Help Send a Message to Congress - Raise the minimum wage!
Tom Harkin and George Miller are re-introducing the Fair Minimum Wage Act today!
Three weeks after President Obama highlighted the need for a raise in the minimum wage in his State of the Union Address, Congress members Senator Tom Harkin and Representative George Miller introduced the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013. This proposal includes a raise in the regular minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour over three years, and also a raise in the tipped minimum wage from $2.13 to 70% of the regular minimum wage.
The new book, Behind The Kitchen Door is a national best seller!
Due to your support, this book was #1 on Powell's and #1 on 3 of Amazon's subject lists! Thank you for helping to raise awareness of food and labor justice issues within the restaurant industry!
Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and director of Restaurant Opportunities Center United, will be on MSNBC's Up With Chris Hayes this Saturday, March 2nd.
Spotlight on Restaurant Owners: Conversation with Jennifer Piallat, Owner of Zazie Restaurant
Photo courtesy of Zazie Restaurant
By Leah Scrivener
Don’t Just Eat Right, Eat Just! Four Tips for 2013
Photo courtesy of Restaurant Opportunities Center
By Saru Jayaraman & Fekkak Mamdouh
This new year’s, don’t just resolve to eat right — eat just! That means not just picking healthier options when you eat out, but peeking behind the kitchen door to make sure the workers at the restaurants you go to are treated fairly and justly by their employers. Making sure restaurants are just makes a big difference for workers, our economy — and your health. Here’s how:
Book Review: Behind The Kitchen Door by Saru Jayaraman
By Leah Scrivener
Saru Jayaraman is the co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC), and is the newly-appointed Director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC Berkeley.
In her book Behind the Kitchen Door, available February 13th, Saru Jayaraman brings to light the harsh and often hidden realities of the restaurant industry. Ms. Jayaraman paints a vivid portrait of the lives of restaurant workers from across the United States, who share their stories about poor working conditions, wage theft, sexism, racism, and little to no health benefits or paid sick days.
Immokalee Workers invite Wendy's to support a penny more per pound of tomatoes picked by workers
Join consumers from across the country in the coming weeks as they call on Wendy's to partner with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in advancing the human rights and dignity of farmworkers in its supply chain! They are seeking a penny more per pound of tomatoes that they pick.
Other fast food corporations that have signed the agreement include:
2005, Taco Bell
2007, McDonald's
2008, Burger King
2009, Subway 2012, Chipotle
Living on a tipped wage of $2.13 since 1991
Learn more by reading Behind the Kitchen Door by Saru Jayaraman of Berkeley's Food Labor Research Center
UC Berkeley Launches First-Ever Food Labor Research Center
Pictured: Saru Jayaraman. Photo Credit: UC Berkeley Food Labor Research Center
By Leah Scrivener
The Labor Center at the University of California, Berkeley celebrated the start of its newly-formed Food Labor Research Center with a reception last week.
Minimum Wage Messaging Toolkit: Ways to combat the tactics that attempt to divide us
By Leah Scrivener
The arguments against a raised minimum wage are rooted in corporate interest that seeks to put profit over people, and are devoid of any concern for low-income Americans. These carefully designed arguments are scare tactics to intimidate, divert, and confuse the American public, who may not yet see how the corporatocracy drives the widening gap between the rich and the poor in this country.
Recent Successes in the Minimum Wage Fight
By Leah Scrivener
Photo Credit: Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
The federal minimum wage has remained stagnant at $7.25 per hour since 2009. President Obama had promised to raise it to $9.50 by 2011. November’s elections saw several important local successes in the fight for an increased minimum wage, as voters in Albuquerque, San Jose, and Long Beach pushed forward measures that will have a positive impact on low-wage workers in those communities.
