000007527 001__ 7527 000007527 005__ 20231215153730.0 000007527 0247_ $$2DOI$$a10.6083/0z708w90k 000007527 037__ $$aETD 000007527 245__ $$aThe role labor unions and worker centers play in restaurant industry equality 000007527 260__ $$bOregon Health and Science University 000007527 269__ $$a2019 000007527 336__ $$aThesis 000007527 502__ $$bM.S. 000007527 502__ $$gFood Systems & Society 000007527 520__ $$aThis thesis focuses on both union and worker center labor organizing strategies in the restaurant industry in order to better understand how restaurant workers can seek justice. The restaurant industry has a reputation for being difficult to organize; therefore, the purpose of this research is to uncover the role unions and worker centers play in addressing gender, race, class inequality in the restaurant industry. Restaurant workers are plagued by low wages, low job mobility, lack of job security, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and gender and racial segregation. Business practices that encourage inequality is a social problem relevant to social justice and social change in the food system because they exploit workers. This thesis asks what role do unions and worker centers play in addressing inequality in the restaurant industry? This research is guided by frameworks of inequality and uses critical inquiry, content analysis, and labor organizing strategies as methodologies. The findings of this research show that unions and worker centers have the potential to enhance the labor movement in the restaurant industry due to their different strengths at addressing inequality. This research contributes to social justice in the food system by focusing on the ways unions and worker centers are addressing inequality as labor organizing strategies and by addressing how their efforts complement one another. Future research should look closer at the challenges unions and worker centers face in collaborating. 000007527 650__ $$aLabor Unions$$021260 000007527 650__ $$aSocial Discrimination$$040243 000007527 650__ $$aRestaurants$$025375 000007527 650__ $$aGender Equity$$013435 000007527 650__ $$aRacism$$040240 000007527 650__ $$aSexism$$040242 000007527 691__ $$aSchool of Medicine$$041369 000007527 692__ $$aGraduate Programs in Human Nutrition 000007527 7001_ $$aShervey, Whitney$$uOregon Health and Science University$$041354 000007527 8564_ $$9d2fa0c40-cb3a-4045-98cd-30156ea99464$$s659845$$uhttps://digitalcollections.ohsu.edu/record/7527/files/shervey.whitney.2019.pdf 000007527 905__ $$a/rest/prod/0z/70/8w/90/0z708w90k 000007527 909CO $$ooai:digitalcollections.ohsu.edu:7527$$pstudent-work 000007527 980__ $$aFood Systems & Society