The High Cost of Cheap (Ethnic) Food

A friend of mine brought an article to my attention about the worth of a banh mi (traditional Vietnamese sandwich).  In these times, consumers are discount-crazy and driven by GroupOns, LivingSocials, TravelZoos, and every kind of discount they can get their hands on. When it comes to ethnic food, consumers often believe that there is a maximum cost to what the dishes should cost

The article, Upscale Banh Mi Food Fight: The Spice Table vs. ink.sack, by Tien Nguyen in LA Weekly talks about $8 fancy banh mi sandwiches and mentions how people flock to San Gabriel Valley for the cheap banh mi and how in certain places its worth paying $8 for a sandwich and not others (ie. San Gabriel Valley). Well, there is an extremely high cost to cheap ethnic food.

I ran my parents’ Vietnamese restaurant for nearly 2 ½ years in San Gabriel. I knew the owners in the neighborhood, I knew their menus, their profit margins, and sadly, their labor costs.  I will have to take some time to do the calculations, but I am almost certain that labor accounts for maybe only a small percentage of their business costs. Those 2 for 1 deals at $3 also means the worker is getting paid less than minimum wage working 12 hours a day with no breaks or overtime.  It not only impacts the livelihoods of the workers, but their children who are raised with poverty wages.

Consumers, you and me, really have to reconsider our framework of thinking on the worth of a burrito, taco, banh mi, pupusa, samosa, or a plate of chap chae.  When you look at the food you’re eating, I hope you can also see the lived experiences of the workers who cooked, prepared, and served your meal.

In new report, region-wide coalition in LA indicts county transit agency for blocking economic recovery for Latino, Black and low income transit riders, calls for strong federal intervention

Labor unions, civil rights, environmental, public health, and housing organizations say LA is an important test case. Will the Federal Transit Administration step in to stop LA MTA from threatening economic survival for entire communities?

Against the backdrop of a federal civil rights review of the Los Angeles County MTA, a broad coalition of 14 organizations has released a scathing indictment of the agency’s record.  The report, Transit Civil Rights & Economic Survival in Los Angeles: A Case for Federal Intervention in LA Metro, describes how LA MTA’s policy of slashing service while raising fares has had a devastating and discriminatory impact on unemployed and low wage workers, students, immigrants, seniors  and differently abled people.

“With transit service being slashed and fares increasing nationwide, LA is an important test case. Will one of the nation’s largest transit agencies be allowed to impose civil rights harms on its own Latino, Black, and low income riders in the middle of a major economic crisis?” said Guillermo Mayer, a leading transit civil rights attorney with Public Advocates, Inc, one of the reports co-authors. “We applaud the Federal Transit Administration for reviewing this situation. This report demonstrates that federal intervention must be strong and swift.”

Because LA is one of the cities hardest hit by the Great Recession, cuts to transit make economic recovery especially arduous for Black and Latino communities dependent on mass transit. “In Los Angeles country alone, African Americans are facing a 19% unemployment rate while Latinos face 14% unemployment. We know that in these hard economic times, people have lost their homes, their vehicles and are trying to save on gas,” said Laphonza Butler of SEIU United Long Term Care Workers.  “We cannot raise prices and reduce services while attempting to encourage more Angelenos to use public transit. It’s counterintuitive and only harms students, working people and those trying to find employment.”

Among the co-authors of the report are public health and environmental justice organizations concerned about the impacts of transit cuts and fare increases impact on health and well-being.  Martha Arguello, Director of the Los Angeles chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, said, “When bus service cuts make it hard for people to get to medical appointments, jobs that feed their families, and schools, it’s an attack on their health and their rights. And in the worst-polluted city in the US, Metro’s policies have driven down mass transit use, and the health effects of more cars on the road are devastating for low income children and families. ”

Barbara Lott-Holland, a bus rider for 35 years and Co-chair of the Bus Riders Union, stated, “The tragedy of the MTA policies over the last four years is that they roll back almost all of the transit improvements – namely more buses, more bus lines, and lower fares – that MTA implemented under federal court order in response to the BRU’s civil rights lawsuit and 10-year federal consent decree.”  The Bus Riders Union’s class action lawsuit against MTA led to a 10-year court-ordered agreement known as the Consent Decree that forced the agency to invest nearly $3 billion in a bus system with a ridership that is very low income and 90% people of color. “We not only need strong intervention, but also real leadership from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the MTA Board to stop the bleeding, restore bus service, and guarantee that all Angelenos – regardless of race or income – participate equally in LA’s economic recovery.”

