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Tav Adds a New Restaurant!

Exciting news! One new eating establishment has confirmed its commitments to ethical workplaces by joining the Tav HaYosher!

A and A Gourmet - 188-09 Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadows, NY 11366 - (718) 468-0903

Let’s work together to get your favorite kosher restaurant, caterer, butcher, or grocer Tav certified! Let them know that you care about the kashrut of your food just as much as you care about the dignity and rights of those who produced it. Tell your local eating establishment that you support the Tav HaYosher and encourage them to sign on!

Tav Adds Two New Restaurants!

Exciting news! Two new eating establishments have confirmed their commitments to ethical workplaces by joining the Tav HaYosher!

1. Cafe 11 – 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 – (212) 425-2233

2. Soom Soom – 166 W 72nd Street, New York, NY 10023 – (212) 712-2525

Let’s work together to get your favorite kosher restaurant, caterer, butcher, or grocer Tav certified! Let them know that you care about the kashrut of your food just as much as you care about the dignity and rights of those who produced it. Tell your local eating establishment that you support the Tav HaYosher and encourage them to sign on!

Current List of Tav HaYosher Certified Restaurants

The following kosher eating establishments have the Tav HaYosher! It’s important that we support these eating establishments – make a reservation, order some food, or just give a call and say yasher koach today!

Cafe Nana -606 W 115th St New York, NY 10025 – (347) 244-0033

Cafe 11 – 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 – (212) 425-2233

Soom Soom – 166 W 72nd Street, New York, NY 10023 – (212) 712-2525

Nathan’s Kosher Meats - 570 W 235th St, Bronx, NY 10463 - (718) 548-1723

Geshmake Fish Market, 513 W 236th St Bronx, NY 10463-1701 - (718) 432-5157‎

Cafe 76 – 334 Amsterdam Avenue Between West 75th and 76th - (646) 505-4399

Noah’s Ark Original Deli – 399 Grand Street – NY, NY – (212) 674-2200

Riverdale Kosher Market 5683 Riverdale Ave, Bronx, NY - (718) 884-2222

Sacred Chow – 227 Sullivan Street, NYC 10012 (b/w W3 & Bleecker) – (212) 337-0863

Dovid’s Kosher Food Stand – 27 William Street, between Beaver Street and Exchange - (212) 248-9008

Your Heights Cafe -4413 Broadway - (212) 544-9044

Supersol West Side -661 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025 - (212) 222-6332

Hartley Kosher Deli - West 114th Street, Between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue - (212) 854-5111

Hewitt Kosher Dining – 116th and Broadway - (212) 854-6663

Subway – 14124 Jewel Ave., Flushing, NY 11367 - (718) 544-7827

A and A Gourmet - 188-09 Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadows, NY 11366 - (718) 468-0903

Isaac’s Prime Beef – 189-19 Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadows, NY 11366 - (718) 217-9299

Bakery Beach Cafe – 112 Main St., Westhampton Beach, NY 11978, (631) 288-6552

Are you a kosher restaurant, cafe, supermarket, caterer, or other kind of food supplier? Want to see your name on this list? Click here to find out how to join the Tav – it’s free, easy, and gives you access to a large and rapidly growing consumer base looking to support the Tav HaYosher!

Uri L’Tzedek launches new website

Uri L’Tzedek is thrilled to announce the launching of our new website:

www.utzedek.org

“Here you can find Torah sources and articles, activist resources, hundreds of volunteer and campaign opportunities, events, opportunities to contribute, and much more!

Also, sign on to our listserve to receive weekly updates of opportunities and news!”

Many Low-Wage Workers Denied Pay

On Labor Day, NPR reported that two-thirds of low-wage workers were paid less than what they legally earned.

According to NPR: Nicole Curry(ph) knows a lot about not getting paid. She’s 24 and has worked as a restaurant hostess in Detroit. She says at four different restaurants her pay checks have bounced. And the funny thing was her managers never seemed surprised when she would tell them about it….Nonpayment of wages is on the increase in this recession, according to workers advocates. And there’s evidence that undocumented workers are among the most at risk. Jing Yu Chi(ph), he falls into that category. He’s 46 and works in construction. He came to the U.S. on a tourist visa on 2001 and has been living in New York City illegally ever since. Listen to the complete story here.

