In response to massive pandemic-related layoffs, new legislation in Congress would create a bill of rights for restaurant workers.

Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., has sponsored House Resolution 1528, which was based on responses to a survey from Restaurant Opportunities Center United.

The survey found 85% of respondents reported losing wages, 91% got no hazard pay despite working during the pandemic and 34% say they were not provided protective equipment while working.

Sekou Siby, president and CEO of Restaurant Opportunities Center United, said the resolution would mandate employers create safe and dignified conditions for employees, provide ample time off and make access to affordable health care available.

"With 20 years of engagement with restaurant workers, we have heard loud and clear that the challenges, injustices and discrimination have many forms and intersect on many policies," Siby asserted. "This is why we came together to propose a comprehensive and systemic remedy in the form of the restaurant workers bill of rights."

The resolution is based on a document crafted by the center and endorsed by 55 food-service industry organizations, calling on Congress to mandate livable wages and better working conditions for the industry's employees.

Many employees report being required to work major holidays, often with no additional compensation, and are provided no vacation, sick or personal time off.

Yannet Lathrop, senior researcher and policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, said such practices amount to stolen income.

"Each year, wage workers lose an estimated $15 billion due to wage theft," Lathrop reported. "Workers in the food and drink service industry are more likely to experience wage theft. Restaurant workers also need and deserve unemployment insurance laws that won't penalize them for working part-time or if they are underpaid, as many wage workers are."

Tlaib introduced the resolution on behalf of the center, which was formed by restaurant workers after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. It calls itself the oldest such organization in the country.

Mexican fast-food chain Chipotle will pay workers at its former location in Augusta, Maine as part of a settlement over labor law violations. The National Labor Relations Board found the chain of restaurants broke laws by closing the location in July just weeks after employees became the first Chipotle workers in the country to file for union recognition. The company also blacklisted union organizers from being hired at other Chipotle locations.

Brandi McNease, Chipotle United organizer, said the company got the message.

"The union busting will not be tolerated and there's no way around it," she said.

Chipotle will pay a total of $240,000 to employees who were on the payroll when it closed the store, and offer "preferential rehiring" to all Augusta employees at its other Maine locations for up to one year.

The Augusta workers formed their union to bargain for safer working conditions, better staffing and a voice in any negotiations regarding workplace policies, they said. Now stores throughout the Northeast will post notices stating that Chipotle broke the law, and that employees have the right to unionize without consequences.
It is "a win for food service workers everywhere," McNease said.

"We fought for this specifically because the movement isn't over and every employee in those stores should know that they have rights and that the Labor Board is on our side," she added.

Chipotle was not forced to reopen the Augusta location, so workers say the payouts will help those who have yet to secure employment elsewhere, as well as inspire other Chipotle workers to stand up for respectful working conditions.


get more stories like this via email

More than one in three Ohioans are relying on credit cards for spending needs, and nearly a quarter say they've increased their credit-card use in response to cost-of-living increases, according to a new report.

Michael Welker, editor of Upgraded Points, a website tracking credit-card reward and travel programs, explained when the pandemic began, people spent less and got a financial boost from stimulus checks, leading to lower credit-card balances overall. Now, persistent high inflation is causing many to use credit to cover basic household expenses.

Welker said it poses a risk as interest rates rise.

"As you carry over balances month to month, and interest starts to accrue, potentially it's going to be even harder to pay down your debt," Welker advised. "That's going to be even more pressure, in terms of covering your household expenses."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed new regulations which would, among other changes, cap late fees for credit-card payments at 25% of the minimum payment amount. The agency is taking public comments about its proposal until April 3.

According to the report, nationwide more than 95% of people with annual incomes below $75,000 said they are feeling stressed about inflation. Welker recommended using credit cards only when needed to meet basic expenses, and shifting habits instead to reduce dining out, entertainment and other leisure spending.

"Be more mindful of your spending," Welker suggested. "Figure out where you might be able to cut or trim back, find less expensive alternatives."

He added consumers may soon feel relief as the federal government works to combat inflation, but only those who rein in their credit-card use.

"The Fed is still raising interest rates trying to tame inflation," Welker pointed out. "Potentially, at some point later in the year, we finally start to see that come down to a more manageable level."

In another survey, by Clever Real Estate, 40% of Americans believe high prices are the "new normal," and 62% say they expect everyday prices will be even higher this year.

Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

Graduate-student workers throughout the University of Maine System are taking steps to unionize and seek recognition from university officials.

Teaching, research and graduate assistants across the state said their heavy workloads are not compensated with adequate wages and benefits.

Vendy Hazuková, a doctoral student worker in the School of Biology and Ecology at the University of Maine-Orono, said the more than 1,000 graduate workers there deserve a voice in negotiating school policies.

"The universities work because we do, and if we don't have dignified working conditions, we can't do our jobs properly," Hazuková asserted.

Hazuková pointed out the University of Maine System offers the lowest stipends for grad-student workers compared to other public universities in New England, at less than $20,000. She noted they have received overwhelming support from the student body.

The grad students in Maine are part of a growing nationwide trend of graduate worker unions, including at Boston University and the University of Connecticut.

Hazuková said after years of complaining about inconsistent paychecks and substandard health plans, she and her colleagues are taking inspiration from those who've successfully organized for change.

"I think we would all just like to focus on the work that we love and do, and not count pennies every month and decide whether we can afford to go to the doctor or buy groceries," Hazuková emphasized.

The University of Maine System said it recognizes the graduate workers' right to unionize and will await the union election outcome before commenting further. The union is affiliated with the United Auto Workers, which has helped more than 40,000 academic workers form unions in the last eight years.


get more stories like this via email