A workers’ center based in New York City that uses protests and other union-organizing tactics to push for an increase in the minimum wage was sued by some of its own employees.
The reason: failing to pay them.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New York, eight former employees of the Restaurant Opportunity Centers United alleged they were abused and exploited by the organization. The 2007 lawsuit, though ultimately unsuccessful, sought back pay and other compensation from the organization.
The lawsuit was dismissed in 2007 because a federal judge ruled the plaintiffs didn’t meet the legal definition of being employees.
“The allegations here are the same ones they throw at restaurants all the time — poor treatment of employees and low pay,” said Mike Paranzino, spokesman for ROC Exposed, a group critical of the workers’ center.
Read the rest at Watchdog.org.