Restaurant labor violations show Ithaca's dark side (more restaurants per capita than New York City)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20090131/OPINION02/901310308

Jessica Yoon / Guest Column

The recent news of labor violations at Taste of Thai and Tamarind has provided me with much food for thought; bitter, pungent food, like a large helping of broccoli rabe.

In a town that boasts more restaurants per capita than New York City, the Taste of Thai case presents an opportunity to look into a larger issue within our community and our nation: the working conditions of restaurant workers. While those of us who regularly dine out can praise the great food, excellent service and unique character of the restaurants in our area, the experience behind the scenes may be quite different.

"Back-of-the-house" jobs such as cooking, food prep and dishwashing entail hard work in often chaotic close quarters. Immigrants, often newly arrived, tend to be concentrated in such jobs, frequently without knowing the labor laws and regulations that exist to protect them. In many cases these employees face long shifts without required breaks, below minimum wages and 70-hour work weeks without overtime pay. "Front-of-the-house" servers and bus people can be illegally forced to pool tips with fellow workers, share tip earnings with management and work for rates below the minimum tip wage. Additionally, employers providing workplace meals and housing for employees deduct pay at amounts exceeding the legal maximum.

If such injustices were occurring in the workplaces of our beloved Ithaca and Tompkins County, we would surely know about it, right? Wrong.

Upon arriving in large cities in the United States, many immigrants seek out work through employment agencies in places like Manhattan's Chinatown. After being given a contact person, business name and phone number they board a bus toward their new means of livelihood with little resources and little knowledge. These workers gratefully take on their new jobs and employer-provided housing, not realizing that their 70-hour work week and cramped housing in an employer's basement are considered unfair conditions in this country. Isolated in employer-provided housing and lacking skills in the English language, workers are unable to alert officials to their treatment. Those who are undocumented are further reluctant to speak out for fear of deportation. New to these labor laws and isolated from the mainstream community, it is not unique for immigrant restaurant workers to be exploited in this manner. Moreover, the cash-based character of the service industry and the frequent job switches make it challenging to regulate the restaurant industry and organize its workers.

FULL story at link.

[Berry Cool]

1. I have eaten at Taste of Thai and it was wonderful.

Too bad this editorial itself doesn't really say anything about the details of what has really supposedly happened there.