Blog

Restaurant patrons eager for a nice night out will soon have much more to consider thanks to Saru Jayaraman, co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Center United and author of an upcoming book on working conditions in the nation’s restaurant industry. The book, Behind the Kitchen Door, explores the serious challenges faced by restaurant workers, such as low wages, long hours, lack of access to health care, few opportunities for advancement and no paid sick days (among other basic workplace standards).A new video preview of Behind the Kitchen Door looks behind the kitchen doors, literally, and asks viewers if they “eat ethically” — challenging them to look beyond more traditional in-vogue considerations like the origin and sustainability of the food. The video paints a disturbing picture of a restaurant industry in which servers, chefs, dishwashers and other workers are forced to work sick, without the basic labor standards and protections they need to make ends meet and provide for their families. Take a look:Behind the Kitchen Door is expected to be released in February 2013.