Twelve employees — nearly half of the staff – of a Pei Wei Asian Diner in Chandler were fired after they ditched work to participate in a recent protest of Arizona’s new immigration law – Senate Bill 1070.
The restaurant has a workforce of about 30. The firing was the result of violation of a well established attendance polity.
“When employees choose not to show up for a scheduled shift and choose not to give notice, it causes tremendous disruption to fellow co-workers and impedes our ability to serve our guests,” the company said in a statement.
The daily reports that the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union is “giving moral and financial support to the fired workers,” although the employees were not unionized.
A Google search provides a history of the IWW. Its goal is to promote worker solidarity in the revolutionary struggle to overthrow the employing class.
While the union is looking for a labor lawyer who will work pro bono, picketing of the company’s restaurants continues at other locations.
The fired employees want their jobs back, are asking for back pay and an apology.
A business with this as their policy statement is hardly one that would be expected to be the object of scorn.
How about making it a point to eat at Pei Wei in support of the business? Entrepreneurs are the risk takers who create concepts and provide jobs. They are not the enemy. We’ve made it easy for you to locate a restaurant.
I will have lunch there today.
At most businesses a No Call/ No Show is means for termination, this includes calling out less than hour prior to shift starting. My thought is that these employess are not the sharpest tools in the shed because most people who value their job will call in sick, or family emergency or some other excuse that will be acceptable.
CharlotteW,
Enjoy your lunch. No Pei Wei in my area.
I agree. I usually go to Yoshi’s when I crave that cuisine, but will go to PeiWei instead next time
Time to order Pei-Wei!
Thanks for the heads up on this. We’ll have to drive a few miles, but Pei Wei will be where we have dinner tonight. I sincerely hope the PF Chang management doesn’t cave to these outragous tactics!
How dare these former employees think they are entitled to anything, including an apology. It is THEY who should be apologizing! Jobs are hard to come by in today’s economy. They should have been happy to have been employed and done all they could to keep their jobs. Apparently demonstrating against a righteous law is more important to them. Pei Wei is the victim here, of course. They are also the winner, as their actions will bring customers in, not drive them away. I’m heading over to the Pei Wei in my neighborhood today. Try the lettuce wraps! They’re delicious!
I believe the story I read did not mention the “union support” came from the IWW. That group is a well-known communistic-themed protest organization. I don’t think it’s a real labor union, any more than Planned Parenthood is a parenting or planning organization.
boo:
Click on the daily “reports” above. Paragraph 6 in the Arizona Republic’s article tells about the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union. You’re right, they are a subversive, Communist group.
Happy to report we had a lovely dinner at Pei Wei this evening. We’ll return again soon. PF Chang needs to hang tough. Falling in with the outragous demands will LOSE them customers. We dined there in support of their firings of these foolish employees.
I’m not a big fan of Asian cuisine, however, I will make a special point to patronize my local Pei Wei.
Plan on eating there soon. Any employer has the right to terminate any employee who chooses to ignore company policy. These people don’t have a leg to stand on It’s ludacris for them to make demands of Pei Wei. It’s just more of we are above the law or rules of any kind type of thinking that becomes more obvious every time they open their mouth.