The National Restaurant Association (a.k.a. "the other NRA") is a giant industry lobby organization that has successfully kept the tipped minimum wage at $2.13 an hour for more than 20 years. So it's not surprising that the NRA is keeping a veeerrrry close watch on organizing among fast food workers fighting for better wages and working conditions. Josh Eidelson got his hands on
some of the documents showing what that close watch looks like:
“In preparation for the [fast food] protests,” a Dec. 19, 2013, “Labor Activism Update” reveals, “NRA entered several hundred zip codes” into the Low Pay Is Not OK website (designed by organizers to help protesters find demonstrations to join), so that the NRA could “locate and track protest locations across the country.” Then, “All of this information was compiled into a spreadsheet that was distributed to our chain and SRA allies prior to the protest taking place so that they could prepare for protest activity at specific locations.” [...]
Several pages of the activism updates obtained by Salon are devoted to city-by-city rundowns of [Restaurant Opportunities Centers] activities, including not only events with elected officials or protests against particular companies, but also the descriptions posted for job openings at ROC affiliates, citations of ROC’s research in other organizations’ materials, and lists of local restaurants honored by ROC as “high road” employers. Among other factoids, the NRA memos note that a Philadelphia blog recommended ROC as a good group to donate to; that a ROC Michigan board member is also a project manager for United Way; and that ROC New Orleans “continues to offer free job training” to members.
The NRA also promotes the efforts of key experts who can be counted on to issue quotes in favor of low wages, and brags that coverage of fast food strikes just about always includes an NRA pushback quote.
The upshot is that in case NSA surveillance wasn't enough for you, if you're an activist against wage theft and abuse and for a living wage in the restaurant industry, you can take it for granted that the NRA is monitoring your social media and mapping your protest plans.