The New Silver Palace Restaurant workers, NMASS
and supporters have been picketing several days a week, every
week since 1997 to put an end to tip-stealing, long hours, illegal
firings and other sweatshop conditions. Now the workers have won
big in court, monetarily and legally. For the first time ever,
a RICO suit (anti-racketeering suit) was used by workers against
their employers, to fight sweatshop conditions. Twelve individuals
were successfully sued as employers, for conspiring to extort
tips from 17 New Silver Palace Workers.
Monetarily the workers reached an agreement --
under the oversight of the judge -- with 9 out of the 12 New Silver
Palace employers for a $500,000 settlement. Now the three remaining
employers will be held responsible for a couple of million dollars
in stolen tips and wages the workers are still owed, and they
will have to pay.
More importantly than this monetary victory, the
case will have a broad legal impact. First, Federal Disctrict
Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein wrote a decision in which he
explicitly reaffirms that under New York State labor law, in cases
where employers did not pay workers the minimum wage, workers
are not only able to sue the company but are also able to sue
employers individually. This is important because many employers
who break labor laws try to file for bankruptcy in order to avoid
responsibility. This decision means that these scofflaw employers
will still have to pay what they owe, but as individuals. Also,
for the first time, the court ruled that workers can sue employers
in federal court if workers have been retaliated against for organizing
to fight for the minimum wage -- even if the workers also have
a case before the National Labor Relations Board.
This decision will help all workers who want to
organize and pursue stolen tips, unpaid wages or back wages.
Since the settlement, more restaurant workers have
come forward to organize and take legal action against their employers.
New Silver Palace Restaurant Workers and their
supporters have not stopped their picket after this victory. They
continue to picket in front of the Eastbank to expose how the
bank, the restaurant's landlord, and the New Silver Palace Restaurant
colluded to steal their hard-earned money. The picket line may
be the longest one in the history of New York - going on 6 years.
Help push forward this important effort to end sweatshop conditions
in the restaurants and to build a new labor movement -- join the
workers at their picket at East Bank.
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