Ben & Jerry’s says CEO fired by father or mother firm over social mission
Ben & Jerry’s says father or mother firm Unilever fired their CEO over his dedication to the model’s social mission, not his job efficiency.
As the connection between Ben & Jerry’s and its father or mother firm Unilever continues to grow tenser, the ice cream maker has alleged that its CEO was eliminated by Unilever over the corporate’s political posts.
In a Tuesday submitting in federal court docket in New York, Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of violating a merger settlement by constantly “silencing” Ben & Jerry’s “social mission.”
The ice cream maker says Unilever has threatened its CEO, David Stever, in addition to different Ben & Jerry’s staff, over their help for Palestinian refugees.
“Unilever has repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry’s personnel, together with CEO David Stever, ought to they fail to adjust to Unilever’s efforts to silence the social mission,” the submitting stated.
Within the submitting, Ben & Jerry’s stated an impartial board was arrange in 2000 following the corporate’s sale to Unilever, and that its major position is to “enshrine guardrails stopping any dilution of the corporate’s social mission and model integrity.”
On the Ben & Jerry’s website, the ice cream maker identifies its social mission as a “progressive, nonpartisan” one.
A Unilever spokesperson, who declined to be named, on Wednesday blamed the impartial board for making confidential data public.
“Regrettably, regardless of repeated makes an attempt to interact the board and observe the right course of, we’re dissatisfied that the confidentiality of an worker profession dialog has been made public,” the spokesperson instructed USA TODAY. “We hope that the B&J Impartial Board will interact as per the unique, agreed course of.”
Here’s what you must know.
Unilever allegedly suppressed Ben & Jerry’s help for social points
Within the Tuesday submitting, Ben & Jerry’s stated Unilever had lately reached new ranges of “suppression of Ben & Jerry’s social mission.”
The ice cream maker stated Unilever had blocked “with out clarification” Ben & Jerry’s from making a submit expressing help for Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian refugee who says he’s being held as a “political prisoner” for condemning Israel’s assaults on Gaza.
Within the submitting obtained by USA TODAY, Ben & Jerry’s included the blocked submit:
“Shield the First Modification! Free speech and peaceable protests are the lifeblood of our democracy, and scholar activists have at all times been on the heart of the battle for justice,” the submit stated. “Political speech is protected by our structure and peaceable civil disobedience ought to by no means be the idea for deportation. Shield your proper to dissent and take motion with the @ACLU.”
Ben & Jerry’s stated it additionally deliberate to incorporate a hyperlink to an ACLU petition in help of Khalil.
The corporate additionally alleged that Unilever had blocked a deliberate submit in celebration of Black Historical past Month in February.
In one other submitting in February, Ben & Jerry’s alleged suppression of their social views. The corporate stated Unilever ice cream chief Peter ter Kulve unilaterally banned it from “issuing any posts criticizing President Trump” pending additional assessment.
Ter Kulve beforehand banned a deliberate submit on hot-button points when Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20 as a result of the submit talked about the incoming president, Ben & Jerry’s stated within the submitting.
Unilever threatened Ben & Jerry’s with dismantling of impartial board
Within the preliminary lawsuit filed again in November, Ben & Jerry’s alleged that Unilever had threatened to dismantle the impartial board created in 2000.
The ice cream maker alleged that Unilever made the threats to the corporate after they tried to help Palestinian refugees.
“Unilever threatened to dismantle the Impartial Board and sue the board members individually if Ben & Jerry’s–with its decades-long motto of ‘peace, love & ice cream’– issued the assertion supporting ‘peace’ and a ‘ceasefire’,” the submitting stated.
Relating to Stever, Ben & Jerry’s alleged that the reasoning for his proposed elimination by Unilever is only because of his “dedication to Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission,” reasonably than “any real issues relating to his efficiency historical past.”
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending information reporter for USA TODAY. Attain him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and observe him on X @fern_cerv_.
