US Department of Labor

Former Teriyaki House workers and their supporters picketed, held signs and sang Christmas Carols outside the downtown restaurant Tuesday afternoon to remind the owners that they have agreed to pay $36,000 in unpaid wages by March 5, 2016 as per an agreement made with the US Department of Labor. Workers held the action to “to keep up the public pressure” against Teriyaki House and “to make sure they make good on this settlement and pay up as soon as possible because workers have waited long enough for their wages.”

The workers organized through Fuerza Laboral / Power of Workers, a community organization that builds worker leadership to fight workplace exploitation, and RI Jobs with Justice, a coalition of community and labor groups. In June 2015, former Teriyaki House workers filed a complaint with the US Department of Labor regarding their unpaid wages. The employees who filed the complaint had worked at the restaurant for up to three years, between 72 and 85 hours per week. During that time, they were only getting paid between $450 and $600 a week. The restaurant management discounted two hours of lunch/break each day when workers were actually given only 15 minutes to eat their lunch and took no other breaks.

The Christmas theme was especially poignant, as unpaid workers will be foregoing many aspects of Christmas that many who celebrate the holiday take for granted. “Christmas is an important time to be with family and buy gifts for your children, but we won’t have money this holiday,” says former Teriyaki House employee Fidel de Leon, “By stealing our wages, Teriyaki House stole Christmas from us and our children.”

During the action, a man who identified himself as the manager of the restaurant stood nearby with his cellphone, filming those who spoke out about the wage theft they experiences. his actions seemed intended to intimidate the former workers, and he laughed as speaker’s asserted the facts of their case. Later, the same man exited the restaurant a second time. This time he attempted to force a worker to lower his protest sign so that the cellphone camera could capture the worker’s face.

“I worked first 6 days a week, 12 hours a day but I was only paid $514 a week, which comes out to only $7/hr without any overtime,” says Vicente Lobos, one of the former Teriyaki House workers taking action today. “I’m very happy that the DOL has reached an agreement with Teriyaki House to pay us, and we want Teriyaki House to know that we will make sure they come through with this payment. I need my money now, I cannot wait any longer than I already have.”

Teriyaki House workers are part of a greater push to organize workers all along the food chain through Food Chain Workers RIsing, led by Fuerza Laboral and other members of RI Jobs with Justice. The workers’ struggle against wage theft at Teriyaki House is also part of a larger national campaign with Jobs with Justice to pressure the US Congress to pass the Power Act. The Power Act would expand protections for undocumented workers who are organizing for their rights in the workplace.

Workers claim unpaid wages at Teriyaki House rally

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A protest outside the upscale downtown Providence deli Gourmet Heaven was scheduled for the same day that three workers filed a case in district court for non-payment of wages. Six more workers are expected to join the case later this week, alleging a total of $140,000 in unpaid wages over two years. The workers have organized through Fuerza Laboral and Rhode Island Jobs with Justice.

As they did during their last protest back in December, workers and protesters entered the restaurant to confront management about the unpaid wages. This time store manager Mohamed Masoud was in the store, but he declined to comment to the press. The police arrived quickly and moved the 30-40 protesters outside and onto the sidewalk without incident.

Outside the protesters picketed and chanted for about 30 minutes. Passersby were handed flyers informing them of the working conditions at the restaurant. The police were vigilant in making sure there was ample room for pedestrians to get through the picket line, at one point picking up my video camera and moving it, even though there was a four foot wide path available.

The highlight of the protest was some “street theater” in which former employees acted out the experience of being hired by Chung Cho, the owner of Gourmet Heaven, which started off with promises and handshakes, but soon devolved into physical abuse, unsafe working conniptions and stolen wages. The scene ended with Cho and his manager, Masoud, being hounded down the street by an angry mob of workers.

In Connecticut, Cho reached an agreement with the [Connecticut] Department of Labor to pay $140,000 in back wages to 25 workers, but has so far not made his payments in a timely manner. Former employees of the two Gourmet Heaven stores in New Haven, CT have already filed suit against Cho in federal court in Connecticut for wage theft at the New Haven locations.

“The only way for Cho to pay workers what he stole from them is for us to bring this to the public and let his clients know what labor rights abuses were going on at this store,” said Jesse Strecker, Executive Director of RI Jobs with Justice in a statement. “Since Cho has not given any response to the [RI] Department of Labor and Training or to us, we are filing in the courts and continuing our public protest.”

A December 2014 report by the US Department of Labor determined that wage theft in New York and California amounted to between $1.6 and $2.5 billion dollar a year and that “…affected employees’ lost weekly wages averaged 37–49 percent of their income.”

Donna Nesselbush has introduced legislation in the Rhode Island State Senate that would increase the penalties for wage theft, and give more options to workers seeking lost wages. In the press release for today’s action Nesselbush says, “Theft of any kind is wrong, but wage theft is particularly disturbing because it is often perpetrated against the most vulnerable in our society, those who need their wages the most, even to survive.”

Tag: US Department of Labor

Teriyaki House ruining Christmas for unpaid employees

Workers claim unpaid wages at Teriyaki House rally

Fast food workers rally for $15 and a union at Wendy’s in Warwick

‘Wage Theft Street Theater’ outside Gourmet Heaven