Boycott In-N-Out.
The California-based burger chain plans to ban face masks on employees in five of the seven states in which it operates, citing the importance of staff "smiles" for customers.
Posting what I said on this in another thread-
So, this decision is really bad for reasons that go beyond sick workers. It’s really unpopular to mention but COVID isn’t over, it’s not gone. We just normalized the suffering and shunted the most vulnerable into its path. As one of those vulnerables still trying to survive, masking has been an exhausting situation. I mask, I have to, and antimask sentiment makes it hard to operate in a world that already wishes I wouldn’t. Decisions like this cause harm in wider ways. I wrote an email to In-N-Out Owner/President Lynsi Snyder about this in response to this policy. I don’t think she cares what this policy does, but I’m sharing here for others who may want to understand.
I’m writing to ask you to please reverse your recent decision to ban employees from wearing a mask unless medically exempt. This decision shows not only a complete disregard for the health and safety of your employees and customers, as everyone is affected by disease spread, but is also profoundly ableist and lacking an understanding of current (and historic) context. Requiring employees to not only divulge their medical information to their employers but also openly to the public is a mindset rooted in othering people who are disabled or otherwise medically vulnerable. In general, it’s bad when a marginalized group must publicly declare their status as such, but especially now when people are already struggling to survive an ongoing pandemic amidst the hostility of antimask sentiment. This decision furthers that othering and hostility, making those employees into targets. But this decision doesn’t just impact your employees directly, it feeds into that larger cultural antimask sentiment and perpetuates ableism. This lack of understanding of the impact of your decision is a clear message that it’s not just those employees your company does not value, but all disabled and vulnerable people. Please show your abity to learn and understand the impacts of your decision, as well as your disapproval of ableism, and reverse this decision. Further, I urge you to demonstrate actual value for your employees and customers by adapting to our reality and implementing measures to reduce the spread of covid and other pathogens in your restaurants and other workplaces. This can be achieved through simple measures like improving the ventilation and filtration in buildings, improving sick leave policies, and other actions including, yes, masking by employees.
Thank you Xxx
PS This company push to ignore our current reality and new cultural understanding of disease spread is not just callous, it’s boring. Be better.
We just normalized the suffering and shunted the most vulnerable into its path.
That isn't what happened. We developed highly effective vaccines that keep you from dying and reduce your chance of serious illness and/or long covid. Hospitalizations for COVID have absolutely cratered faster than cases have. Like, the rule they made is fucking stupid, they deserve to eat shit over it, but you don't have to completely mischaracterize what we did as a society in pushing back against employers being shitty to their employees.
COVID isn't the only disease passed by aerosolized droplets. The availability of a COVID vaccine is irrelevant.
My feelings are this: if anyone feels like they should wear a mask, I absolutely want them to wear one. Whether that is for their risk from the public, or their risk to the public, if they think it's needed, it is needed. Err on the side of caution.
I'm not mischaracterizing I'm illuminating an issue many have overlooked. Yes, the vaccines are effective against most variants at reducing serious illness and death for many. But they aren't preventing infection or long term impacts from infection, have waning effectiveness, and there are many for whom they aren't effective enough or at all (those vulnerables I mentioned). Many are still dying every week and last info we had showed in the US about half of those dying were vaccinated.
This part is mostly a rant- Covid (and others diseases) disrupts lives and can cause serious medical complications for many, yes even now. Those people's needs have largely been ignored, now and before covid. We have a better understanding of how disease spread impacts everyone and how we can prevent it. We learned these lessons at the expense of millions of lives and instead of honoring that and implementing changes to better all our lives we're squabbling over inefficient vaccines that many won't take. I'm pro vaccines, but they're currently not a solution to covid.
CDC stopped reporting on covid in May. More people are dying from clogged arteries than covid right now.
As someone living on the East Coast who is never within 2,000 miles of an In n Out Burger, I'll continue to do my part.
Love the In N Out double double, it's tastier, and cheaper than McDonalds, but I won't be going back to In N Out again, as forcing employees to be less comfortable and less safe in their working environment, one which necessitates them dealing literally face to face with a mostly uncaring unsafe unhealthy public is the line I draw in the sand. I still choose to wear my mask in public places like retail stores, because COVID is still very real. Everyone should be able to make their own choices, and stripping this right from an employee is not something I want to support with my patronage.