The co-authors of the report are: Bus Riders Union, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Communities for a Better Environment, East Los Angeles Community Corporation, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, Los Angeles Community Action Network, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles, Public Advocates Inc., Restaurant Opportunities Center – Los Angeles, SEIU-United Service Workers West, SEIU-United Long Term Care Workers, Southeast Asian Community Alliance, Strategic Action for a Just Economy, and Urban Habitat.

Download the report: http://tinyurl.com/3wd3hl6. Pitch Engine: http://tinyurl.com/3hdhttj.

High Road Highlight: Good Girl Dinette

Nearly all of Good Girl Dinette’s food is locally sourced because owner, Diep Tran, has a commitment to food justice. Good Girl Dinette is a Vietnamese restaurant, a gem in Highland Park, with a menu that includes her Vietnamese and American upbringing that is representative of the experience of many 2^nd generation Vietnamese Americans.  Diep cares about the environmental impact restaurants have on the community and she is bringing back the way Vietnamese produce and ingredients was made – straight from the mother earth.  Like many local and organic restaurants, Good Girl Dinette has received coverage on their local sustainability efforts. However, aspects that often get overlooked are the restaurant employer practices.

Diep genuinely cares about her employees.  Good Girl Dinette was a high road restaurant even before Diep knew it. Starting at $10 per hour with wage increases, Diep’s back of the house employees are making living wages, which is highly unusual for small family style restaurants.

Diep does not discriminate in her hiring and promotion practices. Often, new and upcoming restaurants will discriminate in their hiring practices to seek a certain “look” for the restaurant.  Because of the diversity of the restaurant, there is a strict zero tolerance for offensive comments that are racist, sexist, or homophobic. Diep embraces and encourages a strong harmonic environment.

Good Girl Dinette has also opened up their space to fundraise for countless organizations. Well over thousands have been raised for non-profit and grassroots organizations since its opening in 2009.

ROC MD - health care cooperative for restaurant workers

Great news ROC-LA! ROC-United started a low-cost health care cooperative, ROC M.D., to provide low cost access to primary health care for uninsured Los Angeles restaurant workers. Some members may qualify for 3-months of care at no cost. Read more below:  How does it work? ROC-LA has partnered with St. John's Well Child and Family Center (St. John's) and Korean Health, Education, Information & Research (KHEIR) Center to provide primary care, basic dental care, and therapy. The cost of ROC M.D. for individual restaurant workers is only $20 per month plus $5 for ROC-LA membership dues (total of $25 per month).         We recently received a grant to cover 3 months of membership access to ROC M.D. Thus, for the first year, you would only pay for the first 9 months of coverage, and we will cover the remaining 3 months.  When you enroll, your coverage will be effective the first day of the following month--meaning if you enrolled any day in October, then your coverage would become effective November 1.  Once your coverage is effective, you may call St. John's to make an appointment to see a doctor.  What exactly does ROC M.D. and $25 per month cover? Primary Care: annual physicals, urgent care for colds, the flu, and other common illnesses Dental Care: annal oral examinations, cleaning, fillings Therapy: up to 7 sessions with a therapist Medication: low-cost medication When can you enroll in order to qualify for 3 months of coverage? Please respond and let me know which information & enrollment session you would like to attend. There will be an information session and enrollment on: Wednesday, October 12th at 8:30am Tuesday, October 18th at 4:15pm Monday, October 24th at 9:30am Who qualifies for ROC M.D, and how do I get 3 months' access paid? Any ROC-LA restaurant worker member who does NOT have health insurance can enroll in ROC M.D, regardless of immigration status. To be a ROC-LA member, you must attend an orientation and a workers' rights workshop in order to enroll in ROC M.D. To qualify for 3 months' free access, only ROC-LA restaurant worker members who are undocumented and/or do not qualify for public programs (Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, LA CARE, Healthy Way LA, etc.) can receive 3 months of coverage for free. However, any ROC-LA restaurant worker member can join ROC M.D., even if you do not qualify for 3 months of free access. What makes ROC M.D. comparable to other public programs? ROC-United is dedicated to improving the access to healthcare and the health outcomes of restaurant workers in Los Angeles. As a member of ROC M.D., you will be assigned a permanent doctor who will follow-up with you on your health conditions and track your health improvement. When you call to make an appointment, you will be able to schedule and see a doctor that week, or whenever medically necessary, because St. John's has reserved patient slots for our members. Thus, you should never have to wait to make a first appointment. E-MAIL CATHY AT cathy@rocunited.org to RSVP for one of the information sessions.