This story comes out a week after a new study that reports that low-wage workers are routinely cheated.  According to the New York Times: “4,387 workers [were surveyed] in various low-wage industries, including apparel manufacturing, child care and discount retailing, the researchers found that the typical worker had lost $51 the previous week through wage violations, out of average weekly earnings of $339. That translates into a 15 percent loss in pay.”

By supporting restaurants that have the Tav HaYosher, you help ensure that the workers who service the kosher industry do not have their wages or rights violated.

Kosher Community Survey Request From Tav HaYosher Promoter

Kosher Community Surveys LLC (KCS) has opened its first ever Manhattan
Kosher Community Survey to obtain the opinions of consumers regarding
the area’s kosher restaurants. The main goals of the survey are
two-fold: (1) recognize those kosher establishments that provide the
highest quality food/service, and (2) provide a feedback mechanism to
kosher establishment owners so that they can improve themselves. For
each geographic area surveyed, the results of the survey are collected
and shared back with the community through a free, detailed final
report.

KCS has conducted similar surveys in Chicago, Washington DC,
Baltimore, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Boston. Final reports of those
surveys or the press coverage generated by the results can be found on
the KCS web site – www.kosher-community-surveys.com.

Now is the time for you to share your opinion about Manhattan’s kosher
restaurants! The on-line survey can be found at the following link:
http://ny.kosher-community-surveys.com. Please e-mail Neil Rosenbaum
at manhattan@kosher-community-surveys.com if you have any questions.

Tav Adds Three New Restaurants

Exciting news! Three new eating establishments have confirmed their commitments to ethical workplaces by joining the Tav HaYosher!

• Nathan’Kosher Meats

Address:   570 W 235th St, Bronx, NY 10463Exciting news! Two new eating establishments have confirmed their commitments to ethical workplaces by joining the Tav HaYosher!

1. Subway – 14124 Jewel Ave., Flushing, NY 11367, (718) 544-7827

2. Isaac’s Prime Beef – 189-19 Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadows, NY 11366, (718) 217-9299

3. Bakery Beach Cafe – http://www.beachbakerycafe.com/ – 112 Main St., Westhampton Beach, NY 11978, (631) 288-6552

Let’s work together to get your favorite kosher restaurant, caterer, butcher, or grocer Tav certified! Let them know that you care about the kashrut of your food just as much as you care about the dignity and rights of those who produced it. Tell your local eating establishment that you support the Tav HaYosher and encourage them to sign on!

Help support the Tav HaYosher with just one click!

In May, Uri L’Tzedek launched the Tav HaYosher, an ethical seal for Kosher restaurants affirming justice in the workplace and worker’s rights for all its employees. This local, grassroots initiative has now awarded over 15 kosher eating establishments with a Tav!

Supporting the Tav HaYosher is now easier than ever! Shmuly Yanklowitz, the Founder and Co-Director of Uri L’Tzedek, has been nominated as Jewish Community Hero.  The prize for this distinction is $25,000 which will go straight to the Tav HaYosher! Please take a minute to vote for Shmuly at http://www.jewishcommunityheroes.org/nominees/profile/shmuly-yanklowitz/.  You can vote for him once every 12 hours so spread the word and vote often! Vote for just work practices in kosher establishments!

Must Watch Video on Postville

Follow Uri L’Tzedek and the Tav HaYosher on Twitter!

For the most up-to-the-minute news on Uri L’Tzedek and the Tav, follow us on Twitter!

2 new Tav Eating Establishments. The list keeps growing!

Exciting news! Two new eating establishments have confirmed their commitments to ethical workplaces by joining the Tav HaYosher! 

• Nathan’Kosher Meats

Address:   570 W 235th St, Bronx, NY 10463Exciting news! Two new eating establishments have confirmed their commitments to ethical workplaces by joining the Tav HaYosher! 

1. Nathan’s Kosher Meats - 570 W 235th St, Bronx, NY 10463 - (718) 548-1723

2. Geshmake Fish Market, 513 W 236th St Bronx, NY 10463-1701 - (718) 432-5157‎

Let’s work together to get your favorite kosher restaurant, caterer, butcher, or grocer Tav certified! Let them know that you care about the kashrut of your food just as much as you care about the dignity and rights of those who produced it. Tell your local eating establishment that you support the Tav HaYosher and encourage them to sign on!

The Tav Moves into Riverdale

Uri L’Tzedek is excited to announce our first Tav establishment in Riverdale!

Riverdale Kosher Market

5683 Riverdale Ave
Bronx, NY 10471-2127
(718) 884-2222

Who supports the Tav Chevrati in Israel?

