Texas Chick-fil-A Owner Carries Out Christian Values To Employees

S. Truett Cathy, Chick fil-A’s late founder, had a statue of Jesus built on the land where he built his company’s headquarters in Atlanta. The statue is of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.

“It’s a symbol of servant leadership,” said a spokesperson for the Chick-fil-A company.

What does the statue mean? It’s symbolic of the way Cathy ran his business, from the ground up. He built his company, Chick-fil-A, based on Christian values and has never wavered from that decision.

Cathy just recently passed away but before he died, he had a contract created alongside his children that states that Chick-fil-A should never go public.

To go public and to transfer ownership out of the family could affect the company and its religious mission statement “to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us” and “to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A,” Cathy had written in the contract.

Austin Chick-fil-A owner Jeff Glover displayed the company’s Christian-based values earlier this year when he decided to shut his restaurant down for five months to expand it. He not only shocked his fifty employees by telling them that they would continue to receive a paycheck while the renovations were ongoing but he also told them they would all receive a dollar an hour increase in pay.

“It would’ve been a real financial crisis for the 50 families represented from the employees here to have had to go five months without a job,” he said.

All fifty of Glover’s employees make a salary of at least $11 an hour.

Glover says he is not a hero — his employees are. This is what he had to say about them,

“This may seem like shameless self promotion, and to be sure IT IS, but part of the story wasn’t told in this report and must be made known. These 50 returning employees are so much more than just “the help”. They are my friends, they are my work family, they are my loyal army so it is no longer just me against the world anymore. They’ve become my hands and my feet and my voice. They are my purpose. They are the very people that watch over my interest day in and day out. Half of them have been here faithfully for a decade or more. They have a heart of service to each other and a bigger heart for our community. I would be a fool to let any of them suffer a job loss on my watch and by my cause. I thank God for them and I’ll rest well knowing I’ll have their continued support as Chick-fil-A employees in my care.
God Bless Merica!!”

Evidently, Glover is known at his store for taking care of his employees and customers.

“I wasn’t expecting less than that — he is always taking care of us,” one of Glover’s workers said.

“I’ve been here for over a decade and I can’t put into words how much this means,” said Norma Baynes, who works as a manager at Glover’s store. “This type of generosity usually doesn’t happen in today’s business climate.”

I think S. Truett Cathy would be very pleased with Glover’s decision because it reflects family and Christian values and represents what his company was built on. Do you agree?

(Image via Shutterstock)