The small burger chain has revised its policy after customer backlash.
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Burgerville employees are going to have to express themselves with a little less flair now that the restaurant chain has revised its button policy after several employees came to work wearing political pins, offending some customers.
Originally, the small Pacific Northwest burger chain did not have a written policy in place, which led to workers wearing “controversial” pins like “Abolish ICE” and “No one is illegal" while on shift.
“Some of our employees have been wearing buttons expressing their political views at work. While Burgerville had a long-standing verbal policy prohibiting the wearing of personal buttons, we did not have a written policy about this," the company said in a statement to Fox News.
Now the fast food restaurant is creating a policy to keep its facilities "inclusive."
"The company is adopting one that represents our long-standing commitment to creating a universally welcoming and inclusive environment for our customers and employees alike. We are instituting an updated uniform policy, and buttons and other messaging – both political and personal – will not be allowed. It is a policy that is common in public-facing businesses and is in alignment with our mission to Serve With Love," the statement read.
The company said the new rule will go into effect Thursday, September 13.
The decision comes during negotiations with the fast food chain’s union, Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU), which was fighting for employees’ rights to make political statements at work after ten workers were sent home late last month for refusing to remove the politically-charged buttons.
However, because of a lack of written policy, the workers were allowed back at work with their protest buttons the next day and given back pay.
In a statement on Facebook, the union called on corporate to instate a policy allowing for political protest pins to be worn at work.
However, Burgerville HR director Liz Graham, told the Oregonian that customers did not like the pins and the company was working to create a “better way” to roll out its new button-free policy.
"Guests provided feedback that they didn’t want to see personal and political messages while they ate," Graham told The Oregonian. "Additionally, some employees expressed that the content of the buttons was drawing unwanted attention that made them uncomfortable."
The BVWU did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Alexandra Deabler is a Lifestyle writer and editor for Fox News.
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