Whole Foods Accused Of Harassing Muslim Employee, Forcing Him To Pray By The Dumpster

[Agorism]

thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11/08/363722/whole-foods-accused-of-harassing-muslim-employee-forcing-him-to-pray-by-the-dumpster/

Whole Foods Accused Of Harassing Muslim Employee, Forcing Him To Pray By The Dumpster


Yuppy-haven supermarket Whole Foods has always carefully maintained a public image of embracing diversity. That polished exterior was tarnished in August when the corporation caved to the Islamophobic rants of conservatives, and told all its U.S. stores not to promote Ramadan this year.
Now a former employee is suing Whole Foods, alleging that he was harassed and ultimately terminated because of his Islamic faith. Supervisors turned on him when they learned he was making the traditional Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, and the situation got so bad that 24-year-old Glenn Mack had to resort to praying by the dumpsters outside the store:


Mack said he had been well-respected at the Whole Foods store at 20th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Philadelphia.[...] Mack said his troubles started after his supervisors discovered that he was going to use his vacation time for the once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage many Muslims make to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, birthplace of the prophet Muhammad.
He said he requested time for the vacation months in advance of the November 2010 trip, and received approval. But shortly before leaving, he said, his supervisors gave him a choice of keeping his job or going on the trip.
He went on the trip. When he returned, he didn’t lose his job immediately, but he said, attitudes toward him had changed. Supervisors would follow him on his breaks to a back corner of the supply room where he typically went to pray. For privacy, Mack said he resorted to praying outside next to the Dumpster.
After Mack took his vacation, he was downgraded from full-time to seasonal status — although he was returned to full-time status after he complained to the company’s human-relations department that he felt he discriminated against because of his religion. He continued to be heckled and followed by supervisors even after he was reinstated, and three months later, he was fired.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is representing Mack, and has filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. CAIR-Philadelphia Civil Rights Director Amara Chaudhry. “We hope that a company eager to take the money of Muslim shoppers would also be similarly welcoming of Muslim employees,” Chaudhry said.
Whole Foods’ insistence that it strives to engage employees and support their rights is seriously undermined by its actions towards them. In 2009, a manager at a San Francisco store threatened employees that there would be retribution if they tried to form a union.

[Acala]

Too bad. If you don't like your job, go elsewhere.

[LibertyEagle]

I don't believe this. Not at all.

You are carrying water for the leftists by posting this here. They have been trying to do damage to Mackey for quite some time.

By the way, you do realize that the owner of Whole Foods is a big Ron Paul supporter, don't you?

NOTE: Surprise, surprise, this hit piece is from ThinkProgress. :rolleyes:

[Krugerrand]

I don't believe this. Not at all.

You are carrying water for the leftists by posting this here. They have been trying to do damage to Mackey for quite some time.

By the way, you do realize that the owner of Whole Foods is a big Ron Paul supporter, don't you?

NOTE: Surprise, surprise, this hit piece is from ThinkProgress. :rolleyes:

John Mackey for VP!

[William R]

John Mackey for VP!

bump

[William R]

I don't believe this. Not at all.

You are carrying water for the leftists by posting this here. They have been trying to do damage to Mackey for quite some time.

By the way, you do realize that the owner of Whole Foods is a big Ron Paul supporter, don't you?

NOTE: Surprise, surprise, this hit piece is from ThinkProgress. :rolleyes:

I know John Mackey and he has two big Ron Paul for President signs in his front yard.

[Krugerrand]

I know John Mackey and he has two big Ron Paul for President signs in his front yard.

Ask him if he'd be willing to take the VP slot.

[Agorism]

I don't believe this. Not at all.

You are carrying water for the leftists by posting this here. They have been trying to do damage to Mackey for quite some time.

By the way, you do realize that the owner of Whole Foods is a big Ron Paul supporter, don't you?

NOTE: Surprise, surprise, this hit piece is from ThinkProgress. :rolleyes:


You seem to think that Paul supporters are supposed to spin for a certain message.

I tend to think people discriminate against muslims at times, but in reality the story was funny, and that reason alone is a enough to merit posting on it.

[Cowlesy]

Glad you posted this, as I need to get groceries after work, and I will make sure to give my business to Whole Foods. John Mackey isn't some islamophobe. This is just some BS story from thinkprogress with the goal of glorifying victimhood.

