said that it fired a substantial number of the 1,200 employees at its
50 Minnesota restaurants after a federal immigration audit found some
were illegal workers.
The circumstances of the firings, which began in
early December, sparked a protest by several dozen people around noon
on Thursday at a downtown Minneapolis Chipotle restaurant.
police arrested eight participants after they chained themselves
together inside the restaurant. They were cited for trespassing.
The protesters didn’t claim that all the fired
employees were legal U.S. workers, but they did assert that the workers
were fired without much explanation and without being given time to
provide documents proving they were legal U.S. workers. They also
claimed that fired workers had to endure delays in being paid. The
claims, if true, would appear to be violations of
Chipotle responded that accused workers were given
one-on-one opportunities to provide documents that could prove they
were legally able to work in
If they couldn’t, they were fired in accordance with U.S. law, Arnold
said, adding that pay and accumulated vacation time were paid promptly.
The investigation of Chipotle began several months
ago, Arnold said, when ICE asked to see work eligibility documents. The
company was not told why it was singled out for review. ICE then
provided Chipotle with a list of employees whose documents might be
invalid, he said.
Chipotle tries to screen new employees, but some
provide false documents showing they are eligible workers, Arnold said.
In cases where employees insist they have the proper documents,
Chipotle has sought to give them extra time to produce the
identification, he said.
“We have asked ICE whether they would allow a 90-day
period to resolve discrepancies, and they have told us that they
absolutely would not,” Arnold said.
One of the protest organizers,
said the purpose of the demonstration was “to send a message to
corporations that they can’t sell Mexican culture and Mexican food and
sell out Mexican workers.” None of the Chipotle workers are represented
by his union.
Although Nammacher said it was one of the largest immigration-related dismissals in his experience, about 1,250 janitors in the
A meeting was held two weeks ago between Chipotle
and the SEIU and others representing fired workers. Both sides said no
agreement was reached.
Nammacher said that while Chipotle is not allowed to
employ illegal workers, the workers deserved more humane treatment than
they received.
“Companies all over this country are using immigrant
labor, and then, when the government shines a light on those employees,
the companies wash their hands of them,” Nammacher said. He added that
he was not accusing Chipotle or other companies of deliberately
employing illegal workers.
Some of the employees participating in Thursday’s protest said they’d had a long tenure with Chipotle.
for 14 years and spent the past six working at a Chipotle restaurant.
One day in early December, she and 12 other workers were fired as part
of the first wave of terminations. Cortez was told she lacked the legal
status to work there, but was not given a chance to show her
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(c) 2011, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
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