Fat Salmon Strikers Statement

We are workers at Fat Salmon Sushi, a fine dining restaurant recently deemed to have Philly’s “Best Sushi” by Philadelphia Magazine. While Fat Salmon excels in its food, it falls short in its treatment of the people who prepare and serve the food.

We, the workers of Fat Salmon, have suffered numerous legal violations and affronts to our dignity. The violations we have experienced and continue to experience include, but are not limited to:

• Withholding a percentage of server tips based on performance on menu tests
• Paying kitchen staff with server tips
• Not allowing breaks during shifts
• Not distributing legitimate pay stubs with paychecks
• Using discriminatory policies in regards to hiring and promotions

All workers deserve to be treated with fairness and dignity.

As restaurant workers, we work hard to create an enjoyable dining experience for our customers and we want our industry to continue to prosper, but we believe that it is possible to make a profit without exploiting workers. We want Fat Salmon Sushi to be a workplace that complies with the law and treats its workers with respect.

It is for these reasons that several of us have gone on strike. It is for these reasons that several others of us are signing on in solidarity with our striking co-workers. And it is for these reasons we demand:

• A workplace free of discrimination
• A workplace free of sexual harassment
• An end to all wage theft — this includes only using legal tip pool arrangements, an end to withholding server tips pursuant to “tests,” and allowing hostesses to keep 100% of their credit card tips.
• No worker, in any circumstances, shall ever receive less than the minimum wage
• All prep work to be compensated at the non-tipped minimum wage
• Overtime pay for workers who work over 40 hours in a week
• Short paid breaks during shifts
• Removal of all health & safety hazards from the kitchen
• A printed and legitimate pay stub with each paycheck
• A policy of promoting from within
• Transparent documentation of pooled tips and individual tips on a nightly basis
• Compensation for travel during weather emergencies
• Servers are cut when their sections are empty
• Paid sick days for workers to recover from illness or care for sick family members