Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

From ROC United's very beginnings, improving the nation’s service industries has been the bedrock of ROC United’s enduring commitment. And fighting for restaurant workers’ rights, including improved wages and working conditions, has been at the center of everything we do.    

In 2001, amid the grief following 9/11 terrorist attacks, we started as a small Immigrant Service Center in New York City to support displaced employees who worked at Windows on the World — the famous restaurant that sat atop the WTC’s North Tower.

This tragic moment shined a light on restaurant and food service workers who face ongoing discrimination and harassment. We knew we needed to do more to help them. For that reason, in 2002, the Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United was born. 

To date, ROC United is proud to have organized with more than 500,000 restaurant workers and tens of thousands of consumer allies across the country.