Dave Thomas, senior chairman and television spokesperson for Wendy’s, announced he will cross Screen Actors’ Guild picket lines in order to produce new commercials for his restaurant chain. According to CBS, Thomas had expressed only last month that he would honor his affiliation with the guild by continuing to run older Wendy’s commercials.

Wendy’s officials have decided that the health of the company, its investors, and its 200,000-plus employees will take priority, and that older commercials will no longer suffice.

The aging Thomas, who has appeared in almost seven hundred Wendy’s television ads, has become a popular icon for the hamburger chain. He may now face permanent banishment from union-produced commercials.