quick glance at the Bojangles’ corporate page leads me to assume it is probably minimal. Employees at my location are not awarded any benefits, not even full-time or management positions. As general manager, there were several occasions when I was dealing with health complications and found myself with no insurance. When I reached out to the franchisees, I was met with excuses as to why they could not provide us with any insurance. If employees are using their bodies to do the work for you day in and day out, the least you can do is help ensure they get access to the healthcare they deserve.
THE TIME IS NOW. People’s lives are at stake right NOW and Bojangles’ is sending a message that they value profits over people. Please do not underestimate the severity of this virus. It does not care how much money you make. Do not wait until the virus spreads further and things get worse. Show your employees and customers that you are committed to their well-being today.
#PEOPLEOVERPROFITS #BOTIMEISOVER
