Milwaukee Custard Shop’s English-Only Policy Might Face Investigation
A decade old policy is now a problem?
Leon’s Frozen Custard in Milwaukee, WI, has come under fire for its English-only policy, inspiring one group to demand a federal investigation.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) flipped out over the private business policy. The group’s state director Dr. Arturo Martinez released this statement:
“In the last 24 hours, LULAC of Wisconsin has received numerous requests to investigate the issue of workplace policy as it pertains to language at Leon’s Frozen Custard located at 3131 S. 27th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While many of us consider this as a community institution, it was surprising when we learned of their language policy, which is in clear violation of federal labor law. Upon reviewing the statements made by management in a video interview detailing Leon’s policy, we are requesting an investigation of this policy by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The law is clear on this issue and offers few exceptions. In the meantime, we encourage management to review their current employment policies with counsel to bring them into compliance. We are confident that in doing so, it will lead to a stronger business and a stronger community.”
On May 17, customer Joey Sanchez heard one employee tell a Spanish-speaking customer she could only speak English to him. Sanchez also ordered in Spanish and she said the same thing to him.
Latino rights group Voces de la Frontera has planned a protest at Leon’s this Saturday. Member Primitivo Torres said the policy “is clearly a violation of law, federal labor law.” Rep. JoCosta Zamarripa (D-Milwaukee) claimed the policy brought tears to her eyes and demanded an apology. But Rep Josh Zepnick (D-Milwaukee) took a less dramatic approach by asking for a compromise:
“I’ve always seen Latino people working here and Latinos spending their money here and I always thought things were in really good shape and people come from all over Milwaukee and we’re proud of our immigrant backgrounds,” Zepnick said.
Owner Ron Schneider defended the English-only policy and said it does not hurt his business, which has held the policy for a decade. He also told the media the business has never turned away a customer.
But the social media pressure “softened” Schneider’s policy:
“I’ve firmed up what has been maybe a little loose,” Leon’s Frozen Custard owner Ron Schneider told WISN. “If anybody comes up here, employees are instructed to do whatever they can do to help them. If you talk in Spanish, fine. But if you come up and speak German we’re going to have a problem because we don’t have anybody here that speaks German.”
Leon’s Frozen Custard is located on Milwaukee’s southside, an area with a large Hispanic population.
Schneider says he’ll allow employees to speak Spanish with customers, but he’ll ask them to speak English amongst each other.“In order to promote workplace security and let’s say workplace efficiency, they can be requested to speak in one language,” Schneider told. “I’m going to prefer they do that because … for God’s sake if something here goes wrong big time and everybody doesn’t know what’s being said, this is a dangerous situation.”
Philadelphia’s Geno’s Steaks encountered its own controversy in 2006 when they posted a sign telling customers to order in English:
“They don’t know how lucky they are. All we’re asking them to do is learn the English language,” said Geno’s owner Joseph Vento, 66. “We’re out to help these people, but they’ve got to help themselves, too.”
Vento, whose grandparents struggled to learn English after immigrating from Sicily in the 1920s, said he posted the sign about six months ago amid concerns over immigration reform and the increasing number of customers who could not order in English when they wanted Philly’s gooey, greasy specialty — fried steak, sliced or chopped, in a long roll, with cheese and fried onions.
Vento passed away in 2011, but he asked that the English Only sign remain up. His son Geno took over and promised to keep up the sign even though he had different views than his father.
[Featured image via YouTube]
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Another commission that could be eliminated.
Italians are a great example of integration into American life… haven’t heard “press 2 for Italian”…ever.
Why all this pandering to spanish speaker? Are they incapable of learning English? What ever happened to assimilating? What ever happened to wanting to be an American?
But they “love” America – as long as they can get “free” stuff, demand everyone bend over backwards for them, and crap on all things American while they wave the Mexican rag in your face ~
It Died with Henry Ford.
Having to order your custard in English… in Wisconsin… is a hardship? I’m beginning to think if we just leave the lefties alone for a little while longer they’ll pass into being too stupid to procreate and it will be the end of them. Natural selection, of sorts.
Could always remove all the warning labels.
“In the meantime, we encourage management to review their current employment policies with counsel to bring them into compliance. We are confident that in doing so, it will lead to a stronger business and a stronger community.”
Nice lil’ custard shop you have there. Be a shame if anything were to happen to it…
You slowly let all your Spanish-speaking staff go. You hire a bunch of German-American high-school grads, who scrape by in English.
They can blink blankly in any language.
I’m beginning to wonder.
Every time we hear about a plane blowing up, the media immediately avoids using the word Islam.
Whenever a business faces this sort of governmental attack, should we assume “Christian”?
I flew for Pan Am for years with foreign crews and once the flight was over and the crew was being bussed to the hotel many times the flight attendants would speak in their native language leaving the co-pilot and me out. One day going into Detroit from Frankfurt, the older German FA’s started speaking German on the bus ride in. This was my third trip with them and I was irritated by this tactic. So in a loud voice, I leaned over to the co-pilot and said, “I finally found a place that sells LARGE condoms.” Then the head FA asked me in English if we could all go to dinner together! Maybe speaking English is the way to go!
I was an Air Traffic Controller in the US Air Force in the 60’s & 70’s. English was the international language of ATC. It was required to speak English, without accent. Could this be racist?
Libtards see a little freedom breaking out and need to squash it, fast.
Every time I see something like this, I think about learning Klingon so I can sue Calfornia for not providing me voting materials in that language.
I guess I should see how Paramount’s lawsuit goes first, though.
I grew up in a neighborhood of immigrants. On the corner were the Italian grocers. Next to them was the Greek who owned the bar. Next came my Irish parents’ deli. In our small building was a family of Poles. Next building lived a French Canadian family and the German woman who was like a grandmother. Next to that building was the gift shop run by a Polish Jew.
Every…single…one…of…them spoke English. They would have guffawed at the thought of the USA having to learn to speak their language. Just busted out laughing.
Also in my neighborhood was a Cuban family who escaped Cuba in the mid 60s. Their son entered my 4th grade class. None of them spoke English at all. The son did not have any ESL classes. Nothing. Thrown into the mix and have at it. Within one year, he was speaking like a native.
This bull about having to adjust to other people’s culture is absurd. I will be moving to Costa Rica next year. I’m brushing up on my Spanish already. I know that I need to speak their language.
“This bull about having to adjust to other people’s culture is absurd.”
Has anyone noticed that the new immigrants do not adjust to OUR culture? We are supposed to adjust to theirs but if we do then we have no culture. This is what is happening to American culture and the things that made us Americans. We are surrendering all that made us who we are to be PC. Of all the absurdities is the ballot printed in many different languages! If you can’t read English you shouldn’t be voting. If for no other reason, the privilege to vote, a person should want to learn the native language.