The Tav Chevrati (an amazing program and organization that has inspired and supported the Tav HaYosher) has some serious support from Israeli rabbis. They include:

1. Yaakov Ariel
2. Shlomo Aviner
3. Uzi Binenfeld
4. Yoel Bin Nun
5. Chaim Drukman
6. Motti Elon
7. Avi Gisser
8. Reem HaCohen
9. Benny Lau
10. Aharon Lichtenstein
    
11. Shai Piron
12. Naftali Rotenberg
13. Yisrael Rozen
14. Eli Sadan
15. Yuval Cherlo 

Check out the list of American rabbis that support the the Tav HaYosher here!

Noah’s Ark Original Deli has the Tav!

Great news! Another fantastic kosher restaurant has the Tav HaYosher!

Noah’s Ark Original Deli, (399 Grand Street – NY, NY – 212-674-2200), is a Lower East Side classic. Mouth-watering deli favorites, warm, classy atmosphere, and Tav HaYosher certified – what could be better?

Important information for Tav HaYosher Consumers

Uri L’Tzedek has removed Mike’s Bistro and Mike’s Italian Kitchen from Tav HaYosher certification effective Monday, June 15 at 6 PM. We are committed to maintaining the integrity of our certification process and will continue to award the Tav to restaurants who meet Tav HaYosher certification guidelines. Since the Tav HaYosher launch one month ago, four new eating establishments have joined the Tav HaYosher program. As the Tav continues to expand, we encourage Kosher consumers who support the ethical treatment of workers to support their favorite kosher eating establishments in joining the Tav HaYosher program.

The Tav Needs You – Here’s How You Can Help.

Will you spend 10 minutes on the phone tonight to stand up for the workers who make our kosher food? Let restaurant owners you care about kosher food and ethical work practices! It’s very simple and very effective.

Follow the instructions here.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sacred Chow Gets the Tav!

Add another great kosher restaurant to the list! Sacred Chow, a super hip, super cool, super cheap, super delicious restaurant in Greenwich Village (227 Sullivan Street, NYC 10012 (b/w W3 & Bleecker)) is now Tav HaYosher certified! Its kashrus is supervised by the International Kosher Council. Enjoy!

Kashrut vs. Yashrut?

This is just a reminder that Uri L’Tzedek certifies yashrut, not kashrut! The Tav HaYosher certifies that labor conditions in eating establishments that are under a range of hasguchot are meeting TAV standards. We strongly encourage consumers to check with their rabbis as to the standards and reliability of any particular hasguchah.

Why We Need the Tav

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean hourly earnings of full-time waiters and waitresses are the lowest of 427 ranked occupations. Also among the 25 lowest-ranked occupations are food preparers, bartenders, and cooks. The average hourly wage for waiters and waitresses is $4.00. Full-time work at these wages leaves these workers below poverty for a family of four. In a New York City survey of restaurant workers, 57 percent earned wages below the poverty line, and 52 percent went to work when they were sick.

This is a crisis!

Workers explain that their days are long, the conditions are often hot and extremely demanding for hours at a time. They are often denied breaks. They are denied their overtime and they are even denied their regular wages.

There is so much pain right before our eyes!

Recent studies have shown that right here in the restaurant industry in New York, 60% of workers are denied overtime, 35% are harassed, and 15% are denied minimum wage (see here and here) 

These practices are unethical and are against the law. It is time for us to say “No” and to take responsibility for our kosher industry!

Tav on the Jewish Channel

The Jewish Press Chimes in…

“Yanklowitz stressed that “we’re not redefining kashrus, chas v’shalom. A place is totally kosher whether it has our seal or not. We’re merely saying that klal Yisrael cares not only about Yoreh De’ah, but also about Choshen Mishpat. It’s not about kashrut, it’s about ethics.”

See rest of article here

Dovid’s Kosher Food Stand Awarded the Tav!

Exciting news! Dovid’s Kosher Food Stand has been awarded the Tav HaYosher! You can find Dovid’s at:

27 William Street, Between Beaver Street & Exchange Place 

212-248-9008

Be sure to try the delicious knishes, kugel, and pareve cholent!

Rabbi Avi Shafran from Agudas Yisroel on the Tav HaYosher

 

475 Riverside Drive, Suite 244

New York, New York

10115 USA

Praise has also emerged from a past critical of Uri L’tzedek. “Any effort to protect worker’s rights is certainly praiseworthy,” said Rabbi Avi Shafran, a spokesman for Agudath Israel. “If the standards the certification plans to use are those of American law, it will simply be assuring consumers that dina dmalchusa [local law] is being observed by an establishment. That is a worthy thing.”

