#roc united

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Community Highlight: ROC United | eatOS Blog| Restaurants |

Like many fundraisers that started after the widespread damage COVID-19 inflicted on the restaurant community, the Restaurant Opportunities

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Congressmembers Stand With Restaurant Workers In #MeToo Moment

ROC Commends Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Katherine Clark (MA-05) for introducing the Tip Income Protection (TIP) Act

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro speaking at the People’s Rally, Washington DC via Wiki Commons

WASHINGTON, DC — Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United commends Congressmembers Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Katherine Clark (MA-05) for introducing the Tip Income Protection (TIP) Act, legislation to protect tipped workers from having their tips taken by their employers. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta had previously proposed a new rule that would permit restaurant owners to pocket the tips of millions of restaurant and service workers—a glaring example of a legal form of wage theft.

In a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday, DeLauro and Clark pressed Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alexander Acosta on the recent DOL proposal, which would allow employers to legally pocket gratuities earned by workers, provided those workers are paid the federal minimum wage, which has been frozen at a meager $2.13/hour for tipped workers since 1992. Seventy percent of tipped workers are women who struggle with the highest rates of sexual harassment in order to feed their families in tips. On top of dealing with this two tiered wage system and consequent sexual harassment, the new proposed rule would allow corporations to steal more than $5.8 billion in workers’ tips, according a recent study done by the Economic Policy Institute. Presented with an unfavorable internal analysis of the proposed rule, the DOL was reported to have purposely shielded the public from the economic impact.

ROC United mobilized restaurant workers across the country, and worked with partners and allies to take action, including submitting over 350,000 comments in opposition to the proposed rule, testifying on Capitol Hill and rallying at local Department of Labor and National Restaurant Association offices across the country. Facing bipartisan pressure and overwhelming public disapproval, Acosta eventually agreed to work with both sides of the aisle to support the TIP Act.

Saru Jayaraman, Co-founder and President of Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, said, “We thank Congressmembers DeLauro and Clark for protecting tipped workers with this bill. Tipped restaurant workers suffer from disproportionately high rates of poverty and face the worst sexual harassment of any industry in the U.S, largely due to the subminimum wage for tipped workers that forces a mostly female workforce to tolerate inappropriate customer behavior to feed their families in tips. The Trump administration’s proposed rule would allow employers to take their workers’ tips, pushing workers who rely on tips for their income further into poverty, instability, and abusive working conditions, and exacerbating the already highest rates of sexual harassment in the industry. With the TIP Act, workers would be partially protected from this tip theft.

In order to truly protect workers, particularly in this #metoo moment, as we fight to pass the TIP Act, Congress must also support the Raise the Wage Act (HR 15), which calls for One Fair Wage—the elimination of the sub-minimum wage for tipped professionals. In states where One Fair Wage has been implemented, the restaurant industry is thriving, restaurant workers are earning better wages and better tips, and the rate of sexual harassment is half that of states that have a subminimum wage system.”

Congressmembers Stand With Restaurant Workers In #MeToo Moment was originally published on NH LABOR NEWS

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Amy Poehler And Tipped Workers Call For One Fair Wage in NY

 Cuomo can cut sexual harassment in 1/2 in restaurant industry by raising the subminimum wage for workers, 82% of NY restaurant workers report being harassed

Coalition of allies include other tipped and low-wage workers, nail salon technicians, car wash workers

NEW YORK, NY – On Tuesday, tipped wage workers joined actor/producer and former waitress/server, Amy Poehler, at a marquee event with labor leaders and elected officials to call for One Fair Wage in New York. Restaurant servers, nail salon technicians, and car wash workers shared their personal stories about economic instability, including their #MeToo experiences, and how it’s #TimesUp on the subminimum wage.

One Fair Wage is a national campaign to bring New York in line with seven other states that pay tipped workers their state’s general minimum wage on top of their tips. In New York, tipped workers make a subminimum wage ranging from $7.50 – $8.65, relying on tips to bring them up to the state’s general minimum wage, which ranges from $10.40 – $13.00, depending on the region. One Fair Wage states have more robust wages, sales, establishment, and employment growth than their counterparts, and workers report significantly lower rates of harassment.

