Matthew Nickoloff '04 and his girlfriend Leah Cornell held anti-Burger King signs Saturday afternoon by the roadside outside the fast food restaurant on Route 206, protesting Burger King's indifference to its Honduran franchise's unjust firing practices.
Cornell and Nickoloff, who works for the Office of Religious Life, held posters for an hour to raise awareness for their cause.
Their protest was just one of several demonstrations in the United States and Canada planned by Americans for a More Just Society (AJS). Saturday's protests in more than 15 cities were the culmination of similar protests that have been taking place nationwide since February.
AJS organized these protests in response to the illegal actions of the Honduran Burger King franchise last year. In Tegucigalpa, Honduras' capital city, the franchise fired 27 employees without pre-notification, just cause or exit pay, all required by Honduran law.
The aims of the nationwide protests included encouraging customers to boycott Burger King and getting managers at local Burger Kings to call the Latin American representatives to express concern about the illegal practices.
Cornell and Nickoloff informed the Princeton franchise manager about the Honduran Burger King's unjust actions and requested that he call the Honduran representative.
"How do you know that?" the manager asked. "How are they being treated badly? I'm sure if Burger King's breaking the law, the government of Honduras will deal with it. People here can't do anything about it."
Cornell pointed out that the infrastructure in many developing countries is not strong enough to hold companies responsible for injustices. "So nobody is [going to hold them responsible] if we aren't," she said.
When the manager declined to call the Honduran Burger King, Cornell informed him that they would be standing outside the restaurant holding up anti-Burger King signs.
The Burger King is in a privately owned shopping center, so Cornell and Nickoloff could only stand up to 10 feet from the main road. "If you're on private property, I'll have you arrested," the manager said.
For the next hour, the two protesters stood by the exit of the shopping center, each holding up a sign with slogans like "King Injustice" and trying to catch the attention of departing cars.
Most drivers at least glanced at the posters, some stared intently, others honked and gave thumbs-up or peace signs, and a few stopped to ask what they were protesting.
Cornell and Nickoloff passed flyers about the injustice through open windows.
Having lived and taught in Honduras for six months, Cornell said she felt motivated to organize a protesting group for the Princeton area. However, she said she began planning too late and was unable to recruit any Princeton students to join.
"It really is hard to get people to give time, especially if they don't have a direct link," she said.
"For me, it's more personal. I've seen where they live, seen poverty — splitting an egg for breakfast, eating beans and tortillas for every meal. It's hard for us to understand that all over America and especially at Princeton," she added.
Nickoloff explained that Honduras' greatest source of national income is from Hondurans who have gone to America and send money back to their relatives. Having an American company in their community is a way to get that income without leaving.
Cornell said the difference between this and other examples of worker exploitation is that Burger King is an American company that should take responsibility for its franchise's actions.
"Although we can't force other governments to enforce these laws, American companies should not allow them to continue illegal practices," Cornell said. "I mean, this is the land of the free."
After protesting for one hour, Nickoloff and Cornell headed back to the University with plans for future demonstrations.
Though optimistic for future protests, Cornell expressed concern about the general sense of apathy in today's youth.
"I think a lot of time, especially at Princeton, people are such perfectionists that they have to make everything they do a huge ordeal," she said.
"But even if social justice issues is not our life focus, it doesn't give us the right to ignore it," she added.
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