NYC Hospitality Worker Town Hall

Join us for an open-forum Hospitality Worker Town Hall to discuss necessary changes for the hospitality industry in New York City, NY. This event is free and open to anyone currently (or in the last two years) working in the hospitality industry in a non-managerial capacity (i.e., has no direct reports).

Our goals for this Town Hall are to:

• Examine existing issues in hospitality businesses from the lens of a frontline worker, and what processes and systems continue to perpetuate these problems.
• Brainstorm solutions, rooted in transformative justice, that can be implemented to create a more equitable and inclusive hospitality industry.

After aggregating and analyzing our learnings from a national series of town halls, we hope to co-create a publicly accessible guide for hospitality business owners & decision makers on ways they can better support workers at a local, regional, and national level.

This Town Hall is Presented By:

• Studio ATAO, a 501(c)3 advocacy nonprofit defining more equitable standards for the food, beverage, and hospitality industry through community-informed research, education, and programming.
• Queer Food Foundation or QFF, a 501(c)3 whose mission is to be a resource and platform for Queer Folks in food; and secondarily promote, protect, and fund queer food spaces.

With Venue Donation from:

• Yondu Culinary Studio, A shared space for anyone who is passionate about food.

Format for this Town Hall 

This event will start promptly at 2pm ET, and end at 4:30pm ET.

Our maximum capacity is 35, and we will be opening the venue at 1:30pm ET to the first 35 attendees on a first-come, first-serve basis. There will be an optional social hour from 4:30-5:30 pm ET, with an invitation to continue the evening at SPILL's Hustles Night Market at Dirty Precious in Brooklyn.

This event will be facilitated by the Studio ATAO and QFF teams. 

[5 min] Introduction of the Town Hall and ground rules.

[20 min] To lay a common foundation for the Town Hall, Studio ATAO & QFF will be giving a 20-minute presentation on the The History of Power & Resistance in the Hospitality Industry.

[30 min] Question 1: How is conflict brought up and discussed in your workplace and what mediation process exists, if there is one? How do the power dynamics in your workplace impact, or limit, conflict resolution?

• [20 min] Breakout groups to peer-review ideas and suggestions
• [10 min] Regroup all together to share ideas

[30 min] Question 2: What is one thing that needs to happen in order for you to feel good about staying at your current workplace?

• [20 min] Breakout groups to peer-review ideas and suggestions
• [10 min] Regroup all together to share ideas

[30 min] Question 3: What does accountability mean to you? What is a system of accountability you would want to see implemented at your workplace?

• [20 min] Breakout groups to peer-review ideas and suggestions
• [10 min] Regroup all together to share ideas

[5 min] Wrap up

Please note this event will not be recorded, but audience participation will be notated by our Facilitators during the event. All information within the recap will be anonymized and nothing will be directly attributed to any individual.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? 

We are always seeking suggestions on ways to improve our events and make them more beneficial for the FBH community. Please contact Studio ATAO's Head of Events, Kirby Page (kirby@studioatao.org).

Food and beverages will be provided. The event is free but registration is required. We look forward to seeing you at the Town Hall!