Fri, 24 May 2013 08:11:28 -0800WeeblyWed, 29 Feb 2012 21:51:22 GMThttp://www.dignityatdarden.org/1/post/2012/02/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit.html FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

MIAMI CAPITAL GRILLE WORKERS TURN UP THE HEAT; 5th MAJOR CITY TO JOIN “DIGNITY AT DARDEN” 
- Miami, Los Angeles, and additional NYC Capital Grille Workers added to class action litigation with claims of wage theft & discrimination –

Miami Capital Grille workers have turned up the heat at their restaurant. Tired of racial discrimination, hostile treatment, and wage theft, these workers, along with the support of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and community allies, have joined the growing national movement for “Dignity at Darden” – calling on Darden Restaurants, the world’s largest full-service casual dining company and owner of the fine dining Capital Grille chain, to ensure fair, healthy, and safe workplaces.

Today, the original litigation filed on January 31st with the claims of New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. area Capital Grille workers was amended to add Miami and Los Angeles workers as well as additional New York City workers, making Miami the 5th major city to join the “Dignity at Darden” campaign. Miami and Los Angeles Capital Grille workers share claims with workers in other cities of alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws.

“The restaurant industry in predicting record growth this year with unprecedented sales of over $630 billion dollars. Last year, Darden Restaurants, which is headquartered right next door in Orlando, Florida, made over $7 billion in sales,” said Jean Souffrant, Coordinator of the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Miami, “This incredible growth, though, cannot come on the backs of workers – the industry cannot rely on poverty wages, discrimination, verbal and physical abuse, and a lack of paid sick days to fuel their expansion.”

To mark the launch of their campaign, yesterday evening over 60 workers and ROC United supporters from Jobs with Justice, One Miami, South Florida AFL-CIO, Occupy Miami, Miami Worker Center, and Power U Center for Social Change walked into the Miami Capital Grille during the busy dinner service and read a demand letter to the manager citing workers allegations of discrimination - being denied equal opportunity to obtain adequate training and promotions from within - wage theft, and hostile work environment. Maurose Frantz, a current dishwasher at the restaurant said, "Haitian workers at The Capital Grille Miami need to support each other because we do not get the respect we deserve. We are pressured to come in sick to work, our hours are reduced drastically without any explanation, and some are even clocked out by management before they're done working! I'm taking a stand for my people and all Capital Grille workers who are not treated fairly."

Improving pay and benefits and removing barriers to advancement for workers in this large and fast-growing industry are critical to the nation’s economic recovery. The National Restaurant Association just released its 2012 forecast, which predicts the restaurant industry will earn a record-breaking $632 billion in revenue this year, despite the country’s economic downturn – and in 2011, Darden’s sales exceeded $7 billion. Further, restaurant workers account for nearly one in every 12 private sector workers. Darden owns and operates approximately 1,900 restaurants worldwide, including Capital Grille, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Longhorn Steakhouse, and made more than half a billion dollars in net income in fiscal year 2011. Their CEO is from Wall Street – a former executive of J.P. Morgan, Kidder, Peabody & Company, and First Boston Corporation – and in 2011 had compensation of more than $8 million along with stock shares and options worth $22 million, all the while Darden restaurant workers are paid as little as $2.13 per hour for tipped employees and $7.25 per hour for non-tipped employees, with no paid sick days.

The Miami workers joining the “Dignity at Darden” campaign are members of Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, the only national restaurant workers’ organization in the U.S. and seeks to improve wages and working conditions for the nation’s low-wage restaurant workforce.  The new campaign comes on the heels of a recent report by ROC-United and Cornell University, “Taking the High Road,” which challenges the idea that restaurants can only prosper with low labor costs.  Research in the report shows that providing employees with sustainable wages, benefits and opportunities for advancement helps to ensure the long-term success and financial stability of a restaurant.  The campaign also includes ROC-United’s 2012 Diners’ Guide, which provides information on the treatment of workers in restaurants across the country, singling out both the ‘high road’ and ‘low road’ employers.

 “The campaign for ‘Dignity at Darden’ is an important piece of a larger effort to raise industry standards across the country and strengthen our economy by ensuring that workers do not have to live in poverty,” said Saru Jayaraman, Co-Director of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, “Our approach is to support and promote restaurant employers that are doing the right thing such as providing decent wages, paid sick days, and fair promotions policies, while at the same time calling attention to employers that do not respect their workers, such as Darden Restaurants.”

