Papa John's workers picket after unexpected shop closure, layoffs

Staff members picketed a Papa John's pizza store in Lynwood on Thursday, March 30 to protest its abrupt closure and their resulting layoffs.

The non-union cooks, cashiers and shipment chauffeurs said management called a staff meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday to inform them that the dining establishment would be closing down the following day and that they would all lose their tasks.

Jose de la Torre, who had worked at the Lynwood store for nearly 4 years, stated the announcement caught everyone off guard.

" It was very unfortunate," the Los Angeles homeowner stated. "Management said they would give us severence pay according to the length of time each of us worked here, but they only offered me one week."

De la Torre said management didn't provide to move displaced staff members to other Papa John's areas.

Workers said they would picket the store up until management presents an acceptable arrangement on severence pay, along with transfers to other business locations. They were joined Thursday by members of Fight For $15 and a Union, which is working to enhance salaries and working conditions for fast-food employees.

Agents with the Atlanta-based pizza chain could not be grabbed comment Thursday, although a media contact suggested the Lynwood store was a franchise location. When called, the store's phone seemed detached.

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Thursday's closure and demonstration comes on the heels of increasing employee activism at the dining establishment.

On Christmas Eve, workers went on strike demanding that Papa John's enhance safety measures for staff members who had faced a string of robberies and other gun-related incidents at the shop.

Two workers filed a public health complaint with Cal/OSHA in December, alleging risky conditions and numerous threatening incidents with people holding guns at work or on their shipment routes.

In the complaint, cashier Aura Lopez describes being threatened with a weapon in the parking area after closing the shop by herself one night.

" I was sitting inside my automobile for about four minutes when a man came up holding a weapon," the 22-year-old Los Angeles local said. "A buddy was with me in the cars and truck and we instantly left.".

De la Torre described similary instances of feeling risky throughout shipments, consisting of one when a client refused to pay and indicated a gun in his waistband.

Workers staged a second strike at the Lynwood area in January, declaring their store's owner struck back against activist workers by cutting their hours rather than engaging with them on the safety issues they raised.

The workers are likewise seeking execution of Assembly Bill 257, which would create a 10-person, state-run council to negotiate incomes, hours and working conditions for the over half a million fast-food workers in California.

The legislation, likewise known as the FAST Recovery Act, was signed into law Sept. 5 by Gov. Gavin Newsom. But Save Local Restaurants-- a coalition of fast-food franchisees and franchisors who oppose the step-- gathered enough signatures to halt the costs and location a referendum on the 2024 tally to let voters decide its outcome.

The costs is created to assist employees who frequently have a hard time to make ends satisfy. It would also resolve wage theft, harassment, discrimination and risky work conditions fast-food employees say they deal with on the task.