The future of the restaurant industry belongs to its 10 million employees, responsible business owner and ethical consumers, not a corporate lobbying group.

ROC United, along with the The Food Chain Workers Alliance and The Welcome Table have amassed almost 100,000 signatures on our petition to tell Congress to pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act which would increase the abysmally low $2.13 hourly tipped minimum to a livable wage, giving all restaurant workers the ability to put food on their tables and support their families.

Please sign and share this petition far and wide!

We’ve also started an alternative restaurant association, RAISE (Restaurants Advancing Industry Standards for Employment). We have 100 restaurant members right now, all of which champion fair wages and access to paid sick days, not only as a matter of ethics but because it’s good for business.

Learn more about RAISE here. 

The movement to bring fair wages to restaurant workers is gaining momentum – that momentum is felt across the economy as the wage gap continues to increase right along with CEO and corporate salaries.

Join us in fighting for fair wages here. 

May 8, 2013

New York, NY – Today, after three years of organizing by low wage workers, the New York City Council passed a weakened version of the Earned Sick Time Act. While this marks progress for many workers who lacked paid sick days and who feared termination if they stayed home while sick, the final bill includes unacceptable compromises and exclusions.

The final language of the bill comes as a disappointment to food workers and the organizations representing them, such as the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York (ROC-NY) and Brandworkers International, both of which are member organizations of the Food Chain Workers Alliance. Food workers have been involved in pushing for the legislation’s passage since 2009, and none of them anticipated that the final bill would deny paid sick days to all workers in the manufacturing sector, deny paid sick days to employees in many medium-size businesses, and include a provision that would require restaurant workers and other shift workers to “choose” between picking up an extra shift or taking a paid sick day.

“While giving job protection to most workers and paid sick days to many workers is a step forward, it is upsetting that a bill fueled by the stories of sick food workers would exclude many of those very workers,” said Diana Robinson of the Food Chain Workers Alliance. “The workers who produce, cook, and serve our food deserve the same basic rights as all other workers.”

There are 74,500 manufacturing workers in New York City. These workers are mostly minimum wage-earning immigrants who simply cannot afford to get sick. The Earned Sick Time Act denies manufacturing workers the right to paid sick days.

“Everyone’s safety is compromised when food production workers have to choose between losing their livelihood or coming to work sick and handling our food,” said Joseph Sanchez, Campaign Coordinator at Brandworkers. “Food manufacturing workers struggle to feed themselves and their families, struggle to survive on poverty wages in an industry rife with wage theft, discrimination, unsafe working conditions, and other abuses. The City Council’s outright exclusion of these workers from the right to paid sick days is simply indefensible.”

There are over 200,000 restaurant workers in New York City. The majority of these workers are people of color and immigrants. Almost 90% of restaurant workers in the City lack paid sick days. Restaurant workers are also some of the City’s lowest paid workers, experiencing high rates of poverty and wage theft.

“I support paid sick days for everyone, but I’m upset that shift workers are being treated differently than other workers,” said Carolina Portillo, a restaurant worker and member of ROC-NY. “I’ve been waiting years for this moment, and paid sick days shouldn’t just be optional for workers like me. It should be an absolute right, just like it is for any other worker.”

Under the Earned Sick Time Act, restaurant and other shift workers will be denied a paid sick day if they pick up an extra shift or change shifts with a co-worker.

“Picking up extra shifts is how many of these workers survive,” said Daisy Chung, Executive Director of ROC-NY. “Now, they are required to forego an extra shift if they take time off for an illness, or be denied pay for their sick day. We also expect that some employers will manipulate this provision to their advantage to avoid paying for sick time.”

The agreement also carved out businesses with fewer than 20 employees from being required to provide any paid sick leave beginning on April 1, 2014, and will be lowered to fewer than 15 employees beginning on October 1, 2015. The exemption, which originally only applied to businesses with no more than 5 employees, will now mean the exclusion of many food workers.

“Paid sick days are a fundamental right that all workers deserve. Unfortunately, the final version of the Earned Sick Times Act falls far short of guaranteeing this right, particularly for New York City’s food chain workers,” Robinson said. “FCWA member organizations will continue to organize until New York City’s paid sick days law covers everyone.”

- More than a quarter of the almost 6 million women who work in U.S. restaurants are moms, and one in 10 are single mothers.

- Restaurant serving staff have three times the poverty rate and use food stamps at double the rate of the rest of the American workforce.

- 90% of restaurant workers report not having access to paid sick days;
two-thirds of the thousands of workers we’ve surveyed at ROC reported having cooked, prepared and served food while sick.