I still choose to wear my mask in public places like retail stores, because COVID is still very real.
I still wear a mask in stores, but it's mainly because I don't want to breath in whatever is flaking off the 400+ pound man in stained pajamas waddling around the Walmart. A lower chance of spreading or catching COVID is just gravy IMO.
People smiled with their eyes so much more during the COVIDs.
It is obvious when someone with a mask on is smiling.
We have very elderly mothers, and sisters with cancer, so my family still masks. I smile at people all the time, they smile back, everyone goes away feeling good. I don't understand how some people get so worked up over masks. 🤦♀️
The obvious take away is they dont want to see people smiling because they like seeing happy people.
They like to see smiles because it makes themselves happy to see smiles.
It's ridiculously selfish even if you ignore that you're putting everyone's health at risk
This is bassakwards. Forget covid, all cooks should be required to wear a mask while in a kitchen for the same reasons they're wear hair nets and we have sneeze guards on salad bars. I don't want some cook coughing on my burger.
Yeah exactly. Why more people haven't taken COVID as an opportunity to learn that spitting germs out of your mouth on food is gross, is beyond me.
I agree at least for cooks, along the same lines as hand washing and hair nets. I've actually caught the flu from eating out before, you know those stomach flus that incubate really fast, you can tell. I've caught covid a couple times, but who knows how I got that, has a long incubation, no way to narrow it down. Anyway I don't worry about covid any more than the flu. I almost died from the flu when I was a kid, never got that sick from covid, I mean it was still pretty nasty, but not life threatening.
Fuck you if your spouse or parents are going thru chemo, huh?
doctors note
Don't eat out? It's their responsibility to stay safe, not everybody else's responsibility to keep them safe.
Are they also banned from wearing gloves while handling my food?
Anyway, Five Guys >
it's like 17 dollars for a "small combo" at five guys and yes I know it's a lot of food but 1) reports are they aren't doing the whole-bag-full-of-fries thing anymore and 2) you can come out ahead and probably get something as good or better at a bar
The bag full of fries seems to vary by location. I stopped at a Five Guys in Vancouver last week on a road trip and they loaded it up nicely. The one closest to me skimps a little bit but I've had far worse at different locations.
They still do it at my local five guys.
Unfortunately, I cannot eat at Five Guy's or Chick-Fil-A because I am allergic to peanuts and they use peanut oil.
I'll eat my next one in your honor friend
5 Guys is superior anyway. Their Cajun fries are amazing.
Sure. but one's $4 for a double cheese burger and the other is $79 for just a single hamburger.
This is why we NEED worker's unions. They can fight this corporate power bullshit.
In N Out is okay. I'll never understand the cult following this place has. It's literally a case study in manufactured scarcity.
Same. Everyone used to rave about how good it was, but I always thought it was just average. Slightly better than the major fast food chains, but on-par with every local chain.
It's like the Chick-Fil-A folks. Same cult, different chain.
It was the standard for me. Not the best but certainly above the average. Didn't care much for it until I moved to the east coast.
I will fight the urge to drive 635 miles to my nearest In-N-Out because of this.
Ribbit
It's never going to be gone, specifically because of people like this.
Just like the flu never went away after the 1918 pandemic, again, because of people like to this.
They never really acknowledged it was here. I live near one of the Colorado locations and it has been (in)famous for COVID outbreaks the entire pandemic. And, for whatever obvious reasons, In-N-Out hasn't had the same closures enforced on them that every other restaurant did. During an outbreak they're supposed to close for a few days in our state, but they're basically the only restaurant that has refused to close and has never faced repercussions out here. It's maddening.
And yet the world still turns. Everybody else has just forgotten it, and dealt with it if they caught it. There's lots of things in the world that are "sub optimal". Deal with it.
People are dealing with it. By wearing masks
Yeah, they want to deal with it by wearing a mask but their company won't let them.
Dude, getting caught in the rain without an umbrella = deal with it. Pretending there's not still a pandemic is foolish.
This is a novel virus and we already suspect it's fucking with people's brains and hearts in ways we can't detect. We have no idea what "long Covid" is really doing to people yet. For example, if you get chicken pox as a kid, you may get shingles as an adult.
