Greet PL’ers’ Red Ideas Park Boathouse Strikers Defy Racist, Sexist Boss-Government Attack

NEW YORK CITY, September 3 — Outside a popular tourist boathouse restaurant at Manhattan’s Central Park, 150 workers have been picketing and beating their drums for three weeks against their racist and sexist working conditions. They are urging all passer-bys to boycott the restaurant.

Dean Poll, the restaurant owner, won a lucrative city contract to operate the restaurant in 2000. He is under federal, state and local investigations for fraud and illegal practices. Fifteen workers were fired for trying to organize a union, while others were spied on, threatened and harassed. Thirty-two workers sued the management in 2008 for stealing their tips. Seven women workers filed sexual harassment complaints in June. For most restaurant workers, these abuses are “part of the job.” Last January, the workers filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB), but all union supporters were then fired.

Restaurant workers are among the most exploited, as they are neglected under the already-deficient labor regulations. Mostly immigrants and female, young workers are coerced into these low-wage, long-hours jobs without benefits. These conditions are inherently racist and sexist, for they disproportionally attack immigrant and female workers. In an economic crisis, bosses further harass these workers into passivity in order to squeeze out more profits. This is not an isolated situation, but the standard under capitalism.

   Three weeks ago, the workers had had enough and walked out. All of them were fired. About 30 were afraid to join the struggle and have remained inside, but others have remained strong. The workers are supported by Local 6, the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union. They are leafleting around the park and passing out pro-strike tee shirts. The workers are steadily beating drums and keeping up loud chants to promote their successful boycott.

While the union’s victory lies in bringing racist sexist Dean Poll to negotiate the workers’ scraps, PLP aims to destroy the capitalist system that exploits these workers in the first place. Two PL’ers brought CHALLENGE and some reprinted articles about the Stella D’oro strike.

Some workers knew about Stella D’oro and all were eager to learn about it. Many of the strikers are young workers from Mexico who were glad to see CHALLENGE articles about Mexico and the Verizon strike. We talked about the need to transform the whole system. Workers deserve more than just a compromise with their exploiters. The unions cannot be counted on to carry the struggle to the finish, let alone challenge capitalism.

This was demonstrated by the Verizon strike, where the union bade the militant workers to return to work before any concessions had been won. The government investigations — which steer workers’ fight-backs into compliance with the bosses’ laws — will not bring justice for workers. This is the same state that bails out banks and cuts education and healthcare. Capitalism, which breeds division among workers, cannot meet the needs of the working class.

We have made contacts, and must return to this militant picket line and discuss PLP’s anti-racist, anti-sexist, and international politics with these workers.