Los Angeles High Road Round Table features LOCAL RESTAURANT

ROC-LA believes that we can transform the restaurant industry through providing legal support to workers, conducting research and policy, and working with employers who are doing the right thing in the industry.  We have a round table of model employers who possess model practices including training and promotion from within, providing benefits such as paid vacations, health care, or paid sick days, starting above the minimum wage, and providing wage increases.

ROC-LA works with about ten employers. Each week we will highlight one of our high road employers so that consumers are aware of which restaurants to support.

·      Good Girl Dinette

·      LOCAL Restaurant

·      Chimu Peruvian Soulfood

·      Homegirl Café

·      Mama’s Hot Tamales

·      Craft Los Angeles

·      Chaya Restaurant Group

·      The Hungry Cat

·      The Gorbals

·      Pacific Dining Car

FIRST UP!  LOCAL Restaurant (Owned by Jason Michaud)

ROC-LA has to give props to the very first employer who has been there for ROC-LA from the beginning – Jason Michaud.

LOCAL is committed to using locally sourced and organic ingredients in nearly every aspect of their menu and dining experience. Even their take out packaging is 100% biodegradable. This is only one of the MANY great things about Jason’s model employer practices. There are many “green” restaurants who have environmentally conscious practices, but totally neglect their workers. 

At LOCAL, Jason’s front of the house employees benefit from wages that start at $10 per hour with tips. His cook earns $16 per hour and his night chef earns $42,000 a year. LOCAL’s dishwasher earns $10 per hour plus tips. There are 13 employees, almost all who have been with LOCAL since it’s opening 3 years ago. Jason has also worked out an informal paid sick days policy where workers are encouraged to stay home sick and will still be able to earn their share of the tips. For the monolingual employees at LOCAL, Jason offers to pay for their ESL classes as well as pay them for their shifts to encourage them to learn English and move up in the restaurant industry.

How does this affect YOU, the consumer?  Would you want to eat a dish that was made by someone who was sick because he or she couldn't afford to take time off? I hope not...

When you dine at LOCAL, you are supporting not only locally sourced foods and our environment, but you are also supporting the workers who work in a restaurant that is setting a precedent in the industry. Not many large restaurant companies pay their cooks above $13 per hour even if they have been there for over 10 years. If LOCAL Restaurant can do it, so can rest of the larger industry.

LOCAL Restaurant

2943 W. Sunset Blvd.  in Silverlake

http://silverlakelocal.com/

Fighting for PAID SICK DAYS! Join us!

Join ROC-LA members and staff on a SICK WORKER RIDE from Downtown LA to La Cienega Blvd. and 18th Street to educate the public and other restaurant workers about the lack of PAID SICK DAYS. We will ride the Metro Rapid #733 Bus from Spring Street and 7th Street down Venice Blvd, then walk to the Farmers Market on La Cienega and 18th Street. While we ride the bus, we will hand out flyers and brochures on ROC-LA and educate commuters about our Paid Sick Days Campaign. We encourage everyone to wear restaurant worker attire and act and look "sick" by wearing a sign identifying oneself as a sick worker. Props will be provided.

SICK WORKER BUS RIDE
FROM DOWNTOWN LA TO LA CIENEGA FARMERS MARKET
Thursday, August 18, 2011
2:00pm to 5:30pm
 Start: Spring Street and 7th Street
End: La Cienega Blvd and 18th Street
PLEASE RSVP IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND.

New healthcare co-operative for ROC-LA members!

We're excited to announce that we are starting up our new, low-cost, national health care co-operative! ROC-LA is teaming up with St. John's Well Child and Family Center to start the Restaurant Worker Health Care Cooperative (RWHCC), offering our members access to primary care, dental care, mental health counseling and other services. This is the first restaurant worker health cooperative that provides more than primary care in the nation!

We have an orientation and an enrollment for the cooperative on  Tuesday, June 7th and every Tuesday in 2011 (RSVP IN ADVANCE IS REQUIRED - email cathy@rocunited.org to RSVP). For more information on the health care cooperative, please come at 11am for orientation. Enrollment is from 11:45am-1pm. Come to 634 S. Spring St, Los Angeles.

How the health care cooperative works:
- You pay $10 per month into the cooperative and will be able to access services such as physical exams, mental health counseling, or annual dental check-ups.
- Beginning July 1, 2011, you will be able to access services at any of the ten St. John's Well Child and Family Center locations.

To enroll:
- You must be a member of ROC-LA
- You must be currently working in a restaurant or actively be looking for a job at a restaurant
- You must pay ROC-LA membership dues and the health care co-operative dues

ROC-LA Policy Committee Meeting

 

 

 

Come get updates on state & federal policies affecting YOU & all restaurant workers! Take action & be part of the movement addressing the problems that affect YOU!

