“A WIN FOR WORKERS EVERYWHERE” GENWA KOREAN BBQ IMMIGRANT EMPLOYEES ANNOUNCE NEW UNION AND GROUNDBREAKING FIRST CONTRACT
As national wave of labor organizing takes flight, immigrant workers and worker centers start new chapter for post COVID-19 labor movement
LOS ANGELES, CA — After a five-year organizing drive stemming from a massive case of wage theft and labor violations, workers at upscale Los Angeles-area restaurant Genwa Korean BBQ announced the formation of a union and the signing of their first contract. The California Retail & Restaurant Worker Union (CRRWU) was established with the support of the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), a multi-racial, multi-industry worker center based in LA.
“Workers who were told they were essential but were treated as sacrificial throughout the pandemic won’t put up with that treatment any longer,” said Alexandra Suh, Executive Director of KIWA. “They’re organizing and they’re winning. Genwa employees are returning to work with new benefits and protections. They are a call to workers in small businesses everywhere— with collective action, no one has to accept being treated as disposable, no matter who they are or where they work.”
“This is a really groundbreaking contract for this type of restaurant—and there’s nowhere else in America where restaurant workers are forming new unions and winning first contracts,” said José-Roberto Hernández, President, California Retail & Restaurant Workers Union, and the organizing director of KIWA. “Winning the union at Genwa shows a way that the whole sector can move past the all-too-common substandard workplace conditions in the restaurant industry. And the people showing the way are the exact workers who brought our cities through the pandemic at great cost.”
The three-year collective bargaining agreement between Genwa and the CRRWU covers the Genwa locations in downtown Los Angeles, Mid-Wilshire, and Beverly Hills. It establishes the following conditions and benefits, as well as others: rehiring of Genwa employees who were on staff as of February 2020; seniority rights; pay increases for the kitchen staff; a CalSavers retirement plan; stipend contribution and reimbursement for healthcare; fair tip distribution system; a process for conflict resolution; paid vacation and additional paid time off for all employees over set monthly hour thresholds.
“I’m proud of the work we did to win this union, and I’m proud that now, sexual harassment and gender diversity training will be part of the experience of workers at Genwa,” said Rebecca Nathan, a former hostess and bartender at Genwa. Nathan experienced harassment and tip theft while at Genwa, and participated in the establishment of the CRRWU. “In a place like Los Angeles, this is so important. We’re one of the food capitals of the country. How we treat our workers really reflects on the way that we feel as a society, about humans, and value.”
Beginning in 2017, Genwa workers approached KIWA with help addressing widespread abuses at their workplaces. Korean front-of-house workers initiated discussions, soon bringing in back-of-house Latinx workers and learning from them about the abusive, disrespectful and unsafe conditions in the kitchen. KIWA helped them bring a case to the California Labor Commissioner, who investigated.
The most rampant labor violations were wage theft and lack of proper meal or rest breaks as required by law. Management forced workers to leave and return to work without following split-shift laws. Servers were also forced to attend quarterly meetings without pay, even on their scheduled days off. The initial citation by the Labor Commissioner found that nearly half of the workers were not paid the required minimum hourly wage, while more than half were shorted on overtime pay and not provided proper itemized wage statements. Additionally, workers reported serious safety issues in the kitchen, including excessive heat, and the use of cleaning acid for metal grills that resulted in one dishwasher going blind.
As the investigation wound on, COVID struck, and Genwa shut down, laying off its entire workforce. During this time, Genwa workers, joined by KIWA, raised the prospect of organizing a union in order to extend the correction of abuses into an organization that could maintain respect and dignity in the workplace beyond any decision by the Labor Commissioner’s Office.
“Every employee was laid off at the beginning of the pandemic, and we stuck together, without income or any guarantee we’d ever get our jobs back,” said server Elise*. “Now I’m working at Genwa as I prepare for my future. We all deserve to be able to support our dreams without worrying about racism, about tip theft, about unequal treatment. I’m hopeful that the union can make that real for us at Genwa.”
Privately owned by Jin Won Kwon and Jay B. Kwon, Genwa Korean BBQ is consistently named among L.A.’s best restaurants. Between the three locations, it has employed up to 325 servers, hosts, dishwashers, cooks, and other workers.
“The wave of union organizing at Starbucks, Amazon, and at Fast Food restaurants reflects a new movement among workers to demand better wages and working conditions, especially during the pandemic,” said Kent Wong, the director of the UCLA Labor Center. “The Genwa worker organizing victory will serve as an inspiration to other restaurant workers in Los Angeles and across the country.”
