Saigon Grill Workers Recieve $4.6 Million Judgment
According to the New York Times, the long-running civil case between Saigon Grill and its workers ended on Tuesday in a $4.6 million verdict in favor of the workers. “Judge Michael H. Dolinger of United States District Court in Manhattan found violations of federal and state wage laws in awarding up to $328,000 to some of the deliverymen.”
Juniors and seniors with particularly sharp minds will remember spring of 2007, when protests against local restaurant Saigon Grill were the activist item du jour. In March of that year, the restaurant locked out its workers rather than raise pay and labor standards (among other abuses, the workers were only being paid $1.60 an hour for more than 70 hours a week). Columbia students quickly joined the cause, culminating in a large sit-in/protest in May (which was later uploaded to YouTube).
The deliverymen, at least, are obviously happy. “‘It was worth the fight because we were treated badly for so long,’ [one deliveryman] added. ‘I never imagined we would receive so much money.’”
Tags: judgments, lawsuits, protests, saigon grill
21 October 2008 @ 11:55 PM · 9 comments
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good for them, although I don’t see how Saigon can just cough up $4.6m
there’s a broken link for the youtube reference.
fixed, thanks.
they are now fulfilling the american dream! Punitive damages for all!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaAoRDgxnqs&feature=related
4.6 mil is absolutely outrageous where even the delivery men didn’t expect that much money. The good news is that I can get Saigon grill delivery again. The bad news is that Saigon grill is going to collapse and go under from the weight of a 4.6 million dollar lawsuit. So now I can’t get my Saigon grill fixe. Ever.
Everyone wins?
Ballin.
You’re pissed that you can’t get saigon grille anymore? They paid their delivery men $1.60/hr. You do realize that amounts to (after taxes) about $85 a week plus tips, for 70 hrs of labor! And they live in NYC?! I fully believe that those delivery men deserve every cent of that money. And the point of making it such a large reward is so that other restaurants are discouraged from the same behavior in the future because they know it’ll cost them.
now I can eat Saigon grill again!