More here: http://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/kosher-and-then-some/

Tav blogroll

Thanks to our friends Marc Gopin, Matzav.com, Mixed Multitudes, Israelity,  heeb’n'vegan, Faith in Public Life, Jewschool, and JCarrot, for covering the Tav launch!

The Tav in the Press

 

 

The Tav HaYosher was featured this week in the Forward, The Jewish Week, Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, and the Chicago Tribune.

 

These Inspectors Stay Out of the Kitchen – The Jewish Week

A young rabbi walked into one of Michael Gershkovich’s kosher restaurants on the Upper West Side a few weeks ago, asked for the owner, then began a sales pitch. 

The rabbi was selling not a product, but an idea — a new form of free kosher supervision that certifies not ritual standards, but compliance with the Torah’s brand of ethics. 

Gershkovich, a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef who owns Mike’s Bistro and Mike’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant, was convinced.

Is your kosher restaurant ethically certified? – Haaretz Magazine

A new label just went up alongside the other colorful stickers and pamphlets adorning the window of Your Heights Cafe in northern Manhattan. It’s a seal with an image of clasped hands, and it was given out by a new organization looking to improve working conditions in New York’s kosher restaurants. 

A young rabbi walked into one of Michael Gershkovich’s kosher restaurants on the Upper West Side a few weeks ago, asked for the owner, then began a sales pitch.

The rabbi was selling not a product, but an idea — a new form of free kosher supervision that certifies not ritual standards, but compliance with the Torah’s brand of ethics.

Gershkovich, a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef who owns Mike’s Bistro and Mike’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant, was convinced.

Orthodox Group Stirs Pot with New Ethics Seal – The Forward

“It may be the law on the books, but we know that many of those laws are not observed and enforced,” said Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of the Orthodox Union’s kosher division. Speaking of the Tav HaYosher, he said: “We obviously support it, because how can one be opposed to it? It’s really existing labor law.”

For more Tav HaYosher reports, visit the Uri L’Tzedek website.

What are Jewish leaders saying about the Tav?

“We obviously support it, because how can one be opposed to it? It’s really existing labor law.” Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of the OU Kosher Division.

“Uri L’Tzedek is a burgeoning Orthodox Social Action Group, paralleling B’Maagalei Zedek in Israel, which insist that Kashrut and Yashrut, ritual concern and ethical sensitivity, must go hand in hand.” – Rabbi Shlomo Riskin.

“I heartily endorse the Tav HaYosher of Uri L’Tzedek. I encourage the members of my own community to patronize establishments with the Tav HaYosher and Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun’s regularly updated list of kosher establishments in Manhattan will indicate which of them have the Tav. I feel certain that my teacher Rav Soloveitchik would have been in favor of this wonderful initiative which will ensure that the values of the Torah are actualized in the public sphere.” - Rabbi Haskel Lookstein

“The Tav HaYosher is a powerful and innovative approach which allows multiple Jewish communities to stand with workers in meaningful way.” – Ruth Messinger, President of AJWS

See more thoughts from other Jewish leaders here.

Pictures from the Tav Launch!

Over 50 people came out to celebrate the Tav HaYosher launch Tuesday night! 

 

 

 

On Lag B’Omer (this Tuesday night May 12th), join Uri L’Tzedek as we celebrate our progress in the creation and launching of the Tav HaYosher, an ethical seal for Kosher eating establishments!

It will have been exactly one year since the federal raid at the Rubashkin meat plant on May 12. Since then, we’ve been hard at work on building the Tav HaYosher through discussions with restaurant owners, developing standards, meeting with labor officials, training volunteers, and piloting the system at several kosher eating establishments.

We’re proud to announce that, thanks to the hard work of our volunteers, including many people on this email list, we have the Tav up and running in 7 Kosher eating establishments in New York!!!

It’s time to celebrate!!!

Join us at Cafe Nana,

the first ever restaurant to be awarded the Tav HaYosher, for dinner from 6:30-8:30, with a program at 7:30pm. Cafe Nana is located at 505. w 115th, 2nd floorOn Lag B’Omer (Tuesday night May 12th), join Uri L’Tzedek as we celebrate our progress in the creation and launching of the Tav HaYosher, an ethical seal for Kosher eating establishments!

