{"id":62552,"date":"2025-08-11T15:01:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T19:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/?post_type=victories&p=62552"},"modified":"2025-08-11T15:01:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T19:01:09","slug":"restaurant-workers-in-kentucky-ratify-first-contracts","status":"publish","type":"victories","link":"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/actions\/victories\/restaurant-workers-in-kentucky-ratify-first-contracts\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Workers in Kentucky Ratify First Contracts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Members of UFCW Local 227 who work at Feast BBQ and Royals Hot Chicken in Louisville, Ky., ratified their first union contracts on July 21 and 22. Feast BBQ and Royals Hot Chicken are owned by the Kentucky-based restaurant group Eternal Optimist Hospitality, and the workers are employed in a variety of front and back of house service crew positions at the restaurants ranging from waiters to cooks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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They\u00a0joined our union\u00a0because they were concerned about insufficient wages and benefits and the first contracts address those issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The three-year contracts include immediate wages increases (an additional $1.00 per hour immediate increase) and guaranteed wage increases during each year of the agreement. The contracts also maintain affordable health insurance and create a grievance process for the workers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cIt was a long process,\u201d said Jakob Sawyer<\/strong>, who works at Feast BBQ and served as a member of the bargaining committee. \u201cThings were quite tough at times. But finally reaching this goal is incredibly rewarding. I\u2019m so proud of the work we\u2019ve all done to get here and I would do it all again a hundred times if it means a better, more just work environment for my fellow workers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cWhile the process was long, it was well worth it to finally feel heard and to have our union looking out for us,\u201d said David Capeheart<\/strong>, who works at Royals Hot Chicken and served as a member of the bargaining committee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cFeast BBQ and Royals Hot Chicken workers made history in Louisville by becoming some of the first unionized restaurant workers in our city,\u201d said UFCW Local 227 President Bob Blair<\/strong>. \u201cFor over a year, these workers stood together to demand better for themselves and their industry. We are grateful that they chose UFCW Local 227 as their union and we are excited to build a better future for restaurant workers in Kentucky.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of UFCW Local 227 who work at Feast BBQ and Royals Hot Chicken in Louisville, Ky., ratified their first union contracts on July 21 and 22. Feast BBQ and Royals Hot Chicken are owned by the Kentucky-based restaurant group Eternal Optimist Hospitality, and the workers are employed in a variety of front and back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":426,"featured_media":62553,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[575],"class_list":["post-62552","victories","type-victories","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retail","tag-ufcw-local-227"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRestaurant Workers in Kentucky Ratify First Contracts - The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw.org\/actions\/victories\/restaurant-workers-in-kentucky-ratify-first-contracts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Restaurant Workers in Kentucky Ratify First Contracts - The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Members of UFCW Local 227 who work at Feast BBQ and Royals Hot Chicken in Louisville, Ky., ratified their first union contracts on July 21 and 22. 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