For Immediate Release:
Brandworkers International
Workplace Justice Campaign to ‘Tame Wild Edibles’ Advances
New York, NY- Embattled seafood wholesaler and retailer, Wild Edibles, has suffered another setback with a top-rated restaurant group indicating that it has stopped purchasing seafood from the company and confirming that it will not do so unless workers’ rights are respected. The move by Danny Meyer’s highly regarded Union Square Hospitality Group, which includes perennial Zagat #1 Union Square Café, comes just a week after Jean Denoyer’s La Goulue cut ties with Wild Edibles over concerns regarding workers’ rights violations. Keith McNally’s Pastis and its affiliated restaurants previously disassociated with Wild Edibles.
Last September, employees filed a large federal class action lawsuit against Wild Edibles, alleging systematic denial of overtime pay and a campaign of retaliation from management after employees joined the IWW labor union and asserted their right to payment according to the law. Wild Edibles owner Richard Martin has discharged ten of the workers who had the courage to stand up for a just workplace.
“Guests can rest assured that the Union Square Hospitality Group will not be serving seafood from labor rights violator Wild Edibles,” said Daniel Gross, the founding director of Brandworkers. “We look forward to discussing the workers’ efforts to achieve fairness on the job with the remaining Wild Edibles customers.”
The Union Square Hospitality Group includes Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, Blue Smoke and Jazz Standard, Shake Shack, The Modern, Café 2, Terrace 5, and Hudson Yards Catering.
Brandworkers International is a non-profit organization providing legal, advocacy, and organizing support to retail and food employees across the supply chain. By empowering working families with social change tools, Brandworkers increases employer compliance with the law and improves working conditions throughout the supply chain. The Brandworkers Focus on the Food Chain initiative enables the mostly immigrant food warehouse workers in Brooklyn and Queens to rise above poverty and abuse.
###