One Fair Wage has created an anonymous hotline to report job-related abuses to encourage workers to speak out.
Jacis Diarra says he has been a food service worker for the last five years. He says the hotline will help reduce workplace abuses in the food service industry.
“It's getting worse now, prior to COVID-19 we were experiencing a bad situation…It's worse now,” said Diarra.
He says restaurant workers earning low pay are sometimes forced to deal with hostile working environments just to make a living.
Advocates have held rallies across the city to demand an increase in the minimin wage to $15 an hour, plus a tip for food service workers.
One Fair Wage says that since 2019, nearly 1 million workers nationwide have left the restaurant industry mostly because of low pay, with nearly 12% from New York state.
Advocates say that’s why the hotline is needed – to provide workers with a safe space to report work-related abuses on the job.