Lunch vs. Exploitation: ​“G‑Heav” Patrons Choose

Alex Saeedy walked past 40 picketers protesting the alleged firing of four immigrant whistleblowers to buy a can of Diet Coke and a Reuben sandwich with lettuce, tomato, onion, and dijon mustard.

His purchase Wednesday at the 24-hour deli Gourmet Heaven totaled $8.65 — 5 cents less than the new hourly minimum wage for Connecticut and $4.49 more than some workers claim they were paid hourly before cooperating with a state Department of Labor investigation into the company. The workers said they were paid between $4.16 and $6.25 for the past three to eight years.

That was the scene at the popular Broadway store at lunch hour Wednesday, as members of immigrant advocacy organization Unidad Latina en Accion made speeches, chanted slogans (“Stop intimidation, no retaliation”) and held signs reading, ​“Take exploitation off the menu” outside the 24-hour deli.

Business at Gourmet Heaven dropped as a result, according to one employee. Some customers did wade through the protest — and offered explanations for their moral choice.

“I’m doing me. The Department of Labor will do them,” said Saeedy, a Yale undergraduate history major. ​“I think this is emblematic of this belief Yale students have that they can create a world free of problems and full of happiness and justice.” 

He called it an example of students ​“stepping outside of their boundaries” in response to ​“a bureaucratic, external city labor dispute that will probably get fixed up soon.”

Another customer, a Yale undergraduate who asked not to be identified: ​“At this point in my life I’d rather get a quick healthy sandwich at a reasonable price than stand up for something that I’m not particularly invested in.

“I know it’s morally incorrect, but where else around here is it convenient to get a sandwich on the way to the gym?”

At one point, the fired workers, including Julio (pictured; he asked not to be identified by his last name), walked back inside Gourmet Heaven to ask for their jobs back. They were met with silence by employees. ​“Management is hiding,” said organizer John Jairo Lugo.

Gourmet Heaven is legally liable for only two years of back pay, so longer-term workers won’t be able to recover all they’re owed in the ongoing Labor Department proceeding, according to another protest organizer, Megan Fountain.

Following is an earlier version of this story:

After Gourmet Heaven agreed to pay back wages to employees, the company also allegedly sought revenge against staff ​“snitchers” who had talked to the state Department of Labor.

That’s according to Unidad Latina En Accion (ULA) and Yale activists who are planning a Wednesday protest outside the popular Broadway market, known as ​“G‑Heav” among its Yale student clientele.

Activists say Gourmet Heaven fired four workers who told the Department of Labor that they’d been underpaid for years.

Store owner Chung Cho couldn’t be reached for comment.

Gary Pechie, head of the labor department’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division, said he hasn’t yet received a complaint about the alleged firings, but expects to see one. If the claims are true, the owner faces harsh penalties, possibly including criminal charges, he said.

The state Department of Labor investigated Gourmet Heaven last summer after a worker filed a complaint in July, alleging that he was owed nearly $10,000 in unpaid wages. The Department of Labor found a number of violations at the market, including paying workers less than the minimum wage.

The investigation led to protests and calls for boycott, as activists took up the cause of the underpaid workers.

On Nov. 14, Gourmet Heaven settled with the Department of Labor, agreeing to a settlement of $140,000 to be disbursed to some two dozen Gourmet Heaven workers, plus a penalty of $10,200, Pechie said. Gourmet Heaven is on a payment plan, Pechie said. The first payment was made on Nov. 22, the second is ​“due right now,” and the last payment is due Feb. 21.

The $140,000 settlement covers ​“the majority” of unpaid back wages, Pechie said. It’s unclear exactly how much was owed because there is ​“a lack of records from both sides,” he said. ​“We’ve instructed employees to keep track of their hours.”

In November, according to ULA, four Gourmet Heaven workers met with the Department of Labor and testified that they had been paid less than the minimum wage for years.

“We have talked to workers that are still working there,” Pechie confirmed. ​“We are continuing to monitor the payroll practices at Gourmet Heaven. It’s an ongoing investigation. We are still getting information that perhaps there are some irregularities going on down there.”

“If they continue to flaunt the law then obviously there will be a steeper price,” Pechie said.

After the four workers spoke with the Department of Labor, according to ULA, ​“the manager began pulling aside the workers one by one, stating that the owner was aware of the meeting, and that ​‘snitchers’ would be punished.”

After a week of unpaid vacation, the four workers returned to Gourmet Heaven on Jan. 3 and discovered they’d been fired.

“Misael, Isai, Cristian and Julio worked 7 am to 7 pm, 6 days per week, earning $4.16 to $6.25 per hour for three to eight years,” a press release for Wednesday’s rally stated in reference to the four fired workers. ​“While Yale students were away on Christmas break, the deli fired the four workers in retaliation for their Department of Labor complaint.”

“Any employer that would fire or retaliate against an employee … is doing so at great risk,” said Pechie. ​“There is a retaliation law in the state of Connecticut.” He cited the statute—31 – 69b—and said ​“we have used it quite often.”

“It’s unfortunate that somehow the message isn’t getting to this employer,” Pechie said. Department of Labor enforcement includes efforts to educate offending employers, he said. ​“For some reason, it appears this employer hasn’t gotten it yet.”

“We went civil last time,” Pechie said. The Department of Labor can also file criminal charges, he said. ​“It’s a tool we have.”