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Restaurant Worker Victory in New York City
Submitted by Ariel Jacobson on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 12:52pm.
Chef and restaurateur Mario Batali. CC 2012 USDA/Lance Cheung
A few weeks ago, we witnessed a major victory for restaurant workers organized by the Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, a UUSC partner, in this case led by the New York affiliate (ROC-NY). After two years of organizing, restaurant workers in New York City signed a settlement agreement with Del Posto Restaurant, owned by celebrity chef Mario Batali.
The settlement agreement includes paid sick days, new human resource policies, and $1.15 million in back wages. Most importantly, Batali has agreed to join ROC's Restaurant Industry Roundtable as a "high road" partner. News on the settlement made headlines across the country, with coverage from the Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.
It's important to note that this victory does not just affect the 31 current Del Posto workers immediately involved in the settlement — it will indirectly affect the many other workers within Batali's restaurant group and will have ripple effects for restaurant workers across New York City and throughout the industry at large. This strategy of organizing campaigns targeting high-profile fine-dining companies is all about setting standards across the industry.
This is just another affirmation that ROC's model truly works — and we're working with them to make sure similar victories will emerge from future campaigns!
Learn more about ROC-United's strategy from cofounder Saru Jayaraman:
Take a Stand for Restaurant Worker Justice
Submitted by Kara Smith on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 10:53am.I'm asking for your time, expertise, and moral voice.
Workers in the restaurant industry are calling for better working conditions, including basic improvements like paid sick days and a fair minimum wage for tipped workers. We believe that these demands are just and that the goal of changing the U.S. restaurant industry, while ambitious, is ultimately achievable. But we need your help between now and February.
I'm asking you to be a thought leader and an organizer, raising awareness of the need for worker justice in the restaurant industry. We need to create a groundswell of consumer pressure, calling for respect for the rights of restaurant workers. Sign up to be part of this groundswell.
Remember how Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation (made into the movie Food, Inc.) created a sea change of public interest in healthier eating?
That's what you can do for restaurant workers. UUSC works closely with an organization called the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC-United). Their codirector and cofounder Saru Jayaraman has a new book titled Behind the Kitchen Door: What Every Diner Should Know About the People Who Feed Us. Scheduled for release on February 13, 2013, this book provides an inside look into the experiences of people who prepare, cook, and serve our food.
The publication of this book provides a unique opportunity for Unitarian Universalists and other UUSC and ROC-United supporters to interject a discussion of restaurant worker conditions into the national conversation.
Book groups in UU congregations around the country are encouraged to read and discuss Behind the Kitchen Door. And there's going to be a national book tour which may be coming to a city near you. And as part of UUSC's Justice Sunday program, there will a virtual "Get Together" with the author Saru Jayaraman on February 24, 2013. The "Get Together" will be an interview and question-and-answer period to discuss the book. All UUSC supporters and other people committed to restaurant worker justice are invited to participate.
We hope that UUSC supporters will take the lead in sharing the message of Behind the Kitchen Door within your communities. And we hope that helps Behind the Kitchen Door make it onto the New York Times bestsellers list, thereby garnering further national attention for restaurant workers and their call for better conditions.
Our long-term plan is to pass federal legislation that increases the minimum wage for tipped workers (tipped workers are often paid as little as $2.13 per hour, and that wage hasn't been raised in more than 20 years!)
But our contacts in the U.S. Congress have made it clear that if we want to see such a bill passed, we need to create a groundswell of popular support for raising the tipped minimum wage. In particular, we need to counterbalance the powerful voice of the National Restaurant Association lobby, which spends millions of dollars each year to shape federal and state legislation on issues like the tipped minimum wage and paid sick days.
So this is where we start. With a book. And with you.
If we can change the public conversation, we make a real-world impact on the lives of restaurant workers. You can play a critical role. Learn more about how you can participate.
Workers in the restaurant industry are calling for better working conditions, including basic improvements like paid sick days and a fair minimum wage for tipped workers. We believe that these demands are just and that the goal of changing the U.S. restaurant industry, while ambitious, is ultimately achievable. But we need your help between now and February.
I'm asking you to be a thought leader and an organizer, raising awareness of the need for worker justice in the restaurant industry. We need to create a groundswell of consumer pressure, calling for respect for the rights of restaurant workers. Sign up to be part of this groundswell.
Remember how Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation (made into the movie Food, Inc.) created a sea change of public interest in healthier eating?
That's what you can do for restaurant workers. UUSC works closely with an organization called the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC-United). Their codirector and cofounder Saru Jayaraman has a new book titled Behind the Kitchen Door: What Every Diner Should Know About the People Who Feed Us. Scheduled for release on February 13, 2013, this book provides an inside look into the experiences of people who prepare, cook, and serve our food.
The publication of this book provides a unique opportunity for Unitarian Universalists and other UUSC and ROC-United supporters to interject a discussion of restaurant worker conditions into the national conversation.
Book groups in UU congregations around the country are encouraged to read and discuss Behind the Kitchen Door. And there's going to be a national book tour which may be coming to a city near you. And as part of UUSC's Justice Sunday program, there will a virtual "Get Together" with the author Saru Jayaraman on February 24, 2013. The "Get Together" will be an interview and question-and-answer period to discuss the book. All UUSC supporters and other people committed to restaurant worker justice are invited to participate.
We hope that UUSC supporters will take the lead in sharing the message of Behind the Kitchen Door within your communities. And we hope that helps Behind the Kitchen Door make it onto the New York Times bestsellers list, thereby garnering further national attention for restaurant workers and their call for better conditions.
Our long-term plan is to pass federal legislation that increases the minimum wage for tipped workers (tipped workers are often paid as little as $2.13 per hour, and that wage hasn't been raised in more than 20 years!)
But our contacts in the U.S. Congress have made it clear that if we want to see such a bill passed, we need to create a groundswell of popular support for raising the tipped minimum wage. In particular, we need to counterbalance the powerful voice of the National Restaurant Association lobby, which spends millions of dollars each year to shape federal and state legislation on issues like the tipped minimum wage and paid sick days.
So this is where we start. With a book. And with you.
If we can change the public conversation, we make a real-world impact on the lives of restaurant workers. You can play a critical role. Learn more about how you can participate.
Celebrating a Step Forward for Minimum-Wage Workers
Submitted by Shelby Meyerhoff on Tue, 07/31/2012 - 11:56am.On July 26, 2012, on the heels of the three-year anniversary of the last raise in the federal minimum wage, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) introduced the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012 (H.R. 6211) with over 100 original cosponsors! Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced a companion bill in the U.S. Senate. This is a critical success within a long-term strategy for building the political climate necessary for raising the minimum wage.
This step forward is a result of the hard work of UUSC supporters, our partner organizations Let Justice Roll and Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, and many other minimum-wage advocates around the country who called and e-mailed representatives in the U.S. House asking them to cosponsor the bill. Thanks to this show of grassroots support for increasing the minimum wage, Representative Miller exceeded his goal of having 100 cosponsors when he introduced the legislation!
We really want to thank our supporters who took the time to call or e-mail their representatives in Congress. Dozens of UUSC supporters called their representatives, and many more sent e-mails. At least 16 of the legislators who signed on as original cosponsors received personal calls from UUSC supporters to their offices.
The next step is to keep the pressure on and continue increasing the number of cosponsors for the Fair Minimum Wage Act in the House. Every legislator who signs on is making a public commitment to supporting this legislation and the broader goal of raising the minimum wage. Contact Congress today!
