Ariel Stevenson
Conscientious eaters
are expert interrogators. They barrage their servers with well-meaning
questions, like: Is it local? Is it organic? Is it fair trade? Did it descend
from a proud heirloom lineage never sullied by human design? The server will smile,
answer, perhaps even agree. It probably never crosses his mind that the saintly
diner before him forgot one very important question: Are you being treated
fairly?
Restaurant
Opportunity Centers United is
working to bring this issue to the front of eaters’ minds with the First Annual ROC Diners Guide. The Guide helps conscientious diners
support restaurants with admirable labor policies, and avoid those that exploit
workers. It looks at wages, paid sick leave policies, discrimination, and
opportunities for workplace advancement. Though it isn’t comprehensive just
yet—it focuses on restaurants in eight major cities and analyzes either national
corporations or ROC partner restaurants—it’s a good start to raise awareness of
what heretofore has gone all but unnoticed on the food justice movement agenda.
The end of the guide features “tip
cards” that diners can leave on tables to promote labor rights among restaurant
workers. The cards say things like, “You are entitled to… [o]vertime pay of 1½
times your regular pay for every hour worked over 40 hours in a given week.” That
way, even if you’re forced to eat at a restaurant that doesn’t earn the highest
ROC rating—which is inevitable since so few restaurants satisfy even a modicum
of fair labor standards—you can advance workers’ rights by educating your server.
And don’t forget, a generous tip goes a
long way.