Workers at the Alouette Bistro in northwestern Portland are on strike and union because of “lack of support” from owner Wei-En Tan (Stem Wine Bar).
On Monday, July 18, a group of employees named Alouette United posted a statement on Instagram, announcing their intention to unite to explain their work experience at Alouette. “Success in the first six weeks is a testament to the skill and professionalism of our staff,” Instagram reads. “This success came at the expense of our physical and mental health. Therefore, we recognize that this business model is unsustainable and needs change.
Frontline workers and white-collar workers Adrian Gronendik and Kali Krasik, respectively, said the union’s decisions were overly long due to lack of guidance and support from owners and chronic staff shortages, respectively. I attributed it to work weeks and security issues in the restaurant that caused my health. Problems between staff. Alouette is one of Portland’s many restaurant and food service companies with which it has recently partnered, from the first federal-approved fast food union in Burgerville to the trade union at the vegan restaurant Myrisata. Recognizing the unsustainable expectations of working in the COVID-19 pandemic and restaurant business, the increase in national unions has led to issues of workplace safety and work-life balance and personnel in the food and beverage industry in particular. I have been working on it. In contrast to franchises and chains like Starbucks and Voodoo Donuts, the rise of unions in small restaurants is a rather rare phenomenon in the Portland restaurant industry.
Opened May 27th in northwestern Portland, Alouette offers a carefully selected menu by Sunshine Noodles chef owner Diane Lam. According to Tan, Lamb was hired to help design the menu and launch the business, but he didn’t intend to continue his practical role. “She wanted her next leader to be separated from the business and not involved, because that’s the way to make the new leader shine,” Tan said in a statement. “I had an entrepreneurial spirit to take command of Alouette and always planned. The idea is to start with everyone, but once the menu is set and the problem is solved, it doesn’t exist in operation. ..
However, Groenendyk and Krajcik explained that they understand Lamb as the head chef of a restaurant that creatively manages the structure of menus and kitchens. Both employees say they didn’t feel much leadership or guidance from Ram or Tan, especially during work. According to employees, restaurants are understaffed both in front of and behind the house, which means that many employees work more than 60 hours a week. The restaurant does not employ cooks. That is, the chef stays at both the cooking service and the dinner. “Since we started, we haven’t had enough staff behind the house,” says Groenendyk. “The salary is good for 40 hours a week, but above 60, it’s not worth it.”
In a statement to Eater Portland, Tan and Lamb said staff had “referenced” the lack of a dishwasher during these weeks of surgery, but of the team designated for preparation. No concerns have been raised about the need for members. “If they were talking to us about getting it, we would have been talking to them about it,” wrote Tan and Ram.
Groenendyk and Krajcik say that due to the small staff of the restaurant, many employees work on days when the restaurant is not open. That is, employees work for days in a row without interruption. “They asked me to work every day. I remember working 13 out of 14 days off,” Krajcik says. “Our boss didn’t want anyone to work overtime, but they asked us to work every day.” Tan and Ram said some team members said, “They themselves. Even if they feel that they are “concerned about their welfare,” they suggest that they have asked for overtime to see which management is paying “without problems.”
Lam admitted that he could have held the manager overly responsible when the restaurant opened, creating challenges within the restaurant. “It probably put stress on the work environment because I couldn’t complete part of his training in the first place, but moving forward allowed me to take on qualified leadership on his behalf,” Ram said. Is writing.
Groenendyk and Krajcik say Lam rarely appears in the kitchen outside the soft launch period and often eats out. They also say that Tan rarely works during restaurant service, which has caused confusion among staff regarding wine menus and staffing. Instead, Groenendyk and Krajcik say they frequently met Lam and Tan as clients. “In the end, the biggest complaint was that the owner ate at the facility but didn’t work during the service or support the employees,” says Krajcik.
(Tan argues that he doesn’t contribute to the business, arriving around 7am, working on wine inventory and menus, and saying that eating out gives “very generous” hints. )
Another problem that often causes employee dissatisfaction is the condition of the building, especially the air conditioning is not working. “I didn’t realize there was no air conditioning until the middle of the last heat wave,” says Krajcik. “When we knew the heat wave was coming, we decided not to get together and open.” Tan asked Krajcik to put together a quote for repair options when he learned about the failure of the air conditioner unit. After listening to the employee’s request, he says he closed the restaurant.
Earlier this month, Tan decided to demote Classic from a manager to a front desk clerk because he made a mistake in payroll, tipping, and other administrative tasks, including those related to air conditioning replacement. After Krajcik’s demotion, employees wrote to management, announced a decision to petition the National Labor Relations Commission for union elections, and shared a list of complaints, including concerns about time and work allocation. Groenendyk called Lamand Tan’s answer “disappointment,” and on July 16th, employees decided to go on strike. “The frustration was so deep that most of my colleagues at the reception just wanted to leave,” says Groenendyk.
When an Alouette employee tried to book on the restaurant’s website after launching a strike, he noticed that the company was closed for repairs. Employees considered this decision a temporary layoff and anti-union tactic, as the closure could take weeks. They say management does not share details that allow them to apply for unemployment if the deal is closed. “They seem to be trying to get us out voluntarily,” says Groenendyk.
Mr Tan said in an email that the staging of compensation stopped long before the strike and was not an attempt to bankrupt the union. “In addition to the lack of open communication in advance, we needed time to deal with water and structural damage, and at the same time we needed to repair the restaurant, forcing us to close it,” Tan wrote. increase.
In general, Tan was angry at how the union communicated its needs. In particular, the union relies heavily on revolutionary language, and at one point poet and musician Anthony Joseph states that “the rich are defeated only when they run for their lives.” To tell. “I think the union is being used as a weapon against small business owners who are in debt and literally opened a restaurant six weeks ago, especially when open communication was not attempted before the union’s efforts. No, “he declared.
But for Groenendyk, the decision to form a union did not come from the desire to attack or harm the company, but from efforts to solidarity with colleagues and improve the company as a whole. “We’ve already received some backlash from’damaging small businesses’,” he says. “Our goal is to create a sustainable business. People think that small business owners are” creators of work, “but it’s up to us. Solidarity was our driving force. “
Correction: July 20, 2022 1:11 pm This article has been corrected to indicate that Alouette opened on May 27.