Philadelphia City Councilman-at-Large Jim Kenney late last month urged the leadership at national fast-food chain Chick-fil-A to make good on its pledge to be LGBT-inclusive.
Kenney, who this past summer fired off an impassioned letter to company CEO Dan Cathy after the latter made statements affirming his opposition to LGBT rights, again wrote to Cathy Sept. 25.
After a controversial campaign by LGBTs and activists against the company — and an equally fervent show of support from Chick-fil-A fans — the chain last month said it would cease donations to groups that discriminate against LGBT people. It also added sexual orientation and gender as protected classes to its nondiscrimination statement.
Kenney, however, urged Cathy to take those actions further.
“If Chick-fil-A genuinely intends to ‘treat every person with honor, dignity and respect,’ it should start with equal and fair treatment of its own employees,” Kenney wrote. “If it truly means what it says, your company should have no problem altering its employee health- and retirement-benefits program to include the committed partners and same-sex spouses of its own LGBT employees.”
Kenney noted that about 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies offer benefits plans for same-sex partners of their employees that are equitable with those offered to married heterosexual spouses. And, he noted, more than 90 percent of the nation’s largest companies believe that “diversity policies and generous benefits packages are good for their corporate bottom line,” according to LGBT thinktank the Williams Institute.
“These numbers are only growing,” Kenney wrote. “I look forward to the day I read about Chick-fil-A joining their ranks.
Kenney did, however, commend Cathy on the company’s new position.
He added that the company and some of its charitable donations have been beneficial.
“Most of your recent critics have neglected to mention the thousands of Americans you employ or the $30 million in college scholarships you have donated,” he said. “Nobody is attacking this proud tradition of community stewardship. That said, doing tremendous good does not mean Chick-fil-A cannot do more to level the playing field in the workplace.”
He added that the intense public scrutiny and media attention Chick-fil-A faced this past summer over its anti-LGBT donations and positions likely left the company feeling “unfairly singled out and vilified for who you are and what you believe.”
“Congratulations, you now have something in common with our fellow LGBT coworkers, neighbors, parishioners, friends and family members,” he noted. “I encourage you and your company to reflect on that.”