[LibertyEagle]

You seem to think that Paul supporters are supposed to spin for a certain message.

I tend to think people discriminate against muslims at times, but in reality the story was funny, and that reason alone is a enough to merit posting on it.

The one doing the spinning is ThinkProgress and you are assisting them.

[specsaregood]

It just chaps the asses of all the hardcore socialists that the #1 "green" grocery store is run by a libertarian.
This story reeks of b.s.

[Miss Annie]

glorifying victimhood.

Powerful words!

[Acala]

Powerful words!

Glorifying victimhood is a national pastime and a billion-dollar industry.

[Miss Annie]

It is..... definitely. It is also how the socialists suck people in. Our entitlement attitudes in this country feed it thoroughly.

[Brian4Liberty]

It just chaps the asses of all the hardcore socialists that the #1 "green" grocery store is run by a libertarian.
This story reeks of b.s.

Now that you mention it, was it pure coincidence that vandals from the OWS movement in Oakland attacked a Whole Foods store?

First they came for Wall St...wait, first they came for the libertarians...

[oyarde]

No way a grocery employee can take enough time off to go to the Haj , period . And what is wrong with praying by the dumpster ?? This story is gobblygook .

[KingRobbStark]

I don't trust Think Pogress.

[madengr]

I still wish Whole Foods would take down their anti-CCW signs here in KS.

[jmdrake]

I don't believe this. Not at all.

You are carrying water for the leftists by posting this here. They have been trying to do damage to Mackey for quite some time.

By the way, you do realize that the owner of Whole Foods is a big Ron Paul supporter, don't you?

NOTE: Surprise, surprise, this hit piece is from ThinkProgress. :rolleyes:

John Mackey is awesome. But isn't it possible, just possible, that some store manager down the food chain might not be? The allegation could be made up or it could be true. Either way I don't see it as being Mackey's responsibility.

[oyarde]

Anybody know how long it would take to go to the Haj from Philadelphia and return , how many weeks total ?

[dannno]

John Mackey is awesome. But isn't it possible, just possible, that some store manager down the food chain might not be? The allegation could be made up or it could be true. Either way I don't see it as being Mackey's responsibility.

Of course that is a very reasonable position, just like my (our?) position that just because a few OWS protesters do something stupid, it doesn't define the movement as a whole or what it stands for.

[ExPatPaki]

Anybody know how long it would take to go to the Haj from Philadelphia and return , how many weeks total ?

Shouldn't take more than a week and half at most.

[specsaregood]

//

[oyarde]

You do realize he wouln't be walking all the way from philly, right? Yeah , fly from Philly , get to Mecca , get back , I do not see an employee in retail being able to get that kind of time off and still having a job ??

[sirgonzo420]

You do realize he wouldn't be walking all the way from philly, right?

oh god don't tell me there was a muslim on an airplane!

[oyarde]

Shouldn't take more than a week and half at most. That is about what I was thinking , best case , if , he had made all of is arrangements far in advance .

[oyarde]

oh god don't tell me there was a muslim on an airplane! Every day , it is OK .

[oyarde]

I could be wrong , but it kind of sounds like his problems started when he wanted a couple of weeks off ...

[ExPatPaki]

Yeah , fly from Philly , get to Mecca , get back , I do not see an employee in retail being able to get that kind of time off and still having a job ??

True, but I thought Whole Foods had extremely good benefits. Either case this guy is looking at getting paid.

[specsaregood]

//

[oyarde]

True, but I thought Whole Foods had extremely good benefits. Either case this guy is looking at getting paid. Looks that way .

[oyarde]

I can't see an employer saying no as long as you schedule it far enough ahead of time and dont expect to get paid. I am not real familiar with service jobs like that , but I expect they probably are not staffed to cover an abscence that long ?

[oyarde]

My youngest son worked at a fast food place through high school , he worked a few hours , about six days a week , if he wanted two consecutive days off ( that was all he could ask for ) , he needed fifteen days notice . I usually had him ask off for Easter ,Christmas & Thanksgiving , so he could make the Family dinners .

[specsaregood]

I am not real familiar with service jobs like that , but I expect they probably are not staffed to cover an abscence that long ?

I can't see it as a problem, its not a skilled job where the company shuts down if he is out on vacation.

[Krugerrand]

I can't see it as a problem, its not a skilled job where the company shuts down if he is out on vacation.

