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April 15, 2005
Moral Dilemmas Spread Beyond Pharmacies
SYRACUSE - When Chophouse Charlie's American Steakhouse opened here last fall, it was the talk of the town. It's still on everyone's minds, but for different reasons. Waiter Jeremy Klustermann is at the center of a political firestorm for his religious and moral beliefs.
"I'm a vegan," explained Klustermann. "I don't eat anything that came from animals, and I refuse to take orders from diners who want me to serve them animal products."
The controversy began February 11, when the Stieglitz family of Watertown stopped in for dinner. Bob Stieglitz ordered a prime rib, medium rare, but Klustermann wouldn't provide it. "He said he was morally opposed to the slaughter of animals and wouldn't get me a steak," reminisced Stieglitz. "I asked if maybe we could get another waiter, and he glared at me and said if he did that, he'd still be an accessory to murder." Stieglitz wound up ordering a caesar salad, which he said was "fine, I guess".
Klustermann is now involved in a nationwide movement called "The Customer Is Always Right Unless It Conflicts With My Ethics" (TCIARUICWME.). Started after the recent spate of controversies involving pharmacists who refused to honor prescriptions for birth control pills, the movement now includes video store clerks, gas station attendants, wedding planners, and countless others in the service industry who are fed up with having to do their jobs if it violates their comfort zones.
"This isn't a whim," Klustermann said. "I'm a trained and experienced waiter, and [restaurant management] want to fire me because I won't bring certain foods to my customers."
Karri Brower, cofounder of TCIARUICWME, says retail workers like Klustermann are finally emboldened to ignore certain aspects of their job. "No more will the film snob at Blockbuster have to take customers' money to rent Carrot Top films. No more will the devout Muslim have to compromise his beliefs just because he's a hot-dog vendor at a baseball game. We truly believe that there's a way that people can not do their jobs due to moral concerns, and yet still do their jobs."
A TCUARUICWME rally scheduled for Washington this month had to be cancelled when the bus drivers slated to ferry them to the Mall realized the whole thing was asinine, and refused to drive them or recommend another means of transportation.
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