000917 Minority Burger King Owners Oppose BoycottSeptember 18, 2000Detroit, MI - The Minority Franchise Association (MFA) of Burger King Corporation released new information outlining the reasons for its opposition to the national boycott of Burger King restaurants planned by La-Van Hawkins and his companies along with the so-called “Reverend” Al Sharpton: No matter how one looks at this situation, it is purely a business dispute between the Burger King Corporation and one franchisee. It is unbelievable -- and unacceptable -- to all of us that one person would try to penalize literally thousands of people as a way of settling a personal grievance. The MFA feels that there are some hard, cold facts that people need to understand before agreeing to support a national boycott: There are 1,173 ethnically-owned Burger King restaurants across the United States. The owners of these restaurants work hard and pay their bills according to the legal agreements that they signed with Burger King Corporation. The majority of their restaurants are located in urban areas and often make a critical difference in the economic well-being of these local communities. These 1,173 businesses: * Employ 58,650 people, the majority of whom are helping to support families with their wages. * Pay approximately $351,900,000 in wages annually. * Pay $25 million in property taxes to cities and towns annually. * Contribute in excess of $5 million annually to a variety of philanthropic causes from helping schools and aiding hospitals to feeding the homeless and rebuilding the community. * Bring inestimable economic benefits by building partnerships with other local businesses that in turn, employ more people. A national boycott will have a damaging, disruptive and long-lasting negative effect on the 58,650 people who go to work in ethnically-owned Burger King restaurants every day and on the communities where these restaurants are located. The Minority Franchise Association of Burger King Corporation, is a 26 year- old organization made up of 75 minority franchisees with restaurants across the United States.
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