Over 100 restaurants in New York City have joined the “Solidarity Restaurants” coalition launched Friday by One Fair Wage and Presente, seeking to protect restaurant workers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and advocate for a higher minimum wage amid threats to federal support.
One Fair Wage, a nonprofit organization advocating for workers’ rights and a higher minimum wage, and Presente, an organizing group focused on empowering Latinx communities, decided to launch the coalition to provide legal resources to restaurant workers and owners facing detention by ICE and educate those in the industry about their rights in the workplace. The organizations held the official launch event at Bistro Casa Azul, a restaurant in East Harlem.
Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs Manuel Castro attended the event and spoke about the importance of protecting restaurant workers amid increased threats from the federal government.
“I know firsthand the importance role our local businesses, our food service sector, and frankly all the industries that rely on the immigrant labor force, I know the important role that they play not just in making sure that immigrant communities have access to a workplace, but also to be strong advocates for immigrant communities when they need it,” Castro said.
Saru Jayaraman, the president and co-founder of One Fair Wage, said that efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to crack down on immigration and to pass a reconciliation bill seeking to slash health benefits is hitting the restaurant industry particularly hard.
“‘Solidarity Restaurants’ is a campaign of restaurant owners, particularly small restaurant owners, standing up in solidarity and with courage for their restaurant employees who are under attack from many different sides,” Jayaraman said.
In New York City, ICE has used increasingly aggressive tactics in its pursuit of detaining immigrants, often conducting raids masked and in plain clothes at federal immigration court houses as individuals leave their hearings. The restaurant industry employs more immigrants than any other industry in New York City, and “Solidarity Restaurants” is seeking to provide enough resources to help people feel safe and supported at the workplace.
One Fair Wage and Presente have teamed up with St. John’s Community Health to offer free Telehealth services and benefits counseling to help restaurant workers who have lost Medicaid support, Jayaraman said. One Fair Wage is also providing training, technical assistance, and loans to small restaurants seeking to raise worker wages. The organizations are providing signage to restaurants in New York and around the country reading “employees only beyond this point” to mark areas of a restaurant’s property that would require immigration officers to produce a judicial warrant to enter and make an arrest.
Most states, including New York, have a lower minimum wage for restaurant workers due to the assumption that restaurant workers will make up the difference with tips. For years, One Fair Wage has pushed state legislators to advocate for full minimum wage for restaurant workers “with tips on top.”
“We know that in this moment of attack, blue states like New York have an opportunity to support these workers and provide them with what they need most, and frankly have needed for 150 years, which is a full minimum wage with tips on top,” Jayaraman said. “New York is behind, but New York can catch up, and that is why we are so proud to be standing with these solidarity restaurants today.”
Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas (D-Queens) is sponsoring legislation in State Assembly to raise the minimum wage for restaurant workers in New York. Jayaraman said she is hopeful about the legislation and that state legislators have been responsive to concerns from the restaurant industry.
At Friday’s launch, Jayaraman introduced Matt Nelson, the executive director of Presente, who said that the threats facing restaurants and restaurant workers are inherently a threat to community well-being.
“Every restaurant is its own thriving community, and that’s why ‘Solidarity Restaurants’ is not just a commitment, but it is the recipe,” Nelson said. “It is a recipe to get us through the constant attacks that are happening in our communities. But they won’t happen here if we’re in solidarity.”
Nelson commended the 100 restaurants that have already joined the coalition and called on other restaurants to sign on to strengthen the movement’s efforts. Anjana Malhotra, a senior attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, said it’s essential that restaurant owners know best practices to protect themselves from ICE raids, which are “pushing against the limits of the law.”
Malhotra noted that though ICE is allowed into public spaces, officers must have a warrant signed by a judge in order to gain access to private property, like kitchens and staff rooms in restaurants.
“If ICE comes to a restaurant, a restaurant owner should make sure to ask about the scope, check the warrant, make sure it’s signed by a judge and not by ICE, and not consent to ICE entering into private spaces where workers may be,” Malhotra said. “A restaurant owner is not required to tell ICE agents where a worker is.”
Friday’s launch concluded with a panel of three restaurant owners moderated by journalist Maria Hinojosa, a longtime friend of Jayaraman. Hinojosa is the founder, president, and CEO of Futuro Media Group. The panel of restaurant owners included Maria Gonzalez-Arrieta and Lou Martins, the owners of Bistro Casa Azul, and Bo Pederson, the owner of First NYC.
Martins emphasized that protecting restaurant workers from ICE raids and paying workers a livable wage is not just a responsibility of restaurant owners, but that it is in the best interest of owners themselves.
“We can’t operate an ongoing business if turnover rips us apart every few weeks or months,” Martins said. “I don’t want to tell any other business owner how to run their business, but there shouldn’t be the ability for anyone to abuse or pay so little for working.”
