Immigrant Workers Want to be Paid by Mumbai Chopstix Restaurant

From Centro Presente:

Latino immigrant workers unite to demand the payment of wages from Newbury Street restaurant Mumbai Chopstix

Media Contact: Patricia Montes Centro Presente (617) 959 3108

What: Press Conference to demand payment of wages from Newbury Street restaurant,  Mumbai Chopstix

Where: Centro Presente, 17 Inner Belt Road, Somerville, MA

When: Friday, March 2 at 11:00 a.m.

BOSTON, MA — A group of Latino immigrant workers and members of Centro Presente have united and are organizing a grassroots campaign to defend their labor rights. The workers were employed by Mumbai Chopstix located on Newbury Street in Boston. The restaurant is part of Amrik S. Pabla’s One World Cuisine restaurant group which includes restaurants in Jamaica Plain, Somerville and other locales. The workers are going to file complaints to the Attorney General’s office alleging nonpayment of wages and overtime. If the workers had been paid in accordance with the law, they have calculated that the wages they are owed would total more than $40,000. The workers are holding regular meetings in order to define a strategy to recover their wages, to learn about their labor rights, and to educate the general public about labor exploitation.     

“We worked hard for this restaurant, we know that it is our right to receive the full payment for the time that we worked,” said Yovani Guardado, one of the affected workers.    

“It is important to recognize that the violation of labor rights is a systemic problem affecting all workers in this country and immigrant workers are even more vulnerable to this exploitation. We must also highlight that the enormous movement of immigrants to the U.S. is the result of a global economic system that exploits the rights of workers in their own countries,” said Patricia Montes, Executive Director of Centro Presente

“We hope the Attorney General’s office will prioritize an investigation into the employment practices of the restaurants in the One World Cuisine restaurant group. It’s important to remember that the wage laws apply to the immigrant labor force. We need to organize in order to stop employers from exploiting workers who came to this country to work and support their families,” said Edic Herrera, board member of Centro Presente. 

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