Workers Stage Protest Against Chinese Govt. Owned Wu Liang Ye

wuliangye

I don’t know what I’m more surprised about… that Wu Liang Ye might be paying their employees slave wages, or that the popular Szechuan restaurant is owned by the Chinese government?!? Either way, workers staged a protest yesterday in front of the Wu Liang Ye on 39th & Lexington handing out flyers that condemned the restaurant for paying their workers as little as $1.10 an hour, and stealing credit card tips. They also claim that after a number of workers filed a lawsuit against Wu Liang Ye last year, the company retaliated by firing “the most vocal workers and even assaulted workers for speaking out.”

The entire flyer, including a list of demands from the protesters, is after the jump…

Known as the “Gem of the State,” Wu Liang Ye, is an internationally renowned government enterprise and trademark of China , which on 1993 started expanding its operations in NYC, opening up 3 four-star restaurants in the heart of midtown Manhattan .[1] The three restaurants bring in an estimated $6 million a year. However, Wu Liang Ye paid its workers as little as $1.10/hour and stole 10 percent of workers’ credit card tips. When 25 servers and delivery workers filed a lawsuit against the restaurant for violating U.S. and state labor laws last year, Wu Liang Ye retaliated against the workers. They fired the most vocal workers and even assaulted workers for speaking out.

Workers of Wu Liang Ye restaurant filed a retaliation charge with the National Labor Relations Board earlier this week. They will be joined by others to demand that Wu Liang Ye comply with the labor laws, reinstate the workers, and pay the workers their stolen wages. We also urge the Chinese government right its wrong and take responsibility for Wu Liang Ye’s wrongdoing.

Justice Will Be Served! (JWBS) is a campaign that unites restaurant, hotel, deli, and other service workers in different communities across New York to fight against long hours, second-class wages, stolen tips and other sweatshop conditions. JWBS! is composed of a coalition of organizations: 318 Restaurant Workers Union, Chinese Staff & Workers’ Association, National Mobilization Against Sweatshops, CSWA P.O. Box 130401 , New York, NY 10013-0995 ; tel: 212-334-2333; fax: 212-334-1974

[1] Wu Liang Ye, USA, Inc., the holding company for the chain’s 86th and 39th Street location is a subsidiary of the Chinese state enterprise Wu Liang Ye Group. Owner Liang Zhang disclosed in response to the Federal Court the history of the state enterprise’s expansion in U.S.A.

The City Room Blog confirmed that the workers filed their complaint this week with the National Labor Relations Board, and that it doesn’t effect the famous branch of Wu Liang Ye on 48th btw. 5+6th. That particular location of Wu Liang Ye proved in court last year that they had a different owner than the location on 3rd Avenue.

11 Comments

  • Thats why I always tip in cash when I charge a delivery.

  • I am not going there anymore. My blood boils every time when I read something like this.

  • I wouldn’t be surprised. The cleanliness of the kitchen is not the only thing you don’t want to know about the Chinese restuarant industry. Cheating waiters out of tips is common and has given rise to numerous lawsuits, but such assertions of rights are rare. Sadly, much of the industry is built around exploiting immigrant labor. You had Jennifer 8 Lee as a profiled luncher, and her book Fortune Cookie Chronicles has some interesting chapters on this problem.

  • disgusting. I would not eat at any place that stiffs their workers.

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    This makes me so happy.

    Not for the plight of the workers; that’s a pretty bad.

    But for me. Somehow this place replaced Tang Pavilion as my office’s go to Chinese and I’m sick of it!

    Now maybe I can get some of those awesome Tang Pavilion Chicken Dumplings in Spicy Oil the next time we do a group order of Chinese. And the Black Bean Chicken.

    Mmmmee….. Maybe I just figured out what’s for lunch.

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    Oh, Rats! I just RTFA more closely and we order from the famous Wu Liang Yee on 48th.

    Sad trombones for me. I’m stuck with them for the office Chinese lunches.

  • It seems people have skipped over the last paragraph:

    The City Room Blog confirmed that the workers filed their complaint this week with the National Labor Relations Board, and that it doesn’t effect the famous branch of Wu Liang Ye on 48th btw. 5+6th. That particular location of Wu Liang Ye proved in court last year that they had a different owner than the location on 3rd Avenue.

  • MikeNYC – Tang Pavilion beats Wu Liang Ye any day (even the 48th st one). My favorite Chinese place in midtown hands-down.

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    Neither Wu Liang Ye the restaurants or WuLiangYe the Chinese distillery, are owned by the Chinese government. WuLiangYe is a publically held company with shares trading in Shenzen.

    I’ll reserve judgment myself, unlike some others on here, as this is only one side of the story.

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    What’s even more odd, I walked by the Wu Liang Ye on 48th around 12:30PM and saw the closed DOH yellow sign. Didn’t take a picture though.

  • How can this truly be happing in this country? Somebody has got to do something about this. Please stop buying their food. CAN YOU SAY BOYCOTT?????

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