In his January State of the State address, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the NYS Department of Labor will hold hearings to examine establishing One Fair Wage. Hearings have been scheduled for March-June.

“In many cities and for many years I worked for tips as a waitress to support myself. This is why I stand with workers for One Fair Wage in New York. We shouldn’t have to sacrifice our economic stability in order to preserve our self-respect. Time’s up on profiting off of women while refusing to pay them a fair wage,” said Amy Poehler, actor/producer and former waitress/server.

“The current broken two-tiered wage structure in New York puts women restaurant workers at the mercy of their customers and co-workers,” said Saru Jayaraman, President and Co-Founder of ROC United, and author of Behind the Kitchen Door: The People Who Make and Serve Your Food. “With just a small change in policy, Governor Cuomo can cut sexual harassment in half for a majority female workforce, without sacrificing economic growth. One fair wage is good for workers and good for business.”

Jayaraman recently appeared on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher to discuss the issue, and attended the Golden Globes with Amy Poehler as part of the #TimesUp campaign to end sexual harassment across industries.

“Tipped workers, who are majority female and disproportionately women of color, receive a lower minimum wage and struggle with economic instability and sexual harassment. This two tiered wage system is a legacy of slavery and must be abolished. New York needs to  put an end to the subjugation of women, and workers of color in particular, by establishing One Fair Wage now,” said Erika Alexander, actress and activist.

With nearly 13 million employees, the restaurant industry is the single-largest source of sexual harassment charges filed by women with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), with a rate twice that of the general female workforce. According to the EEOC since 2010 (and as of 6/2016) ‘employees have filed 162,872 charges alleging harassment’ with employers paying out $698.7 million in penalties. There are 395,680 tipped workers in New York, 76% of whom work in the restaurant industry, and 82% report being harassed on the job.

Seventy percent of restaurant servers are women, who experience a disproportionate amount of sexual harassment as a result of the broken two-tiered wage system. Relying on tips to make a living wage forces workers to tolerate sexual harassment from customers in return for “gratuities,” and they often receive additional pressure from management to dress in a revealing way to attract larger tips.

“When I was a server, I was sexually harassed repeatedly, like when a male customer once said to me, ‘hey big titty black girl, got enough milk in those jugs for my coffee?’ I reported it to my manager, but he told me to suck it up. I refused and kept complaining, so he gave me fewer shifts and eventually forced me out. Women should not have to use our bodies to serve food to put food on our own tables, and that’s why I support One Fair Wage,” said Shanita Thomas, restaurant worker and member leader at ROC United.

“My income naturally fluctuates when working for tips. So I enter each shift trying to make as many tips as possible by catering to customers as much as I can, which often means I have to put up with sexual harassment. No worker should be forced to have to fake giggle to a customer who has had one too many or put up with customers who make lewd comments about my “sexy” body to earn a living. Unfortunately management plays into this behavior, often encouraging workers to double down on their sex appeal. I used to work in an establishment that exclusively hired female servers, and at staff meetings we were blatantly told to wear more makeup. One Fair Wage has a unique effect on restaurant servers because it frees workers’ dependence on subjecting themselves to sexual harassment in order to secure a livable wage,” said Gemma Rossi, New York City restaurant worker for 15 years.

“As a Manhattan restaurant owner, anti-sexual harassment trainings and increasing the wages of our servers and kitchen staff has made my business stronger, my employees happier and less stressed in their environment, and everyone’s livelihoods stabler and more secure. As a result, our low turnover rate is the envy of our peers: while the national average is 70% per year, ours is less than 10%. One Fair Wage has done wonders for California’s restaurant industry. It can do the same for New York State,” said James Mallios, owner of Amali restaurant.

