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.

On February 9th, 2010, in conjunction with four local ROC affiliates, ROC-United released comprehensive industry studies for Chicago, Metro Detroit, New Orleans, and Maine, and a national executive summary which pooled data from these locations and from New York City. This is the first time such a comprehensive industry study has ever been released in any of these locations. Click below for each of the local reports and their executive summaries, and for the national executive summary.

Chicago –Full Report: Behind the Kitchen Door: The Hidden Cost of Low Road Jobs in Chicagoland’s Thriving Restaurant IndustryExecutive Summary: Executive Summary: Behind the Kitchen Door: The Hidden Cost of Low Road Jobs in Chicagoland’s Thriving Restaurant Industry  

 

Metro Detroit – Full Report: Behind the Kitchen Door: Inequality and Opportunity in Metro Detroit’s Growing Restaurant IndustryExecutive Summary: Executive Summary: Behind the Kitchen Door: Inequality and Opportunity in Metro Detroit’s Growing Restaurant Industry  

 

New Orleans – Full Report: Behind the Kitchen Door: Inequality, Instability, and Opportunity in the New Orleans Restaurant IndustryExecutive Summary: Executive Summary: Behind the Kitchen Door: Inequality, Instability, and Opportunity in the New Orleans Restaurant Industry   

 

Maine – Full Report: Behind the Kitchen Door: Low Road Jobs, High Road Opportunities in Maine’s Growing Restaurant IndustryExecutive Summary: Executive Summary: Behind the Kitchen Door: Low Road Jobs, High Road Opportunities in Maine’s Growing Restaurant Industry  

 

National Executive Summary - Behind the Kitchen Door: A Summary of Restaurant Industry Summaries in New York, Chicago, Metro Detroit, New Orleans, and Maine.

 

These reports have been modeled after the original 2005 report of the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York (ROC-NY), which 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.

In 2009, the ROC-NY published The Great Service Divide, a study on discrimination and occupational segregation in the New York City restaurant industry, based on almost 150 matched pairs audit tests, in which we sent pairs of white and people of color applicants to apply for living-wage positions in the industry.

In 2008, ROC-United co-director Fekkak Mamdouh was profiled in The Accidental American, co-written by Mamdouh and Applied Research Center executive director Rinku Sen. The book weaves Mamdouh's story of organizing in the restaurant industry and co-founding ROC-NY (and later ROC-United) following September 11th with a compelling argument to transform the immigration debate.

On September 11th, 2009, ROC-United and ROC-NY jointly released Burned: High Risks and Low Benefits for Workers in the New York City Restaurant Industry. Funded by the National Insititute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a division of NIH, the study explored occupational safety and health conditions for New York City restaurant workers, and their impact on the public health. The study was based on 500 surveys of restaurant workers, 40 employer interviews, 10 worker focus groups, and ergonomic assessments made at COLORS, ROC-NY's worker-owned restaurant.