The Moctezuma’s restaurant chain FAFO’d and workers won back $850,000.

You heard that right: 1,400 Moctezuma’s workers received $850,000 through a settlement after enforcing our rights against wage theft and violations of our breaks.

Anyone who has worked in food service has some familiarity with what the boss did: being worked so hard preparing and serving food that there’s no chance to take breaks even when working double shifts. The break time that the boss stole was also the boss stealing wages. Word to the wise: not giving workers breaks is wage theft!

Here’s what happened and what it means: In 2022, workers came together through the Fair Work Center and our co-counsel to file a class action lawsuit against Moctezuma’s in King County Superior Court. This lawsuit for over 1,400 workers was a tool to ensure that the workers got the money that belonged to them from the start.

The company chose to settle and a court approved it in 2023. This victory wasn’t handed down from above. Workers reclaimed what was owed by powerfully speaking up together to protect our collective rights. It wasn’t just one worker looking after themselves to get what was owed to them personally. Workers organized together and used every available tool and tactic to win.

At Working Washington, we don’t separate legal tools from organizing. Government agencies and community-based organizations shouldn’t treat the courts as a single option leaving us beholden to a slow justice system. Using legal tools only as a means to settle individual complaints is like playing an endless game of whack-a-mole. Workers build power through organizing, and in addition, the courts should be a tool to stop unfair bosses from violating our rights.

This settlement demonstrated how strong enforcement helps workers reclaim what we’re owed. Community-based organizations and government agencies should be working to enforce workers rights more strategically. When the rules are clear and support for workers and businesses trying to do the right thing is there, being strategic with where we prioritize enforcement can help shift norms in entire industries.