ROC UNITED RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
- ROC United Members working at Darden, who have asked for paid sick days for many years, publicly demanded immediate action in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Darden, parent of Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Capital Grille, and other restaurant chains, responded by offering paid sick days to all their hourly workers who are not currently covered by a policy.
- ROC United sent out a press statement applauding Darden for its leadership and demanding other chains follow suit. We have created an online petition demanding all other corporate-owned restaurant chains — such as Dine Brands (Applebee’s and IHOP), Bloomin’ (Outback Steakhouse), Brinker (Chilli’s), Cracker Barrel, and Denny’s — immediately follow suit. (MoveOn is currently testing this petition with its membership.)
- ROC United created a company-by-company petition with coworker.org. All of these initiatives have received significant pickup among workers, social media, and press.
- ROC United rallied our members from chapters in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Michigan, and California, as well as online members around the country, to share their stories in major news outlets and diverse media platforms, including a front-page or a top-headline piece in NYT, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and Bloomberg. Many of these pieces have named workers as our members, but others have spoken with our members without attribution to ROC.
- ROC United has pitched and placed over 50 stories in local news media.
- ROC United, In collaboration with our partners on the ground, has supported efforts to provide 14 days of emergency paid sick days for low-wage workers, along with other provisions that have all now been included in the House’s Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
- ROC United penned an op-ed piece that was published on Thursday (3/12) in the New York Daily News, calling for the New York legislature to support emergency paid sick leave and underscoring the fact that over 70 percent of restaurant workers lack access to paid sick days.
- ROC United joined dozens of child care advocacy organizations in a letter to Congress requesting funding or Covid-19 stimulus package for the child care and early learning sector, and our members have made videos calling for expanded child care access in New York.