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.