Above photo: New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez rallies with fired Domino’s workers. (By Ydanis Rodriguez)
In response to last week’s strike by fast food workers, Manhattan Domino’s Pizza provided acrystal-clear example of why fast food workers are striking and organizing for better wages and working conditions:
Employees of a Washington Heights Domino’s claim they were fired from their delivery jobs after complaining to management about unfair wages. Workers at the 181st street chain participated in last Thursday’s nationwide walkout in solidarity with the country’s underpaid fast food workers, which included strong numbers of workers and supporters in New York City. Following the walkout, delivery workers—who are paid under $6 an hour and rely on tips to make a living wage—were asked to work extended hours inside the restaurant but were not offered increased hourly pay for their time inside the store. After bringing the issue to management’s attention, the 24 employeeswere fired.
To recap: Some workers staged a walkout because of inadequate pay. Management’s response was to get other workers to work at below the minimum wage to keep the store staffed. And when they complained—about something illegal, mind you—they were fired.
Wage theft is very common at New York City fast food outlets, with 84 percent of workerssaying they’ve experienced things like being forced to work off the clock, not being paid overtime, or, as in this case, being made to work at the tipped worker minimum wage while doing work that won’t get them any tips. And given how common these forms of lawbreaking are, it’s clear that corporate management tacitly condones wage theft.