At the Korean barbecue restaurant Genwa, a plate of beef short ribs, or galbi, costs around $75.
Kylie Jenner has been spotted there having lunch with her then-boyfriend Tyga.
But workers say that until a year or two ago, they were not paid for all the hours they put in, were not given all the tips they earned and were not permitted to take rest breaks.
Last year, they formed a union. And last month, they signed a contract that included minimum pay of at least $20 an hour and reimbursement for healthcare costs, as well as seniority rights.
Genwa, which has two locations in Los Angeles and one in Beverly Hills, is the first Korean barbecue restaurant in the country to unionize, according to organizers.
The 50 or so Genwa employees join an expanding union movement across the country, from hundreds of Starbucks stores to an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. Many workers are demanding better treatment at a time when low-wage earners are having a tough time paying their bills and the gap between rich and poor continues to widen.
Labor experts and Asian American community leaders say Genwa can serve as a model for organizing immigrant workers, who may be unaware of their rights, afraid to speak up or hampered by language and cultural barriers.
Encouraged by the victory at Genwa, organizers are trying to convince workers at other Korean-owned businesses, including the supermarket Hannam Chain, that forming a union is in their best interests.
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