“Why do we want one fair wage? Because our industry is different in that it varies during seasons. During winter time business goes down and there aren’t enough clients coming in, which means not enough tips to even make minimum wage. If we don’t have a stable wage, we are unable to pay our bills, rent, we can’t provide a good education for our kids. We need a different system… We need there to be a change in order for our industry to be better and the workers can have a dignified and healthy life. We need something different, something new, a way to transform our industry because right now we are exposed to a lot of wage theft so we need this change in order for us to have economic stability,” said Araceli, nail salon worker and member of the NY Nail Salon Worker Association

“It is painful for me to watch my husband get up so early to go to a job that pays poverty wages,” said Federica Martinez, wife of a car wash worker. “It’s not right that he makes a subminimum wage because of the trip credit rule. This is not just about car wash workers. We all have a stake in making sure everyone gets the wage they deserve.”

Sexual Harrassment and Tipped Work

According to a 2014 study conducted by ROC United, a key leader in the One Fair Wage campaign, women dependent on tips are twice as likely to experience sexual harassment than women who aren’t. A 2016 follow-up study in D.C. found that over 90% of restaurant workers surveyed experienced some form of sexualized behavior while at work. A similar 2016 study in Boston found that 35% of tipped workers had been sexually harassed by customers, over twice as many as other workers in the same survey.

Restaurant workers of all genders report harassing behavior:

·      66% from restaurant management

·      78% from customers.

·      80% from co-workers (cooks and back of house staff)

·      37% of tipped workers are mothers

·      18% are single mothers

Many restaurant workers tolerate harassment from customers so that customers pay tips, as well as being harassed from managers to get better tips by “dressing sexy” or who ask for sexual favors in exchange for better shifts, and from colleagues (cooks and back-of-house) staff who make the food that customers base their tips on. A shocking example: a manager or colleague will grope a female server. If the server says no, managers will give servers punitive shifts (morning shifts when there are fewer customers) or cooks will purposely mess up food that will make customers unhappy.

NY vs. One Fair Wage States

In New York over 17% of tipped workers of color live in poverty, twice the rate of the overall workforce.

OFW would reduce food stamp usage by 22% in New York.

In OFW states poverty rates are 10% lower than in New York

In OFW states full service restaurants opened and operated at a rate nearly double that of New York, which only had an increase of 4.88%.

In OFW states, the median wage for restaurant tipped workers is $11.44, compared to $10.88 in New York.

Tipped-wage workers in OFW states report making as much, or more, in tips than tipped-wage workers in New York.

The average tip rate in New York is 15.6%.

Restaurant employment rates are equal or higher in OFW states. From 2011-2016, full service restaurant employment (FSRE) grew by 20.4%, compared to 20.13% in New York.

New York, home to one of the largest restaurant industries in the country, had a projected restaurant sales increase of 3.6%, a rate lower than the individual rates of 6 of the 7 OFW states.

The National Restaurant Association predicts that the industry will add 1.6 million jobs over the next nine years, helping boost New York’s restaurant workforce by 6.1%

Over 80% of tipped restaurant workers in New York experience sexual harassment at work, and over half report that this is a weekly or daily occurrence.

Only 42% of workers surveyed reported that employers ensured their wages were brought up to the regular minimum wage.

Most tipped workers participate in a tip pool; the vast majority of workers has no say in the allocation of tips, and many do not know how tips are allocated.

Tipped workers experience wage theft associated with the tipped wage system both due to misapplication of service charges and failure to pay overtime.

Additional Information

In his January State of the State address, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the NYS Department of Labor will hold hearings to examine raising the subminimum wage and establishing One Fair Wage in New York, saying:

“New York continues to be a national leader in fighting for justice for working men and women, and by providing a platform for New Yorkers’ concerns to be heard, we are furthering our efforts to deliver fair wages for all. I am urging those impacted by this proposal to register, attend a hearing, and help us move this state one step closer toward a better, more just New York.”

Hearings have been scheduled for March-June.

