Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at Rally Highlighting Chipolte's Violations of the NYC Fair Workweek Law

May 12, 2021

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you so much, Jenny. Thank you for all you are doing to fight for working people. Kyle Bragg, you don't back down from a fight. You don't back down from a fight, even against a giant multinational corporation. You know no fear and you will prevail. You will prevail. That's right.

Everybody. I am standing around a group of people who fight and win, who never give up who believe in the power of working people. This organization I have the pleasure of joining today is called 32 –

Audience: BJ!

Mayor: 32 –

Audience: BJ!

Mayor: 32 –

Audience: BJ!

Mayor: That sounded good. You know what does not sound good? Chipotle cheating its workers. Let's be clear. Everyone out there in New York city, Chipotle is cheating its workers. They are getting rich and they're literally taking pay away from the people who serve your food. They are breaking the law shamelessly. This is what's going on. Chipotle thinks they're so wonderful, so special and that we're all not going to notice that they're breaking the law. But we did notice in New York City. And we are not going to let them get away with it. They violated the Fair Workweek Law that this union fought so hard for. What does that mean? It means giving working people, the dignity of knowing when they have to work, treating them like human beings, not cogs in the machine. And it's the law. And Chipotle brazenly violated that law. Paid Sick Leave, something we believe in, in New York City, protecting families, protecting working people, never forcing them to choose between a day's pay and getting well when they're sick. Chipotle violated that law too. They are law breakers period. And they will pay. They will pay because we will be in court ensuring that what they've done is stopped. And that they pay the workers just compensation. We're talking here about hundreds of millions of dollars. This is not a minor matter. This is brazen. Now, if everyone out there is worried about Chipotle because it’s been a pandemic. Maybe business was slow. Well, let me tell you, a little, few facts. Revenue, Chipotle revenue last year, top $6 billion. Stock price soared 66 percent. But the one that bothers me the most, the CEO took home $38 million last year while he cheated working people out of their pay.

And that is disgusting. So, I want to thank Kyle Bragg. Thank you for standing up. 32 BJ, thank you for standing up. Thank you for never being afraid. But here's my message to Chipotle my message, my personal message to Chipotle. We don't want your burritos. We don't want your rice and beans. We just want you to give dignity to working people and stop this madness. If you break the law, we will get you. We will stop you. But otherwise I'm not going near a Chipotle. I don't think anyone else should too. Because I don't want to give a dollar, a single dollar to a company that cheats working people. Chipotle, guess what? The whole world is watching. So, get right, or you're going to have to pay up and we will see you in court.