Restaurant Workers Claim Victory Against Abusive Manager

Restaurant workers unite and claim victory against an abusive manager.

Reports of abuses, racial discrimination, sexual harassment, and violations of labor law are widespread in the restaurant industry. Workers at the Steak Escape restaurant in the downtown San Francisco Westfield mall suffered many of these abuses and fought back. The former manager frequently used profanity to yell at and insult workers. On several occasions he kicked workers and hit them with a wet towel. One of the employees says that “one time he told my coworker to wash the dishes after purposely filling the sink with very hot water and he got hurt”. The manager not only discriminated against Latin American workers but also yelled at and insulted African American customers to the point that security had to come in. Other times he would make obscene comments about female workers and made lewd questions about their personal lives. The manager also broke labor laws by not providing employees with lunch or rest periods, not paying overtime, and illegally taking a share of their tips. “He wouldn’t even let us speak Spanish,” says one employee.

The employees responded by uniting and contacting Young Workers United, a workers’ center for young people and service sector workers in San Francisco. Together they organized delegations to the manager and an action in which all the employees wore stickers saying “negotiate, don’t retaliate”. They also held negotiations with the CEO in charge of the restaurant. Other members of YWU supported the Steak Escape workers through delegations and flyering. “All we did ultimately resulted in driving out the manager” says one of the employees. Workers were also able to win breaks, more hours, food meals, a tip jar, more uniforms, and promotions. Other workers from nearby restaurants such as Villa Pizzeria have reported improvements as a result of the example set by Steak Escape workers. For more information, contact YWU at 415-621-4155 or workingyouth [at] hotmail.com.