Background of Campaign
We first heard stories about Tony Moran’s Restaurant this spring, as we received complaints from many former employees who worked banquets for the restaurant during the Mardi Gras season that had not been paid. Upon further investigation, we realized that this restaurant has developed an elaborate system for not paying their workers, although they will pay them just enough so that oftentimes workers will continue there in the hopes that at some point they will be paid. One common practice is that when all workers arrive for their shift, they are not allowed to clock in for usually 1-2 hours after their shift begins. During this time they are prepping for service, having staff meetings, etc. but it is expected that they will not be paid for this time that they work. Management also takes a standard 20% off the top of all the tips the tipped workers earn each pay period that has never been accounted for. Additionally, workers of color in particular have noted that they are forced to work on the upper floors of the restaurant quite regularly, even though their schedule might have them listed on the first floor. There seems to be a significant difference in the amount of clients and therefore money to be made as a server between the first and upper floors. This form of segregation of the wait staff is another demand workers in this campaign want addressed. Overall, complaints of a hostile working environment, being fired or otherwise retaliated against for asking about these irregularities, and not getting paid for all hours worked have led us to where we are today.
Campaign Begins!
Our campaign against Tony Moran’s Restaurant officially began on Tuesday, October 13th, with the delivery of our demand letter by six workers citing nonpayment of wages and discriminatory practices at the restaurant. There is video footage of that letter delivery to the restaurant here. When the letter was delivered, the management was informed that they would have ten days to respond to our request to sit down to a meeting to discuss these allegations. We did not hear from them, so on Friday evening, October 23rd, we had our first protest in front of the restaurant. We were blessed to have almost 50 people come out in support of the workers for this campaign! Now we are continuing our actions every week until the owner agrees to discuss our demands. We are also filing a federal lawsuit on behalf of the workers in the coming weeks.
ROC-NOLA is committed to not only addressing these very real issues of wage theft, but also to changing workplace conditions for all restaurant workers. We hope that this campaign send a loud message to the owners of Tony Moran’s and to other owners who would cheat their workers, so that we can begin to see real change and better opportunities for all restaurant workers in all establishments throughout the city.
What You Can Do To Help
First, call the restaurant and demand that they change their practices, and pay what is owed to former and current workers alike! Also, if you could send letters to the owner, particularly if you are coming to New Orleans with a large group of people, specifically stating that you and your group will not dine at this establishment until they change their ways. Lastly, please help us by spreading the word to everyone you know, as the more people who are aware of these abuses and will no longer support them with their dining dollars, the more quickly we will win this campaign and take a huge step forward in protecting the rights of restaurant workers at Tony Moran’s and our city’s other restaurants!
For more information about us and other important work we are doing to change the industry, please check out our website or on Facebook via our group page, ROC-NOLA. If you are interested in helping support future coordinated actions in this campaign, such as the ones described above, please contact us at rocnola@gmail.com and we will email you when we have upcoming actions where your support will go a long way.
Thank you from ROC-NOLA!
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