The ONE FAIR WAGE Coalition includes: Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice, A Better Balance, AlignNY, Citizen Action of New York, Community Service Society, Enlace, Food Chain Workers Alliance, Judson Memorial Church, Make the Road New York, Metro Justice, National Employment Law Project, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, New Economy Project, NY Communities for Change, NY Healthy Nail Salons Coalition, NYS Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts, Planned Parenthood of NYC, PowHerNY, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, ROC-NY, RWDSU, SEPA Mujer, Tompkins County Workers Center, Women’s Equality Party, Women’s Organizing Network, Workers United NY NJ, 32BJ SEIU.

Amy Poehler And Tipped Workers Call For One Fair Wage in NY was originally published on NH LABOR NEWS

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ROC United Applauds Maine and Flagstaff, AZ for Eliminating Tipped Minimum Wage

Maine becomes the eighth state to establish One Fair Wage for all workers

Last night the state of Maine and city of Flagstaff, Arizona celebrate unprecedented victories when their leaders and citizens pass ballot initiatives eliminating the tipped minimum wage and establishing One Fair Wage for all workers. An incredible victory for the residents of Maine and Flagstaff, tonight’s results have national implications, galvanizing a movement for One Fair Wage that is gaining momentum and inroads in cities and states across the country. 

Last night’s results will have a transformational impact on the lives of tipped workers in Maine and Flagstaff. Largely women and people of color working in casual dining establishments like Denny’s or The Olive Garden, tipped workers are forced to accept a lower, sub minimum wage (an abysmal $2.13 at the federal level), and thus rely on tips — i.e. the whims of customers — rather than their employers to make ends meet. Tipped workers face disproportionate rates of poverty, sexual harassment and discrimination as a result of the precariousness of living off tips. The establishment of One Fair Wage in Maine and Flagstaff will provide the economic stability necessary to ensure these workers can adequately support themselves and their families. 

On a larger scale, these important victories will inspire workers and their allies nationwide to keep up the fight for One Fair Wage. New York State, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Washington D.C. are just a few of the locations where the movement is gaining considerable ground. 

Earlier this year, the Democratic Party endorsed One Fair Wage as necessary policy for the entire country. 

ROC United Co-Founder and Co-Director, Saru Jayaraman said, “Congratulations to the people of Maine and Flagstaff, Arizona for ensuring that all workers, tipped or untipped, receive a fair, living wage for their hard work. With last night’s results, Maine joins seven other One Fair Wage states — including California and the entire West Coast — all of which have seen their restaurant industries flourish since eliminating the subminimum wage. Maine and Flagstaff are this movement’s latest victories, but they certainly will not be the last.” She continues, “While we join workers and their allies in celebrating this important victory, we know that this fight is far from over. Our movement will only continue to grow as more and more Americans learn of the incredible hardships facing our nation’s tipped workers. All workers — tipped or untipped — deserve the dignity of a fair, living wage. We applaud the great state of Maine and the wonderful city of Flagstaff for leading the way toward a better, brighter, and fairer tomorrow for our nation’s tipped workers.”

ROC United Applauds Maine and Flagstaff, AZ for Eliminating Tipped Minimum Wage was originally published on NH Labor News

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New Report Reveals Payroll Cards' High Costs To Low Wage Workers

7.4 Million Americans Compensated With Costly Payroll Cards, Including Nearly 50% at Darden Restaurants, One of US’s Largest Employers

View Report: “The High Cost of Getting Paid: How Payroll Cards Cost Darden Employees” 

New York, NY —  Today, Thursday May 12, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United) released “The High Cost of Getting Paid: How Payroll Cards Cost Darden Employees,” a report that examines Darden Restaurants’ use of payroll cards, which apply costly hidden fees to over a hundred thousand of their low-wage employees.

