Protesters At A Wisconsin Taco Bell Allege Discrimination In Worker Firings

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/13878

Submitted by Doug Cunningham on July 18, 2010 - 12:26pm
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By Doug Cunningham

: “Justice for workers is what we want! Don’t go into that restaurant!”

Protesters picketed a Madison, Wisconsin Taco Bell over the firings of 28 workers. Saul Castillo of Madison’s Workers Rights Center says these workers are victims of discrimination. After being fired allegedly for getting “no-match” letters on their social security numbers from the Social Security administration the Workers Rights Center found no record of the letters.

: “They started telling us about other discriminatory practices at Taco Bell, such as not allowing them to speak Spanish in the workplace, there were issues where there was disparate pay between them and the other workers. And also there was a issue where the new workers that they were hiring to replace them were actually getting paid more than the people who had been here for 7-14 years, which most of the people who have been here have been here a long time.”

The workers complained to the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Center. After a year-long wait only intervention by U.S. Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold prompted EEOC to call the workers to begin looking into their complaints. Castillo says the workers want justice from Taco Bell.

: “For them to stop their discriminatory practices. Not just with the issue of the firings over no-match letters, but the dis-equal pay, the different treatment that Latino workers are facing the silly no-Spanish rule in Taco Bell. And also to give these workers what they deserve, get them their pay they deserve – back pay comparable to what all of the workers were receiving.”

: "DOL, DOL, Go after Taco Bell!"

[CBGLuthier]

1. dis-equal pay? dis-equal?

Dis-equal?

I weep for the language.

[TroglodyteScholar]

21. I'm right there with you.

It's always been hard for me to get on board with anyone who doesn't even care enough to ensure that they're using actual words.

Want to be taken seriously? Learn to communicate or purchase writing/editing services from someone who can.

[SunnySong]

38. Kind of ironic considering the subject matter...

:donut:

[rocktivity]

2. Wouldn't they check out the SS numbers BEFORE hiring them?

And does it normally take a year?

:shrug:
rocktivity

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[undeterred]

25. Senator Feingold is my Senator and his constituent services

are excellent. I find it hard to believe he would take a year to respond to something like this.

[SunnySong]

3. I agree with the no spanish rule (workers need to be able to communicate with each other)

And if their SS# don't match they need to go down to the SS office and get it straightened out...


As for the pay discrepancy... I have seen new people come in at higher salaries than older employees if the salary discrepancy is done on racial terms then they would have a case.

[laughingliberal]

5. Did you miss the part where the Workers' Rights Center found no record of no match letters?

I'm with the workers.

[SunnySong]

8. If the company lied to them to fire them I agree...

If they need to get a merry mix-up at the SS office fixed then get it fixed.

[laughingliberal]

9. It sounds as if they lied about it in order to fire them. nt

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. Would they have access to that data?

SSN are somewhat protected.

[laughingliberal]

19. I don't see why they would comment on it if they had no way to check it. nt

[ProgressiveProfessor]

24. The wording is ambiguous in the story and I do not think they are public

The "Workers Rights Center found no record" does not mean they do not exist. If the SSA denied them, that would be much more definitive. A minor point, but it goes towards credibility.

[MyNameGoesHere]

6. I think that they do understand each other

and not only that I would guess they can understand your English language as well. I wouldn't worry about it too much, when people speak Spanish around you they are not talking about you. No need to be afraid.

[SunnySong]

7. It is simple one workplace one language,... I have seen workplaces where only spanish is spoken

and that is fine. You simply cannot ruin an efficient crew if you are using two languages... I have seen this train wreck in action.

[laughingliberal]

10. I worked with Filipino nurses all the time in Houston.

They spoke English when communicating about work. It never affected me that they spoke to each other in Tagala. WTH difference does that make to me?

[SunnySong]

11. None, and there are plenty of jobs that require different people speaking different languages

My own workplace has spanish speakers for our South American clients.

What I am saying is the rule itself is not onerous. It is perfectly reasonable for management to require employees not to speak a foreign language at work if management feels that it would make the team less efficient.

I am not saying I agree with that decision (I think it is a bit silly) but I see no reason for the government to get involved.

[MyNameGoesHere]

15. Ok then what? 1 country one religion?

Or how about one political party? I am sure murka would be much more efficient with all the populace the exactly same. Last time I went to Taco Belle it was pretty damn efficient and the MINORITY ENGLISH ONLY SPEAKING WORKERS, were not at all less efficient.

[SunnySong]

16. HUH... what does being able to communicate in a fast paced job have to do

with that collection of strawmen you have collected there.


And how could you tell any of the workers only spoke English... or were you just judging them by their skin tone.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. Since English is NOT the official language...

sprach deutch?

I worked at places where the crew spoke more than ONE language and there was no issue with productivity...

[SunnySong]

32. I'm sure every business is different... but I see no problem with a customer service business

regulating speech to one language during work hours. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. Yep, that is why I got jobs for talking

more than one language... oh they were service jobs too.