ROC-United was founded after September 11th, 2001 to provide support to restaurant workers displaced as a result of the World Trade Center tragedy. It has grown into a national restaurant workers organization with more than 9,000 members in nine states and has won agreements totaling $5 million for restaurant workers who faced illegal treatment.

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]]>Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:42:56 GMThttp://www.dignityatdarden.org/1/post/2012/02/los-angeles-capital-grille-workers-join-growing-national-dignity-at-darden-campaign.html -Workers & Supporters Drop Demand Letter at LA Capital Grille Restaurant Citing Issues of Discrimination & Wage Theft–

Fed up over years of low pay and discrimination from profitable restaurant owners, Los Angeles workers, with the support of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, have joined a national movement to improve jobs in the restaurant industry. Initially launched on January 31st by workers in New York City, the Washington, DC area, and Chicago, yesterday Los Angeles workers joined the campaign for “Dignity at Darden,” demanding that the largest full-service casual dining company in the world end discrimination and wage theft at its high-end Capital Grille restaurants in those cities. These Los Angeles Capital Grille workers share claims with workers in New York City, Washington, D.C.-area, and Chicago of alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act - reflective of a corporate-wide policy of racial discrimination - and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws.

“There are millions of people who make restaurant jobs their career, such as the workers in this campaign for Dignity at Darden,” said Stephanie Cho, Coordinator of the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Los Angeles. “These workers earn poverty wages, have no sick leave, and face discrimination that prevents them from moving up in the industry. More than 10 million families rely on restaurant work for their survival - we need restaurants to provide good jobs that can support families and help strengthen our recovering economy.”

Today, over 30 workers and ROC supporters walked in to Capital Grille during the busy lunch hour and handed over letter to the manager citing workers allegations of discrimination - being denied equal opportunity to obtain adequate training and promotions from within and consistent verbal abuse - wage theft, and hostile work environment. Javier Rosas, a recent dishwasher at Capital Grille, said, “The workplace here is so hostile and there is much abuse – they treat the workers, especially immigrant workers, with very little respect.”

Improving pay and benefits and removing barriers to advancement for workers in this large and fast-growing industry are critical to the nation’s economic recovery. The restaurant industry is one of the few sectors growing in today’s economy, and restaurant workers account for nearly one in 12 private sector workers. The National Restaurant Association just released its 2012 forecast, which predicts the restaurant industry will earn a record-breaking $635 billion in revenue this year, despite the country’s economic downturn – and in 2011, Darden’s sales exceeded $7 billion. Darden owns and operates approximately 1,900 restaurants worldwide, including Capital Grille, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Longhorn Steakhouse, and made more than half a billion dollars in net income in fiscal year 2011. Their CEO is from Wall Street – a former executive of J.P. Morgan, Kidder, Peabody & Company, and First Boston Corporation – and in 2011 had compensation of more than $8 million along with stock shares and options worth $22 million, all the while Darden restaurant workers are paid as little as $2.13 per hour for tipped employees and $7.25 per hour for non-tipped employees, with no paid sick days.

The Los Angeles workers joining the “Dignity at Darden” campaign are members of Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, the only national restaurant workers’ organization in the U.S. and seeks to improve wages and working conditions for the nation’s low-wage restaurant workforce.  The new campaign comes on the heels of a recent report by ROC-United and Cornell University, “Taking the High Road,” which challenges the idea that restaurants can only prosper with low labor costs.  Research in the report shows that providing employees with sustainable wages, benefits and opportunities for advancement helps to ensure the long-term success and financial stability of a restaurant.  The campaign also includes ROC-United’s 2012 Diners’ Guide, which provides information on the treatment of workers in restaurants across the country, singling out both the ‘high road’ and ‘low road’ employers.

 “Restaurant workers deserve a living wage, a healthy work environment, and to be treated with dignity,” said Saru Jayaraman, Co-Director of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, “Through this movement, we want to support “high road” employers that are doing the right thing, encouraging other restaurants to do the same, while at the same time holding accountable low road employers, such as Darden Restaurants.”

ROC-United was founded after September 11th, 2001 to provide support to restaurant workers displaced as a result of the World Trade Center tragedy. It has grown into a national restaurant workers organization with more than 9,000 members in nine states and has won agreements totaling $5 million for restaurant workers who faced illegal treatment.



