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Disgruntled delivery workers chanted "No Justice, No Noodles!" at a raucous demonstration outside Union Square's Republic restaurant yesterday; the crowd was gathered to protest against co-owner Jonathan Morr and his alleged retaliation against eight workers who filed a federal labor-violation lawsuit last April. Seven of those eight workers remain, and they say that since the lawsuit they've had their hours cut dramatically and have been subjected to constant harassment from management, including being cursed at and being served rotten food. Representatives from the 318 Restaurant Workers Union and the Justice Will Be Served! campaign, who organized the lawsuit, were there to support the workers.
Their lawsuit asserts that for almost ten years, workers at Republic have been underpaid and overworked, pulling sixty hour weeks for a little over $2 an hour, with no overtime. The complaint also accuses owners of forcing workers to pay out of pocket for bicycle costs, repairs and cleaning their own uniforms. And yesterday's protest comes only a month after 36 delivery workers from Saigon Grill were awarded $4.6 million in back pay.
Jerry Weng, who works for the popular noodle chain Ollies, said he is experiencing similarly poor conditions, and that the Saigon Grill victory is inspiring him and his coworkers to demand just pay: "I believe in united power. All of the workers need to come together." Mika Nagasaki, an organizer for the Justice Will Be Served! campaign, told us, "It's really about dignity. End the retaliation, and respect the workers for asking what they are entitled to."
The demonstration was over less than an hour after it began. With all of the cameras put away, one of the owners of Republic, Michael Callahan, emerged to say, "You don't have the facts; they're lying," before storming inside again. (A call to the Jonathan Morr Group was not returned.) Justice Will Be Served! is hoping for a trial date in the near future.
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Damn republicans.
Why don't they just wait a few more weeks? Once Obama takes office it will be equality, justice and groovy times for everyone.
Grasping at straws there, buddy. Try building a complex argument free of parroted political zingers, perhaps? As for the conditions these workers have endured: I recently read a history of the labor movement in the 19th c., and I was shocked to find out how workers were treated back then... interesting to see that the same practices of abuse and extortion are in use today.
Waaaah! Wwaaaah!
Those are the wages in restaurants. Tips generously bring their take-home well above minimum wage.
This is not extortion genius. This is common practice among restaurant owners in NYC. Do down to the South St. Seaport where servers' checks are for 0.00 Zero dollars (no joke) due to 'fees' and taxes.
Let them eat Noodles!
yes. if they pay the workers a fair wage then republic will have no choice but to charge 50 bucks for noodles! the reason things are cheap are cause dumbass chinese people take low wages and then finally decide to grow a pair years down the road.
I pass by and saw the protestors. I support them since I viewed the people inside laughting at the protest
Thankfully Pb is still cheap and available.
even with the new pres. elect.
Why did they wait 10 years to protest? Why the hell would you continue to work 60 hours a week for $2 an hour?
Just look at those signs. Perhaps if they learned to communicate in English they would have known what they were getting into and not even be in this mess in the first place.
Some hilariously racist and insensitive people going on here. It's pretty difficult learning a foreign language, one exasperated by the fact that they may not have the leisure time - they very likely did not have the money or resources to learn English before leaving their home nations. Imagine that, leaving your home country in a desperate state in order to make your life better for you and yours.
I mean, every single European immigrant that came over here learned English magically and whatever abuse they endured is clearly THEIR fault, no?
But fuck these subhuman mongrels, right? They don't speak English, and so therefore do not deserve our respect or empathy.
Fuck you.
good for the deliverymen. they're entitled to fight for higher wages and not take it like bitches.
hey chattering classes, go fuck yourselves.
I wouldn't mess with anyone who has access to what you're going to eat. that's easy to understand in any language.
Nobody is stopping them from returning to that socialist workers'paradise know as China.
#10 - yeah it's good til you are paying 15 bucks for a cup of noodles and then you decide not to order there anymore and then they are fired cause no one is buying noodles. Then you'll buy noodles from someplace cheaper, somewhere where they pay cheap wages to their workers all the while thinking that you are a progressive twat even though almost all your consumer goods, like clothes and electronics and anything not made in the usa is made by children in sweatshops getting paid rice bowls.
but we'll gladly pay $5 for pizza.
Bingo, #11, and if the owners are paying their employees starvation wages you can imagine the kind of "bargain" chicken and beef they're serving.
I protest their hard ass seats and their menu is lacking.
ides, we allow protest like this so we don't wind up like China. that's the point.
trickle down economics doesnt fly anymore babyhitler. In fact if all restaurants do the right thing and all people will have more income and afford the slightly costier noodle soups.
If you don't like it, why don't you just get another job? It's a free country people.
@9: This comparison completely underscores the point. The Europeans DID learn English. They didn't have a choice. The schools weren't forced to teach their children in their native tongue, their government documents were required to be filled out in (gasp) English! OH MY GOD. Imagine that! The horror! Expecting people to come here and learn the countries language!
I think the same Europeans that immigrated to the US were under a bit more "desperate state" than these people that are coming here to "better themselves". They were trying not to be slaughtered.
How many of these people are paying taxes? Even if they actually filled taxes (which they don't) they'd probably wind up getting a refund.
This is why restaurants should pay real wages instead of relying on the tip system to pay their workers.
Oh yeah tipping should be done away with.
You can't pay them a decent wage AND pay off their human smugglers. $32,000 is a lot of noodle dishes so chop chop! Get back to wok!
and support their Opium habit. right?
It is amazing that we are still expected to subsidize a restaurant's payroll by paying its employees for them.
I love how liberals use "trickle down economics" whenever basic economic concepts are presented.
I'm sorry---but you're riding a bike. It's a skill most people could do by the age of 7. It's not heartless; it's the truth. Fire all of them, and a new crop of people will be ready to go because it's such a basic skill.
I tip well, btw.
>>>"If you don't like it, why don't you just get another job? It's a free country people.">>>>
It's so easy! Just get another job!
>>"I think the same Europeans that immigrated to the US were under a bit more "desperate state" than these people that are coming here to "better themselves".">>
Oh, phew. I'm glad you know all of them personally, and their situations. We can sleep at night now.
When exactly did immigrants go from being noble to being freeloaders? Is there an exact moment? A time frame? A particular region of the world?