fair pay

&pizza is a company that has been, and will continue to be, built on the shoulders of our employees. Fair pay is a vital ingredient to our company’s success, culture, and the wellbeing of all 490 members of what we call our “tribe.” That is why we provide a starting wage significantly above the minimum. On Nov. 8, ballot measures raising the minimum wage passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington state. And earlier this year, we strongly supported the passage of Washington D.C.’s minimum wage increase. Those increases are excellent progress, but more must be done. We plan on being...

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Last year Jesus Serrato Zuniga and Maria Mendez Zuniga, owners of La Iguana restaurant near Corpus Christi, Texas, fired a cook of 13 years, believing the employee had complained to federal authorities and sparked an investigation that uncovered the Zunigas had been shorting their workers to the tune of $25,000. It’s illegal to retaliate against workers who speak up about not being paid what they are owed. Federal law protects those who file wage complaints with the U.S. Department of Labor and cooperate with its investigations. Unfortunately, many workers face retaliation whether they’ve...

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Desiree Montgomery took a housekeeping job in a St. Louis motel to try to make ends meet, and was paid just $1 per room. Her employer required her to live at the motel so she could be on call to clean as rooms turned over. This meant she was often working 10 to 15 hours a day, six days a week. Initially she was paid in cash and often made as little as $15 a day. When the employer did start issuing checks, she took home up to $250 on a good week, averaging under $4 an hour − far less than the minimum wage. "The things I had to do for the money were ridiculous,” Desiree said, referring to...

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James Mallios with Amali staff I grew up in a Greek community in Flushing, Queens, and was one of only three children in my grade school class whose father did not own a diner. So perhaps it was only natural – my destiny? – that I would switch from practicing law to running a restaurant. From the start, I knew restaurants operated differently than other businesses. We often clarify that it is the " restaurant business," not just "business.” The subtext is that there is no tougher business, and I think this is true. My restaurant, Amali, has received a number of national and regional awards. I...

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Alia Todd (left) with coworker Hayley Ingram. Last fall, I asked the president a question: What else could be done to help restaurant workers like me as we organize for better standards? I didn’t know if he would even see it. Then, on the evening of Oct. 7, my phone began to ding with text messages from friends and family while I was at work. The White House had hosted a Summit on Worker Voice that day, and President Obama had answered my question. Here’s why I asked it. I am a restaurant worker. I have been a server, bartender and pastry chef in restaurants around the Southeast for 18 years...

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It was the last week of August ten years ago. Do you remember what you were doing? Were you eagerly waiting for that first day of autumn? Were you getting ready to send the kids back to school? You might have been doing all those things, but like most Americans–and the world–you were probably also glued to your television, watching the news coverage of Hurricane Katrina. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division staff of the New Orleans District Office did not watch the devastation unfold from the comfort of their living rooms—they lived it. Just like the New Orleanians they...

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