"The status quo in restaurants is that anything goes as long as the guests are happy, and I've personally witnessed some unfair treatment, a little bit of cultural insensitivity," says Pablo Zuniga, a server at Le Diplomate. "Having a union would place us in a better position to have mutual respect from management, no matter your background, no matter your race, your gender identity, or your language."
"Our day-to-day staff - the people in the kitchens, on the floor, and behind the bar - are the lifeblood of St. Anselm, Le Diplomate and Pastis. We recognize that it's only with them and their incredible work ethic that we've been able to achieve such success. We take pride in the benefits, professional workplace, and growth opportunities our workers enjoy, and we believe that's why we have a stellar reputation in the industry, with many of our employees staying with us for years and growing as we grow," a representative for Starr Restaurants says in a written statement.
Paul Schwalb, the executive secretary-treasurer of Unite Here Local 25, says workers from both restaurant groups approached the union around the same time last year, and interest in unionizing spread as they talked to others in their sister restaurants. In his decades-long career, Schwalb says he's never seen this scale of restaurant workers mobilizing before to form unions.
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