A Pandemic-Ready Training for Restaurant Workers

ROC United members and allies share their stories about why restaurants need to provide protection and relief for their workers.

The novel coronavirus has devastated New York’s restaurant industry, leaving hundreds of thousands of restaurant workers unemployed or underemployed, while presenting new challenges to those who remain on the job. At the peak of the pandemic, many restaurant workers have turned to the Restaurant Opportunity Center (ROC) New York, a service organization that has spent nearly two decades organizing and supporting the city’s restaurant workers. ROC-NY has stepped in to provide new job training programs, relief services, and organizing efforts to help workers survive the crisis and prepare for the new normal.

For years, CWE has supported ROC-NY through funding for the COLORS Hospitality Opportunities for Workers (CHOW) program, which trains workers for service and kitchen restaurant jobs. When the pandemic hit in March, those classes could not continue, and bringing them online was not a viable option.

“How do we teach someone to cook a steak at home if they don’t have that product at home?” asked Rev. Prabhu Sigamani, director of ROC-NY. “How do you teach them to make a cocktail if all they have is water?”

Rev. Sigamani and ROC-NY have reevaluated the training that restaurant workers need during the pandemic, and how to deliver this training via online classes. The result: a new management training program with two tracks -- one for workers displaced from other industries who wish to enter food service, and the other for experienced restaurant workers seeking to climb the career ladder. CWE is proud to support this new program.

Every element of the training course was developed with the pandemic in mind. Workers go deep on safe hygiene practices, including what equipment to wear, how to sanitize front and back of the house facilities, and how to maintain social distancing in the restaurant. The classes also stress compassionate customer service and help workers build emotional intelligence to meet the moment.

“Restaurant workers are serving people who are afraid of catching the virus, or who are recovering from illness or loss of a family member during the pandemic,” added Sigamani. “We teach how to provide professional service in these circumstances.”

The new management training isn’t the only program that ROC-NY is supporting for its members through the pandemic. The organization has raised $300,000 in relief funds to distribute to restaurant workers across the country. ROC-NY is also surveying its members to find out what other help they need. Many said that they need mental health support, so ROC-NY partnered with the College of Staten Island social work department to form a support group.

ROC-NY sees its workforce development training programs as vital to its organizing goals. The classes build capacity among its membership and make its long-term organizing campaigns sustainable.

“We have to meet the immediate needs of people on the ground,” says Sigamani. “These programs help workers provide for their families, but they get political education too. They learn their rights. They learn how to tell their story and to tell the collective restaurant worker story.”

Restaurant workers who come out of the training program are not just ready to serve the customer, but they are also informed on how to assert their rights on the job, meet with elected officials, and represent the organization at press conferences and events.

In addition, these workers also learn to sharpen their leadership skills. ROC-United is led by a former New York City restaurant worker, Dr. Sekou Siby, who co-founded the organization amid the grief of 9/11.

ROC-NY plans to distribute a second round of pandemic relief funding in the coming weeks. The organization is also pushing for a Right to Return policy for restaurant workers to ensure that they will get their jobs back when their restaurants reopen.

Recently, New York City has allowed restaurants to reopen indoor dining. While ROC-NY members are excited to get back to work, they, too, are concerned about the health risks and the impact on their bottom line. ROC-NY will make sure that they have the skills and organizing capacity to weather storms, grow economically, and build power for workers in the restaurant industry.