The restaurant industry is currently one of the largest private sector employers nationwide and one of the fastest growing industries in most regions across the country. Unfortunately, while there is a real potential for obtaining living wages in this industry, too many workers suffer from low wages and poor working conditions.
In 2005, the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York (ROC-NY), published a comprehensive study of the city's restaurant industry, called Behind the Kitchen Door: Pervasive Inequality in New York City's Thriving Restaurant Industry. ROC-United is currently assisting local groups in conducting similar research in other cities around the country, and will be conducting national research on the restaurant workforce as well.