— By Alissa |
Mission resident Landyacht spotted this sign the other day calling for the boycott of Esperento and Picaro. While I agree with him that the food there can be “pretty lousy,” I have been known to go to town on some of their patatas bravas from time to time. More info from Raise The Fist:
The San Francisco Solidarity Network is calling for a boycott of Picaro and Esperento restaurants until the demands of a former worker are met. The owner Luise Muela never allowed lunch breaks and refused to pay overtime for shifts that were at times as long as 12 hours. The former employee and the SF solidarity network demand that compensation be given for unpaid overtime and the denied lunch breaks. Solidarity with restaurant workers! Don't eat at Picaro or its sister sister restaurant until our demands are met.
So maybe next time you're wandering around the Mission looking to chow down on some rabbit stew, you'll give this place the slip and head elsewhere.
Comments (8)
First of all, I would be surprised if those restaurants are the only ones in the mission, let alone the city, that could be accused of this. Which doesn’t make it right but boycotting those two restaurants wouldn’t cause some sort of sea change in an industry that needs it. And second, there is legal recourse for being denied overtime. I read an article about that recently concerning chinatown’s restaurants. I don’t know how that works for people without green cards but then they would be getting paid under the table or with a false SS numbers anyway.
Wow! This is good to know, I will avoid those joints in the future.
crybaby. dont most restaurant workers get paid off the books? so if we want to abide the letter of the law on the overtime issue (and this sounds like some he said/she said bullshit), then maybe we should run an audit on her hours/ wages..
as for the racism and homophobia.. no excuse, at all if it was genuine. but, come on, the rtestaurant business can be jokingly crude..
as El Buen pointed out - if you had a legit claim you wouldnt be going about recompense in this way
why would anyone believe it? could easily be a competitor or just a generally disgruntled person…
any collaborating evidence?
Thanks for spreading the word on this and for the link to my pic ! Much appreciated.
I’ve been eating at this place for years. Their Paella is simply incredible, as is the sangria, which is only like $7.50 for a pitcher during happy hour! The wait staff at Picaro are incredibly friendly and have been working there for at least the last two and half years; which is only when I started going there regularly. I’m sure they’ve been there longer. There doesn’t seem to be any turnover in the front end, so I doubt they’re being treated unfairly because, after working at a place as well known as Picaro I imagine one *could* find another job, yet they still seem to be there.
As for the cook staff, I have no idea, but again, I wouldn’t necessarily boycott a business that’s been operating for years and years simply because of some flyer on the street.
Uptown Almanac should show a bit more discretion in what they report as ‘fact.’ Someone has a bone to pick with Picaro/Esperpento, that’s all this story is about. But, maybe I shouldn’t assume you’re trying to be “journalistic” or whatever simply because people read your blog; you could just be a loudmouth blogger, and that’s fine too.
Sometimes I hear stuff like this and say “Bad Owner”, then other times I think, “hmm, you have a job, don’t you, which can’t be all bad, right?”
Ultimately, I think, “Does your job suck, then leave.”
However I definitely concerned against a group against “bosses and landlords”, those same people that rent out places to live, and who offer out jobs.