On January 6, 2017, 35 members of UNITEHERE! Local 100 marched outside Carnegie Deli in Midtown Manhattan, to call attention to the company’s decision to shut down their historic restaurant.
Last September, Carnegie Deli announced its plan to shut down the restaurant in and continue production operations in Connecticut, New Jersey and Nevada. Workers urge the public to support their cause. “It’s been an experience for the last 35 years and I’ve been working for Carnegie Deli for half my life and now I feel terrible,” says Roberto Joaquin, who worked as a counterman at Carnegie Deli. “I planned on retiring in 2 years but I can’t now, I’m out of a job. I have lost my wages and seniority. I’m old now, 60 years old, it’s going to be so hard to find a job at my age.”
“I am so sad, Carnegie Deli was like my second home,” said Rachaneewan Sriphud, who worked as a waitress at Carnegie Deli for 27 years. “Business was booming, people from all over the world have to come to Carnegie Deli, it’s a landmark. At work I would have to hold back my tears because every table would tell me how bad they felt for me knowing that I’ve put so much time into the business.”
