Rally at Old Town Restaurants Leads to Civil Disobedience Arrest of Nine

Old Town Action - May 8

Old Town State Park’s latest restaurant opened on May 8 with much fanfare, as nine activists were arrested as part of UNITE HERE Local 30’s protest of the owner’s attempts to bust the union.

While anti-union businessmen and their supporters, including San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, entered the remodeled Fiesta de Reyes restaurants Barra Barra and Casa de Reyes, union members gathered outside in protest.

As the workers circled the state park in multiple picket lines outside, City Commissioner Nicole Murray-Ramirez, Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez, Congressman Bob Filner, Environmental Health Coalition’s Tony LoPresti, AFSCME District Council 36’s Carlos Mejia, UNITE HERE Local 30 President Brigette Browning and Local 30 staff member Erick Carbajal sat blocking Fiesta de Reyes’ main entrance.

The group chanted “No justice, no peace” for more than 30 minutes before State Park Police arrested them one-by-one for disturbing the peace. Two additional union staff members were arrested for using a bullhorn on park grounds.

New owner Chuck Ross refused to rehire 130 union members from UNITE HERE Local 30 when he purchased the restaurants earlier this year.

Ross makes no bones about his union-busting decision.

“Our intention is to start over as nonunion,” Ross confirmed to the San Diego Union-Tribune in February.

He added that his decision to bust the union was a matter of dollars and cents.

The Labor Council has sanctioned a boycott of the Fiesta de Reyes restaurants Barra Barra and Casa de Reyes.