The High Cost of a $1 Slice
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
There might be a high cost for those dollar pizza slices.
A class-action lawsuit is charging the Jewish owners of New York City’s with putting employees through 60- to 70-hour workweeks for less than minimum wage and no overtime, the Daily News reported today.
Eli and Oren Halali and their father Joshua, who own the chain, “built their dollar pizza empire on the backs of my clients and other workers by grossly underpaying them,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Adam Slater, told the News. “It’s just unfair.”
But the Halalis’ lawyer denies it all. “2 Bros. pays its employees in compliance with city, state and federal law and categorically denies the claims made by the plaintiffs. 2 Bros. is confident that it will prevail on the merits, attorney Howard Davis of Meister Seelig & Fein LLP told the Forward in an e-mail.
It’s not the first time Eli Halali’s made news. In a 2012 Associated Press report on questionable contributions to disgraced former Staten Island Congressman Michael Grimm, Halali was identified as the agent of a company that distributed porn movies – and a close associate of controversial Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto. The Forward reported on a top Pinto aide’s porn links in 2011.
2 Bros, in the meantime, continues serving the cut-rate ‘za that won it top prize in a Cheap Dollar Slice Pizza Showdown from the blog SeriousEats.
Michael Kaminer is a contributing editor at the Forward.
I’m personally matching all gifts to the Forward, up to $36,000. Can I match your gift now?
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
