Restaurant Workers’ Associations
Behind the Kitchen Door
New Yorkers have a growing awareness of the ways in which their food is grown and distributed to restaurants, but they do not always consider the people who prepare and bring the food from the kitchen to their table. Many restaurants have come to embrace the concepts of sustainable farm-to-table, locally sourced, and organic products advocated by the , a campaign that aims to combat the negative effects of industrialized food production and consumption. At the same time, restaurants are home to some of the least sustainable practices, especially those that affect people working behind the scenes in nonmanagerial positions.
Since the early 2000s, the Manhattan-based Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC-United) has called into question the true of the food movement and the restaurant industry. Inspired by the philosophy of fair labor espoused by the movement, ROC-United, which sponsors several chapters throughout the United States, actively works to resolve pressing issues for restaurant workers. Such problems, including the lack of medical benefits and paid sick leave, the inability to access tips and , and racial and gender discrimination, leave many workers suffering from —unable to afford and consume nutritional, fresh, and safe food for a mentally and physically healthy lifestyle.
Many restaurant workers suffer mistreatment at the hands of their employers. Unfortunately, there are many cases in which businesses frequently fail to give nonmanagerial staff medical benefits and paid sick leave, often forcing them to work while ill. Some restaurant management also supports abuse through racial discrimination and the promotion of harassment based on gender. These inequities contribute to workers having few or unequal opportunities for job advancement, as well as a lack of access to fair wages and tips. People of color rarely get hired in higher-paying jobs, and women often receive much less pay than men. At the same time, subminimum wages build a reliance on tips, yet management can easily steal both wages and tips from their employees. Despite increasing benefits provided by the restaurant industry to the national economy, restaurant workers are among the poorest people in the country as a result of these unfair practices.
Redefining Sustainable Food
Community Events of Slow Food NYC, New York, NY.
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