The study, based on an in-depth survey of over 200 Darden employees, examines the unsubstantiated claim that the cards are a convenient substitute to cash or checks for employees without traditional bank accounts. The findings show that thousands of low-wage workers at Darden are actually paying high fees just to access their own earned wages. In addition to detailing the many troubling impacts that payroll cards have on workers, the report also outlines a set of policy recommendations to protect Darden workers and can serve as a model to protect other low-wage employees nationwide.

“The use of payroll cards in the restaurant industry allows large employers like Darden to cut millions in administrative costs, while card companies can enjoy lucrative profits by charging workers simply to access their own wages,” said Saru Jayaraman, Co-Founder and Co-Director of ROC United. “In fact, many Darden workers are issued cards without full knowledge of the fees they can incur for something as simple as withdrawing money from an ATM, or checking their account balance. Payroll cards should be offered as one of several free and safe ways for workers to receive their wages, rather than be used as a vehicle for steering employees towards accounts with hidden costs and excessive fees.”

Darden’s tipped servers reported special complications using the payroll card. In states where tipped employees earn the federal subminimum wage of $2.13 per hour, much if not all of their wages go towards paying taxes. For tipped workers, fees can create an additional barrier to accessing wages on the payroll card because fees amount to a larger percentage of their wages. This provides a disincentive for workers to access their wages via the payroll card and may have the effect of allowing Darden to shift the costs of doing business onto their already low-wage tipped workforce.

Key findings include:                

–76% of employees reported having to pay fees to access their wages at the ATM.

–42% reported experiencing problems accessing their wages through the payroll card.

–24% of employees reported fees at point-of-purchase.

–63% reported that they were not told about all of the fees associated with the card before it was issued to them.

–49% reported that they do not have access to ATMs that do not charge them a fee to access their wages.

–26% reported not being allowed to choose an alternative method of payment to the Darden payroll card.

–23% of employees reported not being given instructions on how to use the Darden Card.

–54% of employees who used the card to fill up their gas tanks have experienced large authorization holds on their card as a result.

Recommended solutions for policymakers include:

Support legislation that eliminates the lower minimum wage for tipped workers.

Pass legislation that ensures workers have unlimited free access to the entirety of their wages

Provide clarity to employers about how to offer payroll cards in compliance with the law.

Require that workers be clearly informed about card fees in multiple formats in plain English, supplemented by a hard copy of the fee schedule in the workers’ first language, before being issued their payroll card.

Allow workers to withdraw wages and verify account balances free of charge by telephone and at an accessible network of ATMs.   

Ban inappropriate fees for basic account information, declines, overdraft fees, and other fees that constitute a barrier to a worker’s free access to their wages.         

The release of this report coincides with the efforts of Good Food Now, a coalition of environmental, social-justice and animal-welfare groups, including ROC United, the Food Chain Workers Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Friends of the Earth, Green America, and the Animal Welfare Institute.  Good Food Now is demanding that Darden Restaurants, the parent company to Olive Garden and the nation’s largest full-service restaurant employer, do more to protect animals, the environment and workers by substantially improving their food sourcing and labor practices, including the unjust reliance on payroll cards. Learn more about the Good Food Now efforts here: http://www.good-food-now.com/

Find the full report at here. 

New Report Reveals Payroll Cards’ High Costs To Low Wage Workers was originally published on NH Labor News

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National Advocacy Groups Call For An End Of The Tipped Minimum Wage

On 25th Anniversary of Last Tipped Minimum Wage Increase, Prominent National Advocacy and Research Groups Call for Nation to Adopt One Fair Wage for All Workers Washington, D.C. – This Friday, April 1st marks 25 years since the last change in the federal minimum wage for tipped employees, which was increased from just $2.09 to $2.13…

National Advocacy Groups Call For An End Of The Tipped Minimum Wage was originally published on NH Labor News

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In New York, Clinton Calls To Eliminate The Tipped Minimum Wage

(image Keith Kissel FLIKR)

ROC United continues efforts to completely eliminate the tipped minimum wage in New York.

This week, Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, spoke to a capacity crowd at the Javits Center in New York, about increasing the minimum wage and ending the sub-minimum or tipped minimum wage.

