Twenty-two restaurant workers were served a slice of justice as they fought for and won a three-year battle for a settlement to recover stolen wages, tips, penalties, and interest owed to them by Z & Y Restaurant.

This is a major victory for many reasons, but most notably because it brings heightened awareness to a practice of undercutting and exploiting immigrants and black and brown workers with seemingly no expectation of consequence. This settlement is a step in the right direction toward ensuring accountability and fair and equitable treatment of people that supported us as essential workers through the pandemic, at the risk of their own health and wellness.

The hospitality industry has largely rejected the notion of labor unions for years, even though these are the very organizations that may have offered protections for the workers in this scenario. As a result worker centers were created and have been instrumental in winning rights and raising standards for workers employed in low-wage industries. I encourage you to visit the link below to learn more about the history of Worker Centers and the powerful impact they continue to make.

We are proud of the role the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA). played in this enormous victory. CPA, a member of ReWork the Bay’s Equity at Work Council, is a nonprofit organization that has remained committed to the empowerment and education of the low-income and working-class immigrant community in San Francisco since the 1970s. CPA’s Tenant Worker Center programs include wage theft case support, hospitality job training program, community education and outreach, grassroots leadership development, and policy advocacy.

Read more about Worker Centers here:
Worker Centers: Past, Present, and Future by Laine Romero-Alston, Sarita Gupta

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