A bidness can do what they want, but that does not mean that the practice has problems, since usually it is not because of service to customers, but as an attack to workers. It don't matter if this is... the early factories in the US, oh way back in the 19th century... the mines, that did not want to hire Irish, Italians or Blacks... or the seamstress factories that did the same against Jewish men and women for speaking Ydish.

Don't worry... this will be done for the same reasons to the current immigrant group, and the previous ones see NO PROBLEMO with it. I guess if I took an order in Hebrew or Spanish I would be fired too...

[TroglodyteScholar]

22. Sorry, not true.

I'm a white guy who doesn't look like he should know any Spanish...and have been openly treated as such on more than one occasion. I've even heard guys use their Spanish to talk about my female companions--real classy. I'm not saying this represents every public conversation I hear in Spanish, but it is dishonest to act as though el gringo is never the subject of such conversations.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. When that has happened to me, I have confronted them

IN SPANISH.

Over thirty years in the United States... I can count on TWO incidents.

[MyNameGoesHere]

30. Yes you must confront those hot blooded Latins

hey what about those white guys that say it out of ear shot?

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. Well I grew up in Mexico

but don't look the part.

And yes the one occasion that clearly comes to mind was the waitress at a restaurant talking to the bus boy about the Gabachos, and pinches gabachos and pointing. So we ordered in Spanish.

And if this was an American doing the same in English, you think they would not have been confronted?

What is wrong with some people?

The point I was making is... over thirty years... it happened twice... which goes against the it happens all the time.

The other was just funny.

Do you have a problem with people confronting people for socially unacceptable behavior? Or no problem is somebody points at you and calls you names?

[MyNameGoesHere]

40. Nope confront as long and often as you wish

I am just saying that people who talk in another language make those comments for the same reason the english speaking ones do in the privacy of their little group. They think the person the insult is being directed at cannot "hear" them.

[TroglodyteScholar]

35. I didn't want any trouble.

I was never approached directly, and figured nobody was being hurt.

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. One of those it was fighting language

just ordering in Spanish sent the message.

The second was just sheer comedy.

[MyNameGoesHere]

29. Nice you managed to throw a stereotype in your

reply and are dishonest in thinking white men don't talk about your "female" companions. I guess you never been in a group of white men when they are making those comments though right? I mean white men are prudish and don't say those kind of things?

[TroglodyteScholar]

34. Thanks for your outrage, but...

...you're putting words in my mouth. I never said white men are the picture of perfection. You assumed I thought that.

I simply challenged the assurance that "they're not talking about you." From my experience, it is possible.

[Javaman]

13. "discriminatory practices at Taco Bell, such as not allowing them to speak Spanish"

Ironic really.

[Iggo]

14. LOL...there is that.

:rofl:

[southernyankeebelle]

17. Sorry but in the work place everyone should speak english please. I come from a

house where more than one language is spoken. It is rude to speak in another language at work. The people who don't speak that language will get the impression and rightfully so that you are speaking about them. If you get a customer who doesn't speak english then it would be proper if a person who spoke that language take the order. Other than that no. Now if they are on their lunch hour that it is none of anyoneelse business what they are speaking.

[laughingliberal]

18. As I said above, it never bothered me a bit that the Filipino nurses spoke Tagala to each other.

They spoke English to me and the patients and that was all that was needed. It's funny how I never hear this issue come up about any languages but Spanish. I've never heard of a single case of Filipinos being fired for speaking Tagala at work or anyone fired for speaking Mandarin Chinese at work or anyone being fired for speaking any language except Spanish.

[JonLP24]

20. Heh

I was in the Army and we had a lot of people that spoke Spanish to each other because it was more natural. When I was in we had a lot of service members from Puerto Rico so there was always that. Not once did I ever get the impression they were speaking about me.

[KamaAina]

23. Proof positive that Taco Bell does not serve Mexican food.

:puke:

[pipoman]

28. I have Spanish speaking workers in my kitchen

and English speakers. We all are able to communicate for the most part...my kitchen is far more diverse as far as tasks are concerned than any Taco Bell. Our productivity is unhampered by the language differences. I speak very broken Spanglish...they teach me Spanish, I teach them English...diversity is the spice of life.

[Skip Intro]

33. Did they have SS#'s or not? The story doesn't say. Workers Rights Center is headquartered in a mall.

It sucks not to jump on bandwagons, but I've never heard of "Workers Independent News."

So do I give them the benefit of the doubt?

I've also never heard of the "Workers Rights Center."

Evidently they are based in Madison, in a mall.

Do I give them the benefit of the doubt?

The problem with reports like this is that you only get one side of the story. The crux here, for me, would be whether these fired workers had SS#'s. That isn't reported. The WRC says it can find no record of such, but who are they? It's hard for me to fathom that these workers received paychecks for years without a SS#. And I'm wondering why there was a protest rather than a lawsuit.

All that being said, I'd rather know the full story before forming a conclusion. The truth shouldn't be too hard to come by in this case.

[SunnySong]

39. The question really is did the SS# actually belong to the workers easy to prove if they did. nt