Food service workers at 23 state-owned travel plazas in Connecticut announced Wednesday they’re unionizing and filing a wage theft complaint with the state.
“Keep your burgers, keep your fries! Make our wages supersize!”
Workers are joining 32BJ SEIU, a property service workers’ union.
“The workers in this facility have zero rights. They terminate them any time they want. I believe that in the state where the Constitution was born, we need to be aware that workers’ rights, people’s rights should be one priority,” said union member Juan Hernandez. He spoke at a rally at a travel plaza off I-95 in Darien.
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes was also there. The plaza is in Himes’s district.
“I see the hard work, serving the coffee, working in the kitchens, all hours, rain, snow, in storms. The people who work here, who serve us so well, deserve good wages and good conditions, and 32BJ is going to make that happen,” said Himes.
The union filed a complaint with the Connecticut Department of Labor saying food service companies at travel plazas haven’t paid wages at the rate required for companies contracted with the state.
Dunkin’ is the only vendor to operate in all 23 Connecticut travel plazas. The company said its franchisees set wages, and it supports the rights of employees to unionize.
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