ROC-LA Policy Committee Meeting

Monday, May 16

11:30am-1:30pm

634 S. Spring Street

meeting will be held on the

mezzanine floor in the MACY'S ROOM

please r.s.v.p. roclosangeles@gmail.com

ROC-LA is selling shirts!

 

We're selling our new shirts! The shirts are from No-Sweat Apparel and they look awesome. And we've got a wide variety of sizes: Youth L, women's ribbed M/L/XL, Men's S/M/L/XL (E-mail Cathy to indicate size at cathy@rocunited.org). They're going for $15. You can buy one off Paypal or you can mail a check for $19 ($15 for the shirt, $4 for shipping) to us at

ROC-LA c/o MALDEF
634 S. Spring Street, #614,

Los Angeles, CA 90014

Make sure to let us know in your order what size you'd like. Please support us by rocking a ROC-LA shirt!

Report Release and Summit

Valentine's Day 2011 was an extremely exciting day for ROC-LA and all ROC affiliates. We released our first report, a comprehensive industry study of Los Angeles' restaurant industry, along with two ROC affiliates in Washington, D.C. and Miami, who also had reports for their cities. In other ROC affiliates including Chicago, NY, Detroit, and New Orleans, legislative visits to Congressional members were made to advocate for H.R. 634, WAGES Act, to increase the tipped minimum wage.  Our national day of action all took place on the same day to bring attention to the extremely low federal tipped minimum wage of $2.13. Although Valentine’s Day is the highest grossing day of the year for restaurants, many Los Angeles restaurant workers earn less than a median wage of $9.24. Can you live off $9.24 an hour or $15,000 a year while supporting a family? Despite the economic recession, the restaurant industry is growing. The National Restaurant Association recently reported earning $604 billion GDP! The living wage is possible and the industry is able to take the high road to profitability.

ROC-LA's report release at our Restaurant Industry Summit had a great turnout! 150 people showed up at Taix French Restaurant and the crowd was excited to hear about working conditions in LA's restaurants.

Our keynote speaker was Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund. Our panelists included Abel Valenzuela, Jr., Director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Urban Poverty, Robert Gottlieb, Director of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute of Occidental College, and co-author of Food Justice; and Jamie Dolkas, staff attorney at Equal Rights Advocates. We also had Jason Michaud, owner and chef of Local Restaurant in Silver Lake; Luis Hernandez, back of the house restaurant worker, and Nora Garcia, front of the house restaurant worker.

Behind the Kitchen Door: Inequality & Opportunity in Los Angeles, the Nation's Largest Restaurant Industry is the most comprehensive report ever conducted on the state of the restaurant industry in the County of Los Angeles. The report is based on over 562 surveys of restaurant workers and over 60 in-depth interviews with employers and workers, as well as government data analysis conducted with primary research support from UCLA’s Center for the Study of Urban Poverty.

Here's a link to download our full report or grab our shorter executive summary.

Some of our recommendations from the report are:

- Provide paid sick days and increase the minimum wage
- Incentivize high road practices and promote model employer practices
- Promote opportunity, penalize discrimination
- Combat sexual harassment
- Enforce health and safety laws
- Protect worker's right to organize
- Expand and improve bus services
- Expand LA's living wage ordinance to include restaurants that contract with the City of Los Angeles
- Support further industry research

On the same day, CA Assemblymember Fiona Ma reintroduced the Paid Sick Days Bill (AB 400) so workers in CA could earn and use paid sick days for personal illness, to care for a sick family member, or to recover from domestic violence or sexual assault. ROC-LA is part of a coalition to get this bill passed in the legislature and we're really working hard on this issue publicized and passed.

We had a lot of help putting the report and the summit together. ROC-LA wants to thank you all!

Here is just some press coverage of our summit. We'll keep updating this list so leave us a comment if you find any other articles.
- Daily Dish, LA Times Food Blog - New study expected to paint bleak picture of how L.A. restaurant workers are treated
- Squid Ink LA Weekly Food Blog - Behind the Kitchen Door: ROC-LA Report Reveals Restaurant Industry Inequality
- Colorlines - Don't Just Tip Your Waiter. Demand Equity for Restaurant Workers
- Grub Street - New Restaurant Labor Study Aims For The Heart of L.A.'s Dining Industry
- Notimex - Muestran en EUA complicado panorama para empleados de restaurantes
- Science Blogs
- LA Progressive - Behind the Kitchen Door

ROC-LA on Voices from the Front Line

Update: Here's a link to the audio archived interview. 

