Lisa Schroeder and Anthony Park, like many restaurant owners, consider their employees family.
Both work alongside Latinx immigrants on a daily basis. Both are participating in a national strike on their behalf, known across the country as the Day Without Immigrants.
The strike is a response to President Donald Trump’s promises to crack down on the country’s undocumented residents and his promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The two Portland restauranteurs are participating in two different ways.
Park’s establishment, Du’s Grill, won’t open its doors. Schroeder is matching the wages earned by her Latinx employees at Mother’s Bistro & Bar and donating the sum to Causa, an immigrants’ rights association.
In both cases, the service employees will be paid for the day.
“Why should they lose a day of pay to make a point?” Schroeder said.
She was originally planning on closing Mother’s for the day as a show of support after her Latinx employees said they’d be staying home Feb. 16.
“So I asked, ‘Are you going to march? Are you going to make a statement? How can I help?'” she said.
Approximately 13 percent of her staff is a Latinx immigrant or has parents who moved to the U.S. from another country.
“But if we’re going back to grandparents, lemme tell you — it’s everybody,” she said.
Because the staffers planning on demonstrating were in the minority, Schroeder decided to compromise.
“These guys (non-immigrants) were going to lose a day of pay as well,” she said. “So then we thought, how can we find a solution that will achieve our goal?”
That’s when one of her Latinx employees brought up Causa. Why not donate to the organization on their behalf, they told her. Schroeder decided she’d match her Latinx employees’ earnings for the day and donate them to the organization.
For Park, the decision to shut down was much easier. He employs six people, all of whom are Mexican immigrants.
“They’re very adamantly against the things Trump’s been doing,” he said. “They’re very vocal about it. We have good discussions about it.”
Both Park and Schroeder say tensions have been high among their Latinx employees ever since Trump was elected.
“At first there was a lot of anger — a lot of uneasiness of not knowing what’s going to happen to their families or the people they care about,” Park said.
Thursday’s strike is the first of two demonstrations planned in response to Trump’s proposals.
Over Presidents’ Day weekend, several Portland restaurants are donating 10 percent of their profits to the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been on the forefront of opposition for many of the president’s controversial policies.
“I think everybody is on edge. We’re all worried about our future. People, particularly those from other countries, are shaking in their boots,” Schroeder said.
–Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344
@edercampuzano
ecampuzano@oregonian.com
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