‘SANCTUARY RESTAURANTS’ MOVEMENT LAUNCHES TO PROMOTE HATE– AND DISCRIMINATION– FREE WORKPLACES
ROC United, Presente.org, COLORS Restaurants, and Other Restaurants Announce the Sanctuary Restaurants Movement To Resist Hate And Harassment In Restaurant Industry
New York–A joint project of ROC United and Presente.org, with participation by COLORS Restaurants and dozens of others around the nation, the Sanctuary Restaurants movement offers support and resources to restaurant workers, employers and consumers impacted by hostile policies and actions, including immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQI people and others.
Sanctuary Restaurants:
– Do not allow any harassment of any individual based on immigrant/refugee status, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation to occur in their restaurant
– Place a prominent “SANCTUARY RESTAURANTS: A Place At the Table for Everyone” sign in the establishment
– Offer or obtain informational support through ROC United
– Participate in a peer network to exchange ideas and strategies for protecting targeted workers
– Experience increased patronage and support through a outreach partnership between ROC United and Presente.org
“In full partnership with Presente.org, we are launching Sanctuary Restaurants because restaurant workers are on the front lines of discrimination and hate in America. While the restaurant industry suffers from a labor shortage, anti-immigrant and sexist rhetoric is now commonplace. Sanctuary Restaurants seeks to create the world we want – establishments free from hate and discrimination, where everyone has a seat at the table,” says ROC United Co-founder and Co-director Saru Jayaraman.
“The stakes have never been higher and wherever others normalize white supremacy and hate, we will organize and resist,” explains Matt Nelson, Executive Director, Presente.org. “The Sanctuary Restaurant Movement will provide protections for targeted workers and elevate and celebrate restaurants that commit to resist the draconian, anti-immigration efforts of the incoming administration. Presente.org is excited to partner with ROC United on this ambitious plan to organize and empower Latinxs to take a stand against xenophobia and hate across the country.”
Read the open letter to President-elect Trump from ROC’s restaurant industry peer group RAISE and signed by restaurant owners and industry leaders at http://rocunited.org/2016/11/r
More about the Sanctuary Restaurants movement:
Dozens of restaurants have signed on to be a safe space, with a zero tolerance policy for racism, sexism or xenophobia. Sanctuary Restaurants believe that there is a place at the table for everyone. Find a sanctuary restaurant online at www.sanctuaryrestaurants.org,
Co-founded by leading workers’ rights advocate Saru Jayaraman (“One of the top 50 most influential people in the restaurant industry” – Nation’s Restaurant News), ROC United has 18,000 worker-members, 200 restaurant employer members, and several thousand consumer members in 15 states in the U.S., winning 15 worker-led campaigns, recovering $10 million in stolen tips and wages. Read more about Saru Jayaraman’s new book Forked: A New Standard for American Dining at forkedthebook.com
Presente.org is the largest national Latinx online organization advancing social justice with technology, media, and culture.
