Fired Pizza Hut manager praised for refusing to open on Thanksgiving

A Pizza Hut manager in Indiana is America’s newest folk hero after he says he was fired for refusing to open on Thanksgiving. Now, the head honchos for the popular fast-food chain are eating their words.

As word of the incident went viral this week, Pizza Hut’s corporate headquarters issued not one, but two statements surrounding the flap at an outlet in Elkhart, Imd. The statements urge the local franchise to reinstate the store manager who said he found himself unemployed after taking a stand against making employees work on Thanksgiving.

“I said why can’t we be the company that stands up and says we care about our employees and you can have the day off,” Tony Rohr, 28, told local TV news outlets. His bosses disagreed, and the dispute escalated from there.

Rorh said he was taking a stand on behalf of his employees, and said Pizza Hut is typically closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. “There are only two days that those people are guaranteed to have off to spend with their families,” he said.

Told to sign a letter of resignation, Rohr refused to do so. But he did handwrite a letter that could have been written on behalf of everyone who has ever felt beaten down by The Man:

“I am not quitting,” he said he wrote. “I do not resign. However I accept that the refusal to comply with this greedy, immoral request means the end of my tenure with this company. I hope you realize it’s the people at the bottom of the totem pole that make your life possible.”

No surprise, this story when viral in the last 24 hours, with many saying they would boycott Pizza Hut. “Well thank you Pizza Hut for making me a non customer. Now if the rest of the country would do the same,” said one comment posted on a local news report about the incident. “God bless you Rohr.....Pizza hut should be ashamed for your greed!”

A local Pizza Hut supervisor who gave his job title as area coach told the Los Angeles Times that the incident had been blown out of proportion, and was not precisely the way it has been represented in the media. Chuck Kayser said Rohr quit before discussing the decision to open on Thanksgiving. Moreover, Kayser said, there were volunteers willing to work on the holiday.

“I tried to keep him,” Kayser said, adding that Rohr was a good manager. “I reached out to him. He chose to leave.”

Pizza Hut headquarters posted a statement on its website saying the incident involved an independent franchisee and “could and should have been avoided.” The statement added, “We fully respect an employee’s right to not work on a holiday, which is why the vast majority of Pizza Huts in America are closed on Thanksgiving. As a result, we strongly recommended that the local franchisee reinstate the store manager and they have agreed. We look forward to them welcoming Tony back to the team.”

Kayser, Rohr’s area coach, said it will be Rohr’s decision to return to his job or not.

This incident is sure to lead to plenty of animated conversation at the Thanksgiving dinner table. On one side of the turkey, those who believe this is a sign of corporate greed raging out of control. On the other side, those who believe a job is a job, and companies that supply those jobs have the right to decide business hours.

What do you think?

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