- The minimum wage for tipped workers has been frozen at $2.13/hour for the last 22 years meaning a restaurant worker entering the industry today is paid the same hourly wage as their parents would’ve been 22 years ago. Victoria Bruton, ROC member & mother of two, can tell you what that’s like here.

This Mother’s Day, wherever you take your mom, ask the manager at the end of the meal about the hourly wage of servers and bussers in the restaurant before tips, and whether they provide paid sick days. Get tips on how to have these important conversations here.

Take further action by supporting the Fair Minimum Wage Act and initiatives that would bring paid sick days to restaurant workers.

Buy the book Behind the Kitchen Door, and learn how Shardha Young struggled to manage childcare while working erratic schedules on low-wages; a story common among working mothers in the restaurant industry.

Know a mom in the restaurant industry? Tell her about ROC!

Thirty five Miami-Dade municipalities with over 320 local elected officials just lost their power to locally implement any worker benefit laws including earned sick time to improve the lives of Miami-Dade workers and their families.

In the wake of the passing of HB 655, a bill that strips away all powers from local governments to pass legislation that benefits their constituencies, Tallahassee legislators have made it clear who their priorities are by siding with big businesses such as Darden, which owns Red Lobster, Olive Garden,  the Capital Grille among others,” said ROC Miami Research and Policy coordinator Jean Souffrant.  ROC-Miami along with other Miami Dade coalition partners will be working with local elected officials to call on governor Rick Scott to veto this bill. Over the next few days we will run a massive veto campaign in Miami-Dade County directed at Governor Rick Scott, who was recently quoted in the Orlando Sentinel article saying, “He believes in local control, and thinks the federal government should not interfere in state affairs.”

Please stand up for restaurant workers and call Governor Scott
850-488-7146 and urge him NOT to side with Darden & Disney at the expense of paid sick days and living wage for Florida’s workers!

photo credit on Organize Now!

In honor of May Day, she discusses what it takes to build a movement for restaurant workers. VisionTalk is a multi-media series designed to spark a dialog about social movement culture, strategy, and vision.

More on VisionTalk and Center for Media Justice here.

RESTAURANT OPPORTUNITIES CENTER OF NEW ORLEANS CELEBRATES WORKER’S VICTORY AGAINST TONY MORAN’S

On Monday, April 22, the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New Orleans (ROC-NOLA) hosted a celebration for local workers for their victory against eatery Tony Moran’s.  Starting in 2009 ROC-NOLA engaged in a campaign with workers from Tony Moran’s to fight against persistent instances of wage theft, and racial discrimination against workers of color in regards to shift assignments.

“The conditions were horrible. There were lots safety issues in the restaurant. And not only did we have to fear for our own safety, we were discriminated against and had our wages stolen,” recalls plaintiff Van Joseph.

The culmination of this campaign was a lawsuit against Tony Moran’s that resulted in a settlement of over $260,000 (settlement amount is an estimate based on public records) in back and stolen wages for the 11 workers named in the suit.  The victorious plaintiffs were on hand to discuss their personal experiences at Tony Moran’s.

ROC New Orleans member and plaintiff Derek Robinson said, “Without ROC they would have got away with stealing our wages, ROC helped us get organized and being organized is how we won!”

The victorious workers celebrated their victory at local eatery Perestroika at Pravda.  ROC New Orleans Lead Coordinator V. Eloise McKenzie said, “ROC NOLA would like to say thank you and congratulations to the workers for all your hard work and dedication in achieving this victory. ROC NOLA stands here with you to continue to fight for the rights of all restaurant workers in New Orleans”

“For too long Congress has heard only from the National Restaurant Association—the other NRA—which represents corporate lobbyists in the restaurant industry,” said Saru Jayaraman, co-founder of ROC United. “RAISE represents the voices of small sustainable restaurant owners who make long term profits by providing livable wages and benefits to their employees.”

RAISE aims to support small and medium-sized business owners as they move towards the “High Road” to profitability by raising the standards by which we do business. “High Road” practices include:

· Livable wages, tipped and non-tipped

· Paid sick days

· Access to affordable health care

· Safe and healthy workplace

· Diverse and equitable employment

· Career advancement opportunities

· Responsible immigration reform

· Environmental sustainability

Rep. George Miller (D-CA), sponsor of the recently introduced Fair Minimum Wage Act, and WAGES Act sponsor Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) joined Jayaraman and several member employers to discuss the need to increase the minimum wage for all restaurant employees, including those who work for tips, and to raise standards in the restaurant industry by supporting sustainable and fair practices. Among the restaurant owners present were Andy Shallal, owner of DC’S Busboys & Poets and Eatonville Restaurants, Teresa Ging, owner of Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique in Chicago, IL and Natan Zion, Owner, The Gorbals Restaurant in Los Angeles, CA.

