Originally published in the Summer 2023 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 72, printed August 23. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Summer 2023 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

By Phil Wilayto

They walked, they rallied, they protested – and they got fired.

Or at least that’s the way it looks, for now.

Mom’s Siam, a Thai restaurant in Richmond’s Carytown district, reopened July 6 after shutting down during a rally held by some of its workers and supporters on Sunday, June 25. The workers were demanding better pay, especially for the front-of-the-house employees who make less than minimum wage and have to rely on tips to get by.

“Your threats and tricks will not divide, workers standing side by side!” was one of the chants that rang out as around 50 workers and supporters staged a rally across the street from the restaurant.

The workers say they aren’t trying to organize a union, they just want to discuss their concerns with the owner, Sukanya Pala-art. According to a story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Pala-art also owns YaYa’s Cookbook and MPM Tiki Bar in Short Pump; Mom’s Siam 2 in Shockoe Slip; and, with her sons, My Noodle Bar on Monument Avenue.

“There’s been some progress on wages, but not for everyone,” said Midge O’Brien, a spokesperson for Workers Siam, an organization formed to speak for the workers at the restaurant.

According to the RTD, Pala-art said she met with the group on June 22 and the day before had raised the hourly wage for hosts to $14 to $15 and for bartenders to $15, as well as a $0.50 raise every six months.

O’Brien told the Defender that servers still made $2.13, the state’s minimum wage for tipped workers.

“But if servers want to be paid more, they need to work more hours,” Pala-art was as saying in the RTD. ‘“If they don’t like it, why not work somewhere else? Or work more (hours here)?”

On its Instagram page, Workers Siam says, “Mom’s Siam continues to operate with new management and a minimized FOH [front of the house] staff. We have been told explicitly that the owner wants nothing to do with anyone that was involved with organizing.

“The irony is that many changes have been made that we were asking for, but now we do not get to benefit. We have filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) claim to continue fighting back against the illegal and retaliatory actions taken against us for organizing. Meanwhile, we continue to meet and discuss how to move forward a movement for restaurant workers across Richmond.”

According to its website, Mom’s Siam is normally open until 10 p.m. on Sundays. Seeking a comment on the rally and the workers’ demands, this reporter called the restaurant three times the evening of the workers’ protest, between 8:40 and 8:43 p.m. Each time the call was dropped, without a ring tone.

We tried again the following Sunday, at 7:45 p.m., again three times. Each time there was one ring, and then the call was dropped.

The workers have started a petition at Coworker.org, “Support Mom’s Siam Workers,” that lists their demands, including a $12 hourly wage for servers and “equal and fair distribution of shifts.”

As of Aug. 23, the petition had gathered more than 4,000 signatures.