For your sake I hope being flippant about this doesn't come back to haunt you.
Just because everyone else has forgotten it doesn’t mean the aware just have to shrug and forget about it. The average person is ignorant AF
Literally why?! This is so fuckin stupid.
But it was also created by the Leftist Cabal to cull the world!
It's basically Schrodinger's disease lol
This doesn't really seem like the right community to post this. Maybe try a news community, like !news@lemmy.world? (I think I linked that right)
Boycott all fast food, it's a plague on society.
I can get behind this notion. Fast food has significantly made the human population, on average, uglier.
It's time for slow food to shine!
I quit going there recently after reading that most of their meat comes from a place that is so bad it's nicknamed Cowschwitz.
Its bad even getting close to Cowshwitz. The air is kind of green as you get close to it on the 5, all of a sudden you remember it's there and try desperately to roll up windows or shut down the airflow in the car. In the end, it doesn't help.
There are none within a few hundred miles of me so .. I'm doing my part?
Overrated anyway. I was born and raised in L.A. and there are a million better burgers to be found. Oh, and their fries really just suck. :|
Oh, and their fries really just suck. :|
No matter what praise I've seen of In-N-Out the criticism of their fries seems nearly universal.
I like that it's relatively cheap, but the fries are bad.
That's stupid. You want people handling your food to wear masks. At a minimum masks keep most of the boogers and nose hairs from landing on your food.
I like In-N-Out's food okay. What I really like is their simple menu. It's the only fast food my family eats because they can do gluten free safely. The owners are definitely conservative and christian (and weirdly so imo) but those freaks know how to run a well-functioning restaurant. The mask ban is obviously stupid but I won't boycott over it. Sucks for the workers, but also In-N-Out pays better and appears to treat their staff much better than your typical fast food joint. I'd hate to see those jobs shifted over to something like another McDonald's, for example.
Five Guys is really good about allergens, including gluten. They have a special allergen free zone in the kitchen that is apparently a huge pain in the ass to prepare for use each time, but they make sure it's not got any of what you're avoiding. If you ask for something to be left out of your order they ask: "Allergy or preference?"
Am I mistaken or aren't they also major republican donors too?
I mean… they have Bible verses printed on their cups and fry containers and what not… I worked for them back in the day and the founders were 100% what you’d imagine when you think of rich white SoCal conservatives… this saddened me but didn’t surprise me at all… and honestly, until I saw this headline I’d root for them 100% because they treat their employees well, pay well, and promote from within. As a company to work for (this decision excluded) they are pretty damn great.
Although I’d like to offer an alternative to the conservative COVID denial option, which is they are very old school… I could totally see a couple of boomers deciding customer service (smiling at your customers like a cheesy training video from the 80s) is more important than health concerns.
Tried looking them up on goodsuniteus.com, but they don't have 'em.
Fortunately, OpenSecrets' got 'em: https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/in-n-out-burger/summary?id=D000072295
edit, 'cause I can't help myself...
Daaaang, thanks for the digging!
Oh wow. It's nothing.
TIL - In N Out operates in more states than just CA and OR.
Which states?
Edit: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188706519/in-n-out-burger-bans-employees-from-wearing-masks
Here is the paywall-free version: https://archive.ph/fBFRe
In-N-Out bans employees from wearing masks
wut
We're past the 3rd year mark. Nobody is wearing masks and all the plexiglass has come down long ago. The masks were to keep hospitals from being inundated and keep everyone safe until a vaccine could be developed. Now that nobody is wearing masks we still don't see the hospital overcrowding and massive issue.
It's over.
I've actually noticed a lot of the plexiglass barriers are still up recently, for whatever reason.
So what does it matter then? Why do masks need to be specifically prohibited?
There’s none in Canada so I’m doing my part!
They're mediocre AF anyways.
No they’re not, boycott anyway tho
When I was in Arizona, I loved in-n-out. Now, in California, there are 3 places walking distance to me that wipe the floor with them.
Aligns with what my friends who've had the (mis)fortune to have had the chance to try it have said.
I mean honestly, it's a competent burger but it's a fucking hamburger. It's not haute cuisine. Also, their fries are limp as shit because they're fresh cut but they don't prep them or par cook them. I cannot for the life of me understand why people wait in line for this shit. But I say that about a lot of things.
