As shareholders of Darden Restaurants, the world’s largest full-service restaurant company, met behind closed doors at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando Wednesday, worker-led groups in the food industry from across the country rallied to demand livable wages and benefits.
Members of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United), OUR Walmart, Organize Now, Central Florida Jobs with Justice, Florida New Majority, among others, called on Darden to stop their lobbying efforts fighting against minimum wage increases and the federally tipped minimum wage of $2.13 per hour, frozen since 1991.
“Darden lobbies to keep the tipped wage for its workers at $2.13 per hour, the lowest paying in America, and we are here today to say we are not going to put up with this anymore,” said Saru Jayaraman, co-founder of ROU United.
Jayaraman added that, restaurant workers who put food on tables, use food stamps at double the rate of the rest of the U.S. workforce, which means that they themselves cannot afford to eat.
At today’s rally, the “Living Off Tips” campaign was publicly unveiled. The online campaign encourages tipped restaurant workers across the country to tell their stories, in order to generate support for raising the tipped minimum wage, stuck at $2.13 for the last 22 years.
But workers who rallied also had tips and questions of their own for Darden:
- What if you just paid your workers a fair wage?
- Instead of unlimited soup and salad, what about unlimited sick days for workers?
- Can your children live off $2.13 an hour?
- How do you expect to get any respect when you pay $2.13 an hour?
- Shame on you, Darden; shame on you.
- Until Darden does the right think we will be back.
Jayaraman said, the fight has just begun and with the launch of the new campaign – Living Off Tips – it is her view that Darden is beginning to realize that the workers are not going to give up and not going anywhere.
Because Bill Simon, the President and CEO of Walmart US, is a member of Darden’s Board of Directors, Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) also had a message for Darden and Walmart.
“We’re here today to call on Mr. Simon to publicly commit to have Walmart raise their poverty wages and end the company’s illegal retaliation against OUR Walmart members who are standing up on the job,” said Johnathan LaFavor, a Walmart Associate and member of OUR Walmart. “Given Walmart’s long history of violating workers’ most basic rights on the jobs, it is troubling to us that Darden would want to seek counsel from Mr. Simon. Darden employees and shareholders deserve better.”
Timothy Murray of Organize Now, believes that the ground is shifting and progress is being made.
“Folks have come from all around the state and country to stand up to the Darden shareholders and to put forth the human side of the story,” he said. “There’s a real face to this problem and the folks are making $2.13 per hour, going to work sick because they have to, and not able to provide adequately for their families.”
Murray added that companies like Darden, Disney and Walmart are making huge profits off the backs of their workers.
“The major turnout of workers today demonstrates that we won’t take it anymore. It shows that workers are not afraid to stand up for what is right,” he said.
Meanwhile, Darden Restaurants reported net earnings from continuing operations of $476.5 million in fiscal 2012; Disney’s profits soared by 18% and a company record to almost $5.7 billion in fiscal 2012 and Walmart, the world’s largest retailer reported profits of $15.7 billion.
