ROC United launches local campaign to protect hospitality workers from harassment
10th June 2024 · 0 Comments
By Mason Harrison
Contributing Writer
Among the hundreds of restaurants in New Orleans, residents and visitors alike can choose from a dizzying array of culinary options, including longstanding area staples such as gumbo and jambalaya, newly popular Ethiopian fare and upstart Afro-vegan cuisine, but for many front- and back-of-the-house employees, work in the hospitality industry often comes with a side of workplace harassment and sexual abuse.
Current and former restaurant employees rallied on May 23 to improve local working conditions and introduced, alongside the New Orleans branch of the Restaurant Opportunities Center United, a campaign to prevent gender-based sexual harassment through mandatory workforce training for management and staff.
Organizers, joined by District E Councilmember Oliver Thomas and a representative from the office of District B Councilmember Lesli Harris, gathered at We Dat’s Chicken and Shrimp Restaurant to share stories of what happens in work environments devoid of sexual harassment training and to call on elected officials to legislate an end to a permissive culture of prurient abuse that falls disproportionately on Black women.
“Today, we are here to launch our campaign, End GBVH, and push for mandatory policy in New Orleans on gender-based violence and harassment training in the workplace,” said Anthony Advincula, a spokesperson for ROC United. “We are here to ask our city officials to introduce legislation and adopt an inclusive gender-responsive approach that would foster safe management and a culture of respect and dignity.”
“The restaurant industry is the single largest source of harassment claims in the U.S., at a rate twice that of the general workplace,” Advincula said, stressing the dire and stubborn nature of the problem. “In New Orleans, where about five percent of the city’s workers are in hospitality and leisure as compared to about 10 percent nationwide, gender-based violence and harassment happens almost every single day.”
Research from ROC United indicates almost a quarter of hospitality workers experience at least one form of violence or harassment at work with more than three in five enduring harassment multiple times.
“The key word here is harassment,” said Thomas. “No one should be in favor of anyone being treated differently at work based on race, gender, religion or any other category – that should not be tolerated.”
Thomas discussed with representatives from ROC United potential contours of legislation that would require restauranteurs to train their staff on how to recognize and prevent gender-based sexual abuse. “We have yet to discuss details,” Thomas said, adding, “More talks need to be had about what we can do to create a harassment-free work environment while recognizing that Louisiana is a right-to-work state.”
Thomas said pushback from the restaurant industry is almost a given “anytime you begin to talk about accountability” and that efforts to increase “regulation or training” means “someone will be against it.”
A spokesperson for the Louisiana Restaurant Association declined to comment for this story.
“We need regulations to prevent abuses in the hospitality industry,” said Lillian Travis, a ROC United member and sexual harassment survivor who spoke at the End GBVH launch event. She recalled being the only Black female employee at a Mississippi country club where she endured unwanted physical contact, stares from male club members and a human resources department that failed to address the issue.
“When I went to HR, I was basically told that I could take it or leave it. I was told, ‘You know what kind of place this is, right?’ The men would bump into me on purpose so they could touch me and would stare at me, which, of course, would anger their wives and made for a hostile environment in which to work.”
Travis subsequently worked for a Jamaican-born celebrity chef in Mississippi who “took it upon himself to one day spray cooking oil [between my legs],” she said. “I was shocked. I lasted three days on that job.”
“I have been dealing with this for 28 years,” said Amy Burke, a New Orleans-based ROC United member who attended the campaign launch. “I have seen it all, including harassment from customers and co-workers.”
Burke said harassment is common among restaurant staff “because we spend so much time together,” which creates a level of familiarity that may not exist in other industries. “The restaurant industry is mostly informal to begin with so it is no surprise that staff members will oftentimes date each other.”
According to Burke, this issue is particularly acute at mom-and-pop establishments.
“You do not often see the types of harassment the industry is known for at large companies, but small bars or restaurants that are family owned is where this occurs quite often. Sometimes the owner is the one who sits at the bar all night and then he goes into the back and harasses the new young waitress who may not have many options.”
“Trust me,” she added, “there will be a whole lot of people for whom mandatory training will be a big sigh of relief.”
This article originally published in the June 10, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