What are the standards for a restaurant to get certified?

There are three rights for that a restaurant must provide its workers in order to qualify for the Tav HaYosher. All standards are derived from US, State, and local law. They are:

    *

      The right to fair pay.

    *

      The right to fair time.

    *

      The right to a safe work environment.

The Right to Fair Pay

All non-tipped employees must be paid at least minimum wage of $7.15 an hour. Tipped employees must receive their legal minimum wage of $4.60 an hour. Deliver workers must receive their legal minimum wage of $4.85 an hour. Minimum wage law applies to both documented and undocumented workers.

The Right to Fair Time

Wage workers must, by law, be paid time and a half for any hours over 40 they work a week. By law, a restaurant must provide one day off a week. Restaurant workers must also be provided with a break of 20, 30 or 45 minutes, determined by the hours worked.

The Right to a Safe Work Environment

It is illegal for a restaurant to discriminate based on race, color, religion, language, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, sexual orientation, alienage or citizenship status.

Employees have the right to organize themselves to protect their rights and interests, and to engage in concerted activity, including striking. They also have the right to resist organizing efforts. It is illegal for restaurant management to threaten employees with loss of job or benefits if they attempt to organize, to interrogate employees about union activities, union status, etc, to grant raises or make other promises to dissuade employees from joining a union, or to ask or threaten to ask federal immigration authorities to conduct an immigration raid on employees attempting to organize.

Employees have the right to a safe, clean, orderly and sanitary workplace. There are many OSHA regulations governing restaurant safety. Some key ones include maintaining clean and dry floors, providing appropriate personal protective equipment for dangerous jobs, ensuring machines are properly guarded, and developing and implementing emergency action plans.

      The right to fair pay.

      The right to fair time.

      The right to a safe work environment.

 

See how it all works here!

For restaurant owners!

Do you own or manage a kosher eating establishment?

Do you want to be a part of one of the most exciting Jewish initiatives happening right now? And, at the same time be supported by thousands of consumers who are eager to eat at Tav HaYosher certified establishments?

Click here to find out how you can get on board! 

Tav HaYosher in Jcarrot

Uri L’Tzedek intern, Jonathan Henkin, writes a great guest post on the Tav HaYosher on the Jew and the Carrot – see the full post here!

Why the Tav HaYosher?

Why The Tav HaYosher?

Rav Yosef Breuer, one of the leading figures of 20th century Orthodoxy, famously stated:

“Kosher” is intimately related to “Yoshor.” God’s Torah not only demands the observance of Kashruth and the sanctification of our physical enjoyment; it also insists on the sanctification of our social relationships. This requires the strict application of the tenets of justice and righteousness which avoid even the slightest trace of dishonesty in our business dealings and personal life.”

Recent studies have revealed widespread abuse and exploitation of workers in the New York restaurant industry. Thousands of workers are paid below minimum wage. Even more are denied their legal rights to overtime pay and time off. Workers are often subject to unsafe and abusive working conditions. Given recent events in the kashrut industry, it is imperative that we put implement a system that will prevent abuse and exploitation. It is critical we stand up for tzedek and mishpat as a Jewish community! We must ensure these abuses are not taking place in kosher restaurants. Tav HaYosher is an opportunity to harness some of the power and influence we have as an observant community to strengthen tzedek in our world and create a true Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d’s name).

Rav Yosef Breuer, one of the leading figures of 20th century Orthodoxy, famously stated:

“Kosher” is intimately related to “Yoshor.” God’s Torah not only demands the observance of Kashruth and the sanctification of our physical enjoyment; it also insists on the sanctification of our social relationships. This requires the strict application of the tenets of justice and righteousness which avoid even the slightest trace of dishonesty in our business dealings and personal life.”

Recent studies have revealed widespread abuse and exploitation of workers in the New York restaurant industry. Thousands of workers are paid below minimum wage. Even more are denied their legal rights to overtime pay and time off. Workers are often subject to unsafe and abusive working conditions. Given recent events in the kashrut industry, it is imperative that we put implement a system that will prevent abuse and exploitation. It is critical we stand up for tzedek and mishpat as a Jewish community! We must ensure these abuses are not taking place in kosher restaurants. Tav HaYosher is an opportunity to harness some of the power and influence we have as an observant community to strengthen tzedek in our world and create a true Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d’s name).

Shmuly Yanklowitz speaking on Ethics and Kashrut at Yeshiva University