Saturday, March 26th, 2011

DNAinfo reports that a workers’ rights group is gathering people at Saigon Grill (Amsterdam at 90th) today to launch a “sweatshop-free” campaign.  Justice Will Be Served will hold a rally today starting at 1:00 pm, using Saigon Grill as an example where labor problems like age discrimination and retaliation against workers who have unionized have persisted and asking other neighborhood businesses to “pledge” to be “sweatshop-free,” meaning an adherence to labor laws.  “Some folks might say sweatshop is too strong a term, but I would say that wage and hour violations shouldn’t be tolerated, and ‘sweatshop’ is shorthand for that,” said Eric Dirnbach, a volunteer for the sweatshop-free campaign who also works for a construction union.  Saigon Grill has been at the center of labor troubles on the Upper West Side after workers pushed to improve conditions starting in 2007, leading to a guilty verdict for owners in 2008, a change of ownership, and ongoing protests and boycotts due to continuing labor problems since December 2010.  Saigon Grill’s attorney, Eric Su, said no labor problems exist at the restaurant.

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Tags: Eric Dirnbach, Eric Su, Food & Drink, Going Out, Justice Will Be Served, Labor Rights, Labor Unions, News, Protest, Protesters, Rally, Restaurants, Saigon Grill, Unions, Workers, Workers' Rights Group