]]>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:10:32 GMThttp://www.dignityatdarden.org/1/post/2012/01/first-post.html-Class Action Lawsuit Filed by Workers at Nation’s Largest Full-Service Restaurant Company in Chicago, New York & Washington, DC Area over Discrimination, Wage Theft -

Fed up over years of low pay and discrimination from profitable restaurant owners, workers, with the support of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, launched a new national campaign today to improve jobs in the restaurant industry.  As part of that campaign, under the banner “Dignity at Darden,” workers in New York, the Washington, DC area and Chicago announced the filing of a class action lawsuit against Darden Restaurants – the largest full-service casual dining company in the world – for discrimination and wage theft at its high-end Capital Grille restaurants in those cities. The suit alleges violations of the Civil Rights Act that are reflective of a corporate-wide policy of racial discrimination and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws for wage theft against all workers. Accompanying the lawsuit, ROC-United also released today a briefing paper on discrimination faced by workers of color nationwide, entitled, “Blacks in the Restaurant Industry. “ 

“While many Americans have worked at a restaurant at some point in their lives, they don’t realize that there are millions of people who make restaurant jobs their career,” said Saru Jayaraman, Co-Director of ROC United. “All too often, these workers face poverty wages, no sick leave, and no opportunities for advancement. With more than 10 million families relying on restaurant work to make ends meet, we need restaurants to provide good jobs that can support families, strengthen our communities, and help give our recovering economy the lift it needs.”

Improving pay and benefits and removing barriers to advancement for workers in this large and fast-growing industry are critical to the nation’s economic recovery. The restaurant industry is one of the few sectors growing in today’s economy, and restaurant workers account for nearly one in 12 private sector workers. The restaurant industry made $604 billion in sales in 2011, with Darden’s sales totaling in excess of $7 billion.  Darden owns and operates approximately 1,900 restaurants worldwide, including Capital Grille, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Longhorn Steakhouse, and made more than half a billion dollars in net income in fiscal year 2011. Their CEO is from Wall Street – a former executive of J.P. Morgan, Kidder, Peabody & Company, and First Boston Corporation – and in 2011 had compensation of more than $8 million along with stock shares and options worth $22 million, all the while Darden restaurant workers are paid as little as $2.13 per hour for tipped employees and $7.25 per hour for non-tipped employees, with no paid sick days.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of restaurant workers in Chicago, New York and the Washington, DC area details allegations of racial discrimination, wage theft, and hostile and abusive workplaces in Capital Grille locations across the country. As stated in the complaint, many of the ‘back-of-the-house’ positions (dishwashers, food prep) are given to workers of color, while the more lucrative ‘front-of-the-house’ positions (servers, bartenders) are given to white workers. This reflects the conclusions of a national briefing paper released by ROC United today, Blacks in the Restaurant Industry, which finds that 58 percent of black restaurant workers are confined to the lowest wage, ‘quick serve’ segment of the industry, while only 26 percent of white restaurant workers are in that low-wage sector. And in the higher wage part of the industry – fine dining -- servers are almost four times more likely to be white than black, while 95 percent of bussers are people of color. This results in black restaurant workers earning an average of $4 per hour less than whites.

Other violations cited in the lawsuit against Darden include forcing employees to work without pay, not providing breaks to workers, and forcing tipped workers to share their tips with non-tipped workers. At the announcement today, current and former Darden employees shared stories of their employment at Darden-owned restaurants, including Keith Jones. Keith is an African-American server who was hired at Capital Grille in Maryland when it opened. He was lauded for his excellent service. When management changed hands, however, and sought to ‘clean up’ the restaurant, they fired Keith and almost all the other servers of color at one time, saying they did not ‘meet Capital Grille standards.’

The workers filing the lawsuit are members of Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, the only national restaurant workers’ organization in the U.S. and seeks to improve wages and working conditions for the nation’s low-wage restaurant workforce.  The new campaign comes on the heels of a recent report by ROC-United and Cornell University, “Taking the High Road,” which challenges the idea that restaurants can only prosper with low labor costs.  Research in the report shows that providing employees with sustainable wages, benefits and opportunities for advancement helps to ensure the long-term success and financial stability of a restaurant.  The campaign also includes ROC-United’s 2012 Diners’ Guide, which provides information on the treatment of workers in restaurants across the country, singling out both the ‘high road’ and ‘low road’ employers.

“Whether it’s working with employers who embrace ‘high road’ practices and encouraging other restaurants to do the same thing, or holding accountable ‘low road’ employers, like Darden’s Capital Grille, we are sending a message through this campaign that restaurant workers deserve a living wage and to be treated with dignity,” said Daisy Chung, Co-Director, Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York.


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