ANGERED workers are speaking out after the restaurant they work at suddenly closed and now they are seeking payment from the company’s owners.

Workers took to the streets of Chicago, outside what was formerly the John Hancock Center, on Wednesday to protest after the
The Signature Room at the 95th in Chicago was permanently closed reportedly without giving notice to its employees.

The union representing the 132 former workers of the Signature Room has since filed a lawsuit requesting health insurance coverage, back pay, and additional benefits and relief, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The closure took place last week and the union, called Unite Here Local 1, filed the lawsuit on Monday.

Jesus Abe Lar, who worked at the restaurant’s bar for 46 years, told the news outlet: “I’m very sad because I really need money. I have a mortgage, I have to pay my car [note].

“I cross my fingers, I talk to my God: ‘God, please, I’m a good guy, I’m working hard. Please help me.'”

Lar, along with 59 of his former fellow workers held their protest outside 875 N. Michigan Ave on Wednesday after The Signature Room management failed to provide a 60-day warning before its closure.

Unite Here Local 1 tells the Chicago Sun-Times that the state law requires a 60-day notice be made to all employees, of restaurants with at least 75 full-time workers, before closing.

The law is stated in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which also requires workers to receive certain benefits for the 60 days following their departure from the company.

However, the now-former employees have claