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To Show Solidarity, Local Restaurants Announce Discounts for Union Workers. What They Didn't Say, though...
Cognitive dissonance alert: A group of local restaurant and nightclub owners, including David Meinert (5 Point Cafe, Big Mario's Pizza), Mike McConnel (Caffe Vita, Via Tribunali), and Marcus Charles (the Crocodile, the Juju, Moe Bar) announced today that they'll be offering a 15 percent discount to all union members throughout the month of May.
In a press release, Meinert called union members "the backbone of the middle class," without which "businesses could not survive."
What Meinert didn't mention was that none of the restaurants and nightclubs on the list are unionized (a fact he confirmed in an email). Non-union restaurant workers, in other words, will be providing discounted food and services to unionized workers who make more and have better benefits than they do.
[pullquote]In an email, Meinert said there was nothing hypocritical about celebrating unionization while running non-union restaurants.[/pullquote]
In a follow up email to PubliCola, Meinert said there was nothing hypocritical about celebrating unionization while running non-union restaurants.
"Unions have been at the forefront of creating healthy workplaces and rights for workers that most businesses now take as normal," Meinert wrote. "Many small businesses follow the examples of Unions in offering like benefits, and most progressives, whether or not they or their employees are Union members, work on the same side of most issues. As a business owner and a citizen, I want to find ways to work with Unions and their membership, as I think we have similar world views."
In a press release, Meinert called union members "the backbone of the middle class," without which "businesses could not survive."
What Meinert didn't mention was that none of the restaurants and nightclubs on the list are unionized (a fact he confirmed in an email). Non-union restaurant workers, in other words, will be providing discounted food and services to unionized workers who make more and have better benefits than they do.
[pullquote]In an email, Meinert said there was nothing hypocritical about celebrating unionization while running non-union restaurants.[/pullquote]
In a follow up email to PubliCola, Meinert said there was nothing hypocritical about celebrating unionization while running non-union restaurants.
"Unions have been at the forefront of creating healthy workplaces and rights for workers that most businesses now take as normal," Meinert wrote. "Many small businesses follow the examples of Unions in offering like benefits, and most progressives, whether or not they or their employees are Union members, work on the same side of most issues. As a business owner and a citizen, I want to find ways to work with Unions and their membership, as I think we have similar world views."
