Posts tagged restaurants
House food service workers, Democrats stage boycott in fight to keep union jobs
July 24, 2025 // Congressional Labor Caucus co-chairs Reps. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) joined food service employees in front of the Capitol building after final votes Thursday to protest the new vendors’ delay in recognizing the Unite Here Local 23 bargaining unit’s existing agreement. Union members are asking lawmakers, staff and Capitol visitors to boycott six of the new venues: Starbucks, Pakistani food restaurant CHA Street Food, Jimmy John’s, Common Grounds, Java House and PX Tacos.
California’s fast-food minimum wage is super-sizing job losses
July 15, 2025 // The damage for California doesn’t stop at job losses, as CEI has noted previously. The vast majority of California’s fast-food workers, 89 percent, have had their work hours reduced. Another 35 percent have seen their supplemental benefits reduced. Customers suffer as well. Menu prices for Golden State restaurants rose 14.5 percent between September 2023 and December 2024, nearly double the national rate of 8.2 percent for restaurants. Prices jumped 3 percent in the month after the minimum wage hike went into effect. Americans across all income groups eat fast food, but the core consumers are low-income families according to the Morning Consult. Any price increase is going to hit them the hardest.
Teamsters’ Stike at Breakthru Beverage Expands to 700 Union Employees in 6 States
June 18, 2025 // Teamsters detailed that Breakthru’s most recent contract offer included annual pay reductions ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 per worker and no changes to benefits. The Union added that Florida-based Teamsters have been requesting compensation and benefits in line with what workers at other Breakthru locations receive. Teamsters went on to say that Breakthru has responded to the strike by hiring replacement workers and consulting with firms that specialize in managing labor disputes.
MICHIGAN: While you were sleeping, the law changed
March 12, 2025 // The two laws were scheduled to take effect Feb. 21. The Legislature acted minutes (not hours) before the deadline and delivered the bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the middle of the night. Employers went to sleep on Feb. 20, woke up to a new regulatory environment, and are scrambling to understand the laws. How did we get here? In 2018, out-of-state advocacy groups sent two ballot measures to the Legislature. One measure imposed paid sick time mandates on every employer in the state — every company, nonprofit and government entity. The other measure mandated minimum wage increases, eviscerating the tip credit that helps restaurant servers and bartenders earn well above minimum wage.
SEIU Researchers Admit $20 Wage Law Caused Fast Food Job Losses
February 27, 2025 // As EPI notes, the evidence is from an unexpected source: “…the same labor union that pushed for the $20 policy.” “EPI has been a leading voice on the consequences of this law, releasing multiple reports based on government data that show the state’s $20 minimum wage is costing jobs. In an attempt to cover up these consequences, unions have supported biased researchers who are supportive of $20.”
Multiple DC-area restaurants to close Monday for ‘Day Without Immigrants’
February 2, 2025 // Some of the other establishments participating include but are not limited to Pearl’s Bagels and Hiraya in D.C. and La Casita Pupusería, Tacos El Pariente and Centrado Café Shop in Maryland. “A day without immigrants is a day without bagels,” Pearl’s Bagels said in an Instagram story Sunday. “Our staff will receive a paid day off in order to make their voices heard and stress the importance of immigrants to our community and local economy.”
House Republicans serve up reforms for tipped wage and paid leave
January 16, 2025 // House bills 4001 and 4002, introduced by Reps. Jay Deboyer, R-Clay Township, and Rep. John Roth, R-Interlochen, would modify new laws that, as of Feb. 21, will require paid time off for all employees and minimum wage for tipped wage workers. The 2024 decision by the state’s high court followed years of lawmaking, and the resulting laws, which have become a hot potato for both parties. Taken together, the new laws could increase restaurant costs by a quarter or more, according to a restaurant industry survey.
Commentary: Gov. Newsom Exposed for Gaslighting on California’s Fast Food Industry Job Loss
December 9, 2024 // Most notable, however, has been the massive amount of layoffs. While many stores let only a few employees go, others had more drastic numbers. Pizza Hut alone laid off 1,200 delivery drivers due to the higher costs. Others, including Roundtable Pizza, did the same, pushing delivery duties onto services like DoorDash and Uber Eats. “Newsom can’t hide behind debunked reports from widely criticized economists,” Rebekah Paxton, research director at the Employment Policies Institute, told the Globe. “The BLS data speaks for itself. Jobs are down and his constituents are suffering because of this bad law. Newsom has found himself in a hole and should just stop digging.”
Employees at Eight Philadelphia International Airport Restaurants May Soon Vote Out Unite Here Union Bosses
July 11, 2024 // NLRB Region 4’s Decision and Direction of Election puts an end to nearly five months of litigation over Mulugeta’s petition. Unite Here union officials tried to argue that Mulugeta, who in addition to other restaurant duties often serves as a translator between managers and Amharic-speaking restaurant staff, was ineligible to submit the petition because she was an agent of the manager and not a rank-and-file employee. The union claimed she was ineligible despite the fact that she pays money to the union as a condition of staying employed. The NLRB Region 4 Director rejected these union arguments, stating that “the record is devoid of any witness testimony from employees showing their perception of Mulugeta’s authority, or whether they believed that Mulugeta spoke for and on behalf of the Employer…” “As such, Mulugeta’s role as a bilingual employee serving solely as the Employer’s interpreter is insufficient to elevate her status to that of an agent or apparent agent [of the employer],” the decision states.
Workers seek to unionize non-Disney restaurants at Disney Springs
May 2, 2024 // Workers at the restaurants operated by Patina Restaurant Group, part of the Delaware North corporation, have concerns about lower wages compared to Disney employees, part-time instead full-time work, and a lack of benefits. The union representing many Disney workers is seeking to unionize five restaurants owned by a different company at Disney Springs. Haiken said the effort involves more than 300 employees at Morimoto Asia, The Edison, Maria and Enzo’s, Enzo’s Hideaway, and Pizza Ponte.