david j. garcia

A recent Los Angeles Times article outlines the political framework for one of our current issues. In short, California Republicans are leveraging their power over budget approval to bargain for changes that they would otherwise be unable to pass. One of these changes is the meal and rest break law revision that we’re supporting. The article is critical of the maneuver (which is now essential for what we hope to have happen), but two paragraphs are particularly interesting:

The governor, an ally of the state Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, is sympathetic to complaints from business owners that some workplace rules cost them money without benefiting employees.

The example most often cited comes from restaurant owners who say they must give their workers breaks at particular times, even if it is in the middle of the busiest shift, when many would rather be working tables to collect tips.

[Source: LA Times article by Evan Harper, published 16 June 2008; emphasis added]

The reason this is the most cited example is because of the California Restaurant Association and our work as grassroots organizers. We’re the ones out there asking restaurateurs to give that example. We’re helping restaurant owners, managers, and employees to make their voices heard at the state level. And now, apparently, in the Los Angeles Times. That one of our key messages so directly made it into this (otherwise negative) article about a change affecting all businesses is a direct reflection of the value of our work. After all, it’s the “fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States“.

It’s somewhat validating.