The Union’s Perspective on Scottie’s Pizza Parlor

Under capitalism, workers create all wealth and bosses steal most of it. This is the reality of the system Scottie’s Pizza Parlor continues to operate in. As a boss, Scottie’s primary prerogative is to ensure the financial viability of his business, as it is directly linked to his own financial success. We think it is naive to believe that one can own and operate a business with the intention of centering worker’s needs while not also being fully prepared to invest the time and energy necessary to ensure it does, actually, meet the needs of the workers. From this perspective, it is practically inevitable that a boss would choose the easiest way out, rather than engaging in the rewarding, if challenging, emotional labor of working together to envision a different kind of workplace. Scottie was simply not prepared to do this. Ironically, in order to not be a boss anymore, he did the most boss thing imaginable: he fired all of us.

The biggest action the union ever took was on a Monday morning in mid-March, before the shelter-in-place order became our reality. After a week of internal union communication around fears regarding COVID-19, and an utter lack of communication from Scottie around worker and community safety (we and our then-manager were unable to reach him for several days), we decided to keep the parlor closed for the day to disinfect and formulate a safety strategy. Scottie was informed of this, and swiftly showed up to make sure we opened. Workers confronted him and he acquiesced to our demand that the parlor cease serving slices immediately, and move to only doing take-out pizza. Later, after a staff meeting, Scottie confronted a union worker, frustrated at how much money the temporary closure had cost him. The worker’s response: “When did this become profits over people?” We wonder how this might have turned out differently had he been listening to his workers from the beginning. Now, of course, the model we proposed is the same model he is using to justify firing all of us, after months of no communication.

Let’s be really clear: as workers, we feel subordinate when a boss does not support our work. When we know that someone is living off of what we are making and doing, and not taking an active role in communicating or engaging with us, keeping us at arm’s length instead. “Pro-worker” is not a label to be instrumentalized for marketing purposes; it is an active engagement with and fundamental responsiveness to the needs of workers. It is not acceptable to claim a “pro-worker” stance and then refuse to engage meaningfully in any process with the workers who are running your business. It is deeply, deeply disrespectful to fire your entire workforce via email in the middle of a pandemic and uprising when those workers have kept your pizza parlor running for two and a half years in your absence, supported your lifestyle, and even considered you a friend.

We see alternative paths that could have been seriously and legitimately considered if being “pro-worker” was truly important. For example, negotiating with the union to find a way to bring workers back on based on seniority or skill level; the possibility of work-sharing, so that the workload could be shared while maintaining unemployment benefits; or, most radically and “pro-worker”, beginning a transition to a cooperative management and ownership structure. It is possible to have constructive, collaborative conversations with your workers and be a model to others. But you have to actually be brave enough to be engaged.

We, the workers, demand that Scottie take a long hard look at his own ideas and ideals about what it means to be a worker-friendly or worker-supportive business in the context of capitalism, and why he has failed to do so. We find the discrepancy between Scottie’s words and his actions (and inaction) both disappointingly predictable and absolutely unacceptable.

We call on Scottie to make a public statement explicitly acknowledging that his “pro-worker” ideals did not translate into good personal practice, and are superseded by his class position as a boss and an owner; that he has acted in bad faith rather than seeking inclusive and equitable solutions with worker input; and to strike pro-worker language from the parlor website and any other materials that employ it for advertising purposes. In addition, we ask that he publicly apologize for any harm he has caused to the former workers of the parlor.

Finally, we call on both our former manager at the parlor (Courtney) and the sole remaining worker who is currently scabbing (Hope) to quit in solidarity with the union and the sentiments expressed here. Let Scottie figure his own stuff out.

Any inquiries, please contact: parlorunion@gmail.com
Support the workers: https://www.gofundme.com/f/pizza-workers-union-at-scottie039s