Media

2019 (click here to download)

2020

A pandemic surge in food delivery has made ghost kitchens and virtual eateries one of the only growth areas in the restaurant industry, The Washington Post, Sept. 17, 2020

“Virtual restaurant workers are more vulnerable because of the nature of the employment itself,” says Sekou Siby of ROC United. “A ghost kitchen may change locations, like a pop-up, so the Labor Department doesn’t know where it is. In order to file a complaint, you need to know where your employer is.”

NYC restaurants can soon add a Covid-19 surcharge to customers’ bills, CNN, Sept. 19, 2020

“We will support the bill as long as there is a guarantee that restaurant workers will at least earn similar wages before the pandemic,” said Anthony Advincula, spokesman for Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a non-profit advocating for higher wages and better working conditions for restaurant workers.

It’s time for Allegheny County to Provide Paid Sick Days for All, TribLive, Sept. 16, 2020

“For too long,” according to restaurant workers, “we’ve let a powerful few block efforts to ensure paid time to care for our loved ones and recover from illness ourselves. When any one of us does not have access to paid time off to stay home, all of us are at risk.”

2021

After siege on Capitol Hill, curfew hits an already crippled restaurant industry, DOW Jones MarketWatch, January 11, 2020

“Because of the public-health crisis, we don’t know how it’s going to be,” said Dr. Sekou Siby, president and CEO of ROC United.” The riots could heighten consumer hesitancy to hang around the nation’s capital, he added.

New tipping rules will help restaurant owners and hurt workers, advocates say, The Washington Post, January 8, 2021

“I think we can undo [the new regulations] quickly and then go over the entire process where the Labor Department is having a conversation with all the stakeholders to see how we can really create good jobs in the food industry,” said Dr. Sekou Siby, president and CEO of ROC United.

Jobs, jobs, jobs, Market Place, January 8, 2021

As the worsening pandemic continues to slow the jobs recovery, Dr. Sekou Siby, president and CEO, speaks with PBS MarketPlace how the vaccine will help restaurant workers in Washington, D.C. and across the country.

Ohio restaurants can’t find workers, even with so many people out of work, The Columbus Dispatch, January 8, 2021

Jennifer Moreau, a restaurant worker in Cincinnati, OH, challenges the notion that workers would rather stay home and accept higher unemployment payments. “I want to work and earn the money I’m making,” she said.