Rep. Miller’s Fair Minimum Wage Act would reconnect the regular and tipped minimum wage while raising both, stabilizing the restaurant industry just as it is project to grow by 10.6% over the next ten years. Raising the tipped minimum wage will help lift many restaurant workers out of poverty and provide a path to the middle class for millions of Americans.

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Learn more about RAISE and its members here.

Download our 2013 Diner’s Guide app here.

Support the Fair Minimum Wage Act & paid sick days for restaurant workers.

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Care about the food you eat and the people who have touched it? Be part of making a better food system for all by joining The Welcome Table.

TO LEARN MORE, JOIN THE WELCOME TABLE & SUPPORT A TRULY SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM.

We are on the cusp of creating real change for food workers and the food system in America; legislators across America are currently considering proposals to raise the minimum wage and provide paid sick days, and to regulate food companies, forcing them to provide healthier, more environmentally-sustainable food.

All of us -workers, employers, and eaters- have a stake in encouraging a sustainable food system and thriving local economies, but we’ll need as many people to join us putting the pressure on Washington to legislate real changes in the restaurant industry. By raising the wage and benefits floor, millions of workers across the food chain will have enough to spend on the basics, and boost the economy in the process by circulating more money in local economies.

At ROC, we believe that a truly sustainable food system must include sustainable labor practices. THE WELCOME TABLE is a national association of people who care about the food they eat and the people who have touched it, and want to be part of making a better food system for all.

As ROC’s Saru Jayaraman has said, “We don’t just hold forks when we eat out, we hold incredible power.” Please join us in gathering for a responsible food system here.

What’s the biggest injustice in restaurant work?

Abysmally low wages. They drag down the whole economy. The current minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 an hour. The terrible truth is that the people who put food on our tables can’t put food on their own table.

Who is affected most?

Seventy percent of tipped workers are women. And workers of color experience a $4 wage gap compared to white workers.

What is the impact on the nation at large?

The restaurant industry is tied with retail as the nation’s largest and fastest growing employer. Restaurants also have seven of the 11 lowest paying jobs in this country. Today, of every four jobs, one is low- or poverty-wage. By 2020, that number will be one in two. Restaurants are a big reason for that.

Your book describes the restaurant workforce as incredibly diverse.

That’s the beauty of this industry. It brings different people together — black, immigrant, young, and old. But it’s also very hierarchical and segregated by race and by gender. It has the potential to be this beautiful place where workers from all backgrounds can come together, but that isn’t the reality in most restaurants.

What does the segregation look like?

People of color are relegated to lower level positions, while white workers are often in management and waiter positions. In some cities, like Miami, the color line is so severe that it literally gets darker the further back you go. Wait staff will be white, runners will be Mexican or from Central America, and the dishwashers will be Haitian. And the hourly wage also changes dramatically, with wait staff making as much as five times as bussers.

There’s also industry segmentation. People of color are concentrated in low-paying types of restaurants, such as fast-food or quick-serve restaurants. African Americans are locked out almost entirely from job opportunities in fine dining in many cities, where good paying jobs are.

What are the opportunities for change?

Tremendous! More than 100 restaurants around the country are taking the high road to profitability, providing good wages and good working conditions. They prove that you can treat workers right, offer affordable prices to consumers, and make a good profit.

What policy opportunities are on the horizon?

I’m very optimistic about the federal proposals to raise the minimum wage, including for tipped workers. A bill introduced last month by Representative George Miller (D-California) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) would increase the minimum wage to $10.10, and the tipped minimum wage to 70 percent of that. This would be tremendous for restaurant workers. We need to keep the pressure on.

How can consumers support quality jobs and equity in this industry?

ROC has won 13 campaigns from big restaurants, including winning back $7 million in stolen tips and wages, winning benefits and promotions for workers of color, and getting rid of racist management. In every single one of these victories, consumer engagement was a key part of our campaign. It is incredibly effective when consumers tell restaurants that they won’t eat there until they do the right thing.

How did you get interested in restaurant workers?

My parents are immigrants from India, so I have always had an interest in immigrant worker rights. On September 11, 79 workers at Windows on the World, the restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center, lost their lives. About 250 workers lost their jobs. Their union called me to ask if I would help provide relief to the survivors and the families of the victims.

Then you co-founded the Restaurant Opportunities Center with one of the former employees.

Very quickly, we were overwhelmed with calls for help from restaurant workers from all over the city and then all over the country. We now have 10,000 members in 19 cities across the country.

For more about PolicyLink, visit their website here.