ROC-LA's Co-coordinator Mariana Huerta and ROC-United's co-director Saru Jayaraman talk about our Feb. 14th summit and ROC-LA's new report on the LA Restaurant industry. Thanks Voices from the Front Lines!

Check out ROC-LA on Voices from the Front Line tomorrow, TUESDAY, @ 4pm on 90.7KPFK. We'll be talking about our upcoming release of our report, Behind the Kitchen Doors: Inequality and Opportunity in Los Angeles, the Nation's Largest Restaurant Industry. Stay tuned! 

ROC's Affordable Health Insurance Plan

Nearly 90% of restaurant workers do not have health insurance. This leads to a large number of restaurant workers relying on emergency care as a form of healthcare.

ROC-United partnered with Aetna Health Insurance to develop an affordable health insurance plan for restaurant workers. The plan was selected by a group of restaurant workers from several ROC locals to offer low-cost access to a nationwide network of doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies and provides limited medical coverage.

Why should restaurant workers purchase this plan?

• Having the health insurance plan encourages restaurant workers to practice preventative care, which save costs in the long-run for the worker and to taxpayers. 
• Prevents chronic conditions from developing.
• This health insurance covers costly tests that workers would have to fork out hundreds of dollars otherwise. 

Single members, members +1, and families can be covered. For single members, the plan cost $35 per week with a total of $140 per month and a deductible of $100.  Co-pays are only $10 for retail clinic and $20 in-network. There are also coverage options for vision, dental, accident, hospital, and cancer.


This plan is not for workers who have chronic illnesses or need comprehensive services. However, we can help workers find other options.

Please contact ROC-LA if you have questions: infoROCLA@rocunited.org.

Restaurant Workers are Serving While Sick

Did you know that almost 87.7% of restaurant workers surveyed do not receive paid sick days, and 63% have cooked or served food while sick?

How would you like to get your food prepared, cocktail mixed, or dinner served by someone who showed up to work with a runny nose or fever? No, thank you!

ROC-LA is engaged in a fight to win Paid Sick Days for all workers in the state of California and throughout the United States. Having to work while sick not only sucks for workers, but it can create a public health hazard for consumers. Illness outbreaks due to contamination from sick workers is a reality and affects thousands of people every year.

Join us in the campaign to pass a law that will allow workers to recover from an illness or get medical attention when they are too ill to go to work. For more information about the campaign to win Paid Sick Days, check out Support Paid Sick Days.

Katie Couric recently brought up the Congress's Healthy Families Act, making an appeal to pass the law to provide workers with paid sick time off. It's a great clip so check it out: Katie Couric, CBS - Sick at Work

Tri-Prong Strategy to Raising LA's Restaurant Industry

Restaurant Opportunities Center of Los Angeles (ROC-LA) is one of seven locals under ROC-United. ROC's mission is to raise the standards in the restaurant industry and to improve the working conditions for restaurant workers. ROC-LA strives for our mission through ROC's tri-prong strategy:

• Workplace Justice Campaigns,
• building a high road roundtable of model employers,
• and research and policy.

Though ROC-LA is still young and only a year old, ROC-LA has accomplished much through ROC's tri-prong method. 

Workplace Justice Campaign -- ROC-LA models after the 9 successful campaigns of ROC-NY that won $5 million in stolen wages and discrimination claims. ROC-LA is committed to  developing worker leadership, building power and creating consequences for employers who are violating workers' labor rights. 

High Road Roundtable -- ROC-LA has developed a preliminary list of potential high road employers. ROC-LA wants to develop relationships with restaurants that treat workers right (going beyond the minimum wage) and have sustainable practices. ROC-LA is committed to promoting high road employers as a model for the industry. ROC-LA will hold our second high road employer roundtable in February with some notable high profile Los Angeles employers.

Research and Policy --  ROC-LA conducted 562 worker surveys, 33 employer and 30 worker interviews in less than one year. The report will be released at the Restaurant Industry Summit on February 14 from 8:30am to 11am at Taix Restaurant. ROC-LA's Policy Committee drives the policy work of the organization. The Committee members selected Paid Sick Days as a legislation to pursue in California. Staff and members have met with coalition members of the Work and Family Coalition in Sacramento to strategize so that we will finally win this campaign. Paid Sick Days legislation would allow workers to accumulate 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. For the restaurant industry, this is a serious public health issue.

ROC-LA is still a young organization, but we are growing stronger every day. With nearly 600,000 restaurant workers in LA metro, we are growing 600,000 strong to transform LA's restaurant industry.

We hope you learned a little more about ROC-LA!