Burger slime

We recently reported to you on Burger King’s resistance to a plan supported by other fast food chains to supplement the pay of Florida farm workers who pick tomatoes for a pittance (“Penny foolish,” May 8). There are five Burger King restaurants in Reno.

The story has become more complicated. Reporter Amy Bennett Williams of the Fort Myers News Press reported that a Burger King vice president, Steven Grover, has been posting online messages under his daughter’s name—messages that vilify supporters of the farm workers in terms like “lining the leaders’ pockets” and “blood suckers.” The daughter has disclaimed any knowledge of the messages, and Grover and another executive have apparently been fired. Meanwhile, a story posted on Alternet.org reported on alleged operatives planted within a student group supporting the farm workers, one of the operatives described as “the president of Diplomatic Tactical Services, a Florida-based corporate espionage firm.”