DNAInfo New York was one of the first to report the news:

“Clinton, who has advocated for raising the federal minimum wage to $12, praised Cuomo’s fight to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, and called out America as the ‘only industrialized country in the world that requires tipped workers to take home their income in tips, instead of wages.’”

Clinton has previously (2014) voiced her opposition to the tipped minimum wage calling it “deeply unfair.”

“In some parts of our country are jobs, like hairdressers or waitresses, where the minimum wage is $2.13 an hour. Because it is assumed they’re gonna make all this money on tips. There is a deep unfairness about that. And we need to make sure the minimum wage is raised so that working women and men have a chance not only to increase their income, but that means more consumers for New York businesses.”

Throughout the labor community this is more commonly known as the One Fair Wage initiative to end the tipped minimum wage and simultaneously increase the minimum wage.

The Restaurant Opportunity Centers United (ROC United) have been pushing candidates and elected leaders alike to support the One Fair Wage campaign. ROC United has been very vocal in the push to raise the New York to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

“Today’s announcement from the New York wage board calling for a $15 minimum wage for New York’s fast-food workers is a crucial step forward in the fight for fair pay and a major indictment of the inadequacy of wages throughout the restaurant industry,” said Saru Jayaraman, Co-Founder and Co-Director of ROC United, in July of 2015. “Governor Cuomo and the New York Wage Board’s leadership in responding to the outcry of restaurant workers across the country should serve as an example of the bold action that elected officials can and should take to prioritize the needs of the families they represent.”

However Governor Cuomo failed to include tipped workers in his call to increase the minimum wage.

Today, as Secretary Clinton affirmed her support for eliminating the tipped minimum wage, with Gov. Cuomo in the audience, Saru Jayaraman again called on Gov. Cuomo and the NY State Legislature to eliminate the tipped minimum wage.

“The tipped minimum wage is a destructive, archaic relic of the past that forces restaurant workers — largely women and people of color — to battle disproportionate rates of financial insecurity, poverty, discrimination, and sexual harassment,” stated Jayaraman. “Nearly 70% of tipped restaurant workers are women, 40% of whom are mothers, working in casual dining establishments, and barely able to make ends meet.”

“Governor Cuomo’s wage plan is a good start, but it is not enough. We implore New York’s legislature to not leave behind New York’s 270,000+ tipped workers. It’s time to eliminate the unjust, two-tiered wage system, and establish one fair wage for all New Yorkers,” concluded Jayaraman.

Not only would eliminating the tipped minimum wage help the 270,000 workers in New York but millions of low wage workers throughout the country.

Nationally tipped workers earn of average $9.13 per hour (including tips). Hourly these workers meet the state’s minimum wage requirements but because many of these workers are not given full time employment, tipped workers average just less than $15,000 a year.

Many of these workers are women, specifically women of color, face constant harassment from employers and customers. According to a national survey 66% reported sexual harassment from restaurant management and 78% from customers. These tipped workers are afraid to speak out against their employer because if they do management will move them to less desirable shifts, essentially docking their pay. If they speak out against a customer then the customer will not leave any tip, again resulting in lost wages. It is a lose-lose situation.

Guaranteeing that workers have a steady, livable wage that does not rely on tips will empower workers to speak out against harassment and the other issues that plague the restaurant industry.

In New York, Clinton Calls To Eliminate The Tipped Minimum Wage was originally published on NH Labor News

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Eliminating The Tipped Minimum Wage, Helps To Close The Gender Wage Gap And Boost Economy

Research shows that eliminating the tipped minimum wage will generate billions to the national economy. On Tuesday January 19th the New Hampshire House of Representative will be holding public commentary on HB 1346, a bill to eliminate the tipped minimum wage. If passed New Hampshire would join the seven other states including California, Montana and…

Eliminating The Tipped Minimum Wage, Helps To Close The Gender Wage Gap And Boost Economy was originally published on NH Labor News