Years ago In-N-Out used to have bible verses printed in tiny font at the bottom of the cups. It’s not too far a leap to conclude they’re just part of the persecution fetish crowd that thinks masks are a anti-Christian liberal conspiracy
Oh is that not a thing anymore? I wonder why they even bothered to change it?
Oh, I’m not sure. I haven’t been in many years. It was pretty off-putting so I stopped going after I saw it.
When I visited California, there were a few people who were very excited about sharing the In N Out experience. I like a good hamburger, so I was looking forward to it. It was simultaneously disappointing that it was just McDonald's with a different name and off putting that its adherents think anything otherwise.
Oh no don't you start spewing hateful lies about In-N-Out. It isn't a knockoff McDonald's, its a double double orgasm in your mouth. it's so much more than "just a burger." I mean...that first bite-oh, what heaven that first bite is. The bun, like a sesame freckled breast of an angel, resting gently on the ketchup and mustard below, flavors mingling in a seductive pas de deux. And then...a pickle! The most playful little pickle! Then a slice of tomato, a leaf of lettuce and a...a patty of ground beef so exquisite, swirling in your mouth, breaking apart, and combining again in a fugue of sweets and savor so delightful. This is no mere sandwich of grilled meat and toasted bread, dude This is God, speaking to us in food.
More bland food I can ignore
I don't have one within 500 miles of me so....done, I guess?
There aren’t any around unless I hop a plane ride. So I’m in by default lol?
@T0rrent01@lemmy.world could you add some additional text to the OP to elaborate on where you're coming from on this?
The title makes your position clear & the article points to part of why, but articulating why you're in favor of boycotting may help others understand more.
They are putting the community in danger by banning masks.
Easy, I started my boycott after trying it for the first time 10 years ago.
I'd rather have dicksinabag anyway.
That does sound d much better!
There's gotta be better things to boycott than this.
Honestly I will never eat there. Easy since there aren't any in Winnipeg... But hey every little bit helps right?
The hypocrisy is real
As someone from Michigan, I'm headed to Utah in two weeks. I'm sorry but I'm eating as much in-n-out as I can talk my gf into.
I enjoy tasty food, so I'm already boycotting.
...seriously their burgers are bland as fuck, never understood why they're so popular.
Nope. I wish we had them on the right coast...
To anyone thinking Covid can be eradicated, you're just wrong. it's never going away. Wearing masks won't stop it, just like it didn't stop it during the height of the pandemic. Just like the flu or the common cold, it is a virus that we'll have to contend with for the rest of our lives. There are exceptions in In-N-Out's policy if you read the article. If you work there and still don't like it, find a new job. Literally 90% of places I enter these days has a "now hiring" sign on the door. Work somewhere else.
"It's never going away, so don't do something that helps mitigate it." What??
How about just not coming to work when you're sick? like a normal fucking person...
How about "I'm going to wear this mask so I don't blow germs over you, your food, and my coworkers because the boss forced me to come to work sick?"
It's a braindead response to believe this is about "eradicating COVID." People like you ensured that this would be impossible years ago.
No one is forcing you to go to work. if you're sick, stay the fuck home.
No matter how many companies say they are hiring, oftentimes they don't. They put out notices that they are hiring just to boost the morale of strained workers, and there is zero intention to hire anyone who applies.
Boost morale? More like keep complaining, we’ll replace you?
idk, seems pretty thin. Will I ever eat at an In-N-Out... probably not, but not because of a boycott. I've got other things to focus my energy on, besides, if it's a real health concern, I would think OSHA would step in.
This is a nothing burger. Medical reasons are still allowed. Find something else to be outraged about.
According to the memo, employees will no longer be allowed to wear face coverings come Aug. 14, unless they have a medical note.
Who the fuck is going to the doctor over a cold? Especially when it's someone making $9/hr (if they're in Texas, at least).
Slap a mask on and don't breathe in people's food and you can keep on working. Why is this even an issue?
Then folks can go get another terrible job where they can mask all they want. It's not worth staging a protest over.
So if my dad is going through cancer, do I get the note from his doctor or mine?
Sounds like you need to ask your boss over there at the old in out burger.
Good, why do you need a damn mask?
