Union activists currently protesting the employment policies of a local restaurant have made it clear that they plan to continue protesting for as long as it takes.
For more than a week now, protesters armed with signs, megaphones, whistles and a siren have been picketing in front of the Top Dog sports grille attached to the University City Sheraton.
The protesters allege that Top Dog did not provide jobs to old employees during a 90-day transition period. Top Dog recently opened in the space formerly occupied by Shula's Steak 2.
Top Dog owner Bruce Waugh feels the ordinance in question does not apply to his establishment, as it is independently contracted and not subsidized by the Sheraton.
"I have legal counsel and they've researched it to the highest level they can, and we believe that it doesn't apply to me," Waugh said.
"If in any way I was found to be responsible, I would meet my obligations," he added.
Waugh said that before he opened Top Dog, he tried to explain to union officials that he would not be able to afford all the former employees, since his restaurant is not as upscale as Shula's, and it is in a "different style."
"I came in with the hopes of fitting into the neighborhood... [with] a place that the kids would be able to afford," he said.
According to Waugh, union officials were not very open to discussion.
"They said, 'You have to hire everybody back who was here, pay them the same rates they were making, give them the same benefits and then we'll start talking to you,'" Waugh said.
Charles Murphy, an official with local union 274, said that the protesters plan to be there for as long as it takes to get back the jobs of former employees.
"We will definitely be there one day longer than these ingrates are," he said. "The wheels of justice grind slowly as it relates to the ordinance being implemented."
According to Murphy, the support of passers-by has been tremendous, and many people have refused to enter Top Dog in support of the union.
"It's heartwarming," he said. "The ladies and gentlemen are out there, so many youngsters are out there."
Murphy added that in addition to the "overwhelming majority" of the former employees, other union members have been helping to picket Top Dog.
Waugh said he respects the protesters' right to be in front of his restaurant, and that in some ways, he understands the protesters' motivations.
"I'm in this situation where [the union] had this restaurant before and they don't want to give it up," Waugh said. "It was kind of like their turf, I guess."
Waugh said that despite attempts to approach the protesters, the two parties have had no direct conversation, and that any attempts to communicate have been received with hostility.
"I don't feel like it would be advantageous for me to stand out there and try to compete with them to tell people my side of things," he said. "So the only way I can really do that is to tell the customers who actually come in."
Waugh said that he is particularly discouraged by the protesting because he did hire some former Shula's workers to work for Top Dog.
"It's hard enough to get anything new up and running, but to have people just stand outside and kind of bad mouth you and put you down, it gets to you," he said, adding that business has not been as good as expected due, he believes, to the protesting outside.
Waugh said he appreciates the support of students who have come to eat at Top Dog.
"A lot of the students across the street came over... just to tell us that they supported what we were doing," he said. "As corny as it sounds, it made us feel good."
Students who live across the street in Kings Court/English House say they have been especially affected by this ongoing protest.
"It's really hard to study with all the noise," College freshman Monica Park said.
"It's really funny because the people on this side of the hall who hear all the noise are for the proprietor now, and the other people are still for the protesters," she said.
Katy Gunderson, also a College freshman, said that the protesters have been using whistles and bullhorns constantly.
"Even when our windows are shut... it's still really loud," she said. "We can't really drown it out."
"They have every right to protest, but there was one morning when they came at 6 in the morning, and everyone was woken up," she added. "My roommate had a test, and that didn't seem right."
According to Gunderson, students have had verbal exchanges with the protesters on some occasions, due to the excessive disturbance.
"Other dorm rooms are facing the Top Dog, and [students] open the windows and shout at them," she said. Protesters "shout back at us, 'Thank you, Kings Court 4th floor!'"
"It's sort of a battle between us and them," Gunderson said.
Waugh said that there is nothing he can do about the noise from the protesters, although he has called police on several occasions when the protesters have upset customers.
"When it gets really loud, I feel bad for our neighbors," he said. "I don't know how they can stand it."
Waugh said that Top Dog management calls a civil police group when the protesters get too loud.
"When we have customers come in and complain that the whistles were blown directly in their ear, we call the police for that," he said.
Murphy said that their aim is not to disturb people who live in the Sheraton or around the area.
"We've explained it [to neighbors], and they understand our need on occasion to voice our opinion," he said. "That's certainly not our goal -- to be disruptive."