Plus, he went on the vacation and returned ... if it had been the source of the problem, why wait until well after he returns to fire him. It sounds like a jerk of a manager that very well may end up fired. I hardly see it as a Whole Foods issue.

But, it give me another chance to plug JM for VP!

[oyarde]

I do not see it as a Whole Foods issue .

[oyarde]

Plus, he went on the vacation and returned ... if it had been the source of the problem, why wait until well after he returns to fire him. It sounds like a jerk of a manager that very well may end up fired. I hardly see it as a Whole Foods issue.

But, it give me another chance to plug JM for VP! I agree with that . If it were me , and I could not cover it , I would let him know up front .

[Acala]

It seems like the part where they made him pray to a dumpster was what annoyed him.

[specsaregood]

It seems like the part where they made him pray to a dumpster was what annoyed him.

Except it explicitly says that, that was HIS choice:


Supervisors would follow him on his breaks to a back corner of the supply room where he typically went to pray. For privacy, Mack said he resorted to praying outside next to the Dumpster.

I don't think one has a right to privacy at a place of work. I mean even bathrooms are communal.

[ExPatPaki]

Other outlets have this story as well; not just ThinkProgress.

Worker says he was fired from supermarket chain because he is Muslim (edition.cnn.com/2011/11/08/us/pennsylvania-muslim-fired/)


Philadelphia (CNN) -- A former Whole Foods Market employee says he was fired because he is Muslim.

Glenn Mack Jr. told reporters Tuesday that he experienced harassment by his supervisors because of his Islamic faith, resulting in his termination.

A spokeswoman for the natural-food supermarket chain said the company denied Mack's allegations.

Mack, 24, started working for Whole Foods in 2008. He was terminated in February 2011 for absenteeism, said his lawyer, Amara Chaudhry, with the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

He filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in March, Chaudhry said, adding she will file an amended complaint in the next few weeks.

Whole Foods Market spokeswoman Kate Lowery said the company "cannot give out details about current or former team members due to privacy, but we deny these allegations."

"It's well known that Whole Foods values and celebrates diversity," Lowery said, adding, "We have a zero-tolerance discrimination policy, zero tolerance."

Mack said he had been well-liked at the Whole Foods location on Pennsylvania Avenue in Philadelphia. He said he was the community service liaison and had been chosen to run the employees' assistance fund designed to help "team members in need." Mack added he was also selected to meet Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO John Mackey.

The problems began, he said, after his supervisors learned he was using his approved vacation time for Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia during the last month of the Islamic calendar.

Hajj represents the fifth and final "pillar" of Islam. Every Muslim who is physically and financially capable is expected to make the pilgrimage once in their lifetime.

Mack said he had kept his Islamic faith a secret after overhearing comments that disturbed him. He said he requested time for the vacation two months in advance of the November 2010 trip. Prior to his vacation, his supervisors gave him a choice of keeping his job or going on the trip, he said.

Mack was downgraded from full-time employment to part-time employee upon returning from the pilgrimage and before being terminated, he said.

While working, he said he was followed by supervisors and watched when he went to pray in a storage room, and so began to complete his daily prayers outdoors near a trash dumpster.

"The fact that Glenn felt pressured or compelled to pray in the location that he did is not insignificant. A Muslim wouldn't do so unless under compelling circumstances or in a state of duress," Chaudhry, his attorney, said.

Whole Foods works with its employees to accommodate special requests and has an open-door policy, Lowery said, adding the company has many Muslim employees in the Philadelphia and Mid-Atlantic regions.

"We are looking at this from every angle possible," Lowery said.

A formal lawsuit has not been filed; however there is a pending matter before the EEOC and that has been cross-filed with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Chaudhry said. Mack is seeking reinstatement and compensation for his termination, plus mandatory tolerance training for employees, Chaudhry said.

[William R]

This guy sounds like a nickel and dime grifter.

[Rael]

Pray on your own time. Get back to work.

[John F Kennedy III]

oh god don't tell me there was a muslim on an airplane!

Of course not. That only happens in fairy tales.

[John F Kennedy III]

It seems like the part where they made him pray to a dumpster was what annoyed him.

They didn't make him.

[puppetmaster]

Wholefoods gets my money always

[oyarde]

I can't see it as a problem, its not a skilled job where the company shuts down if he is out on vacation. It said they moved him from full time to part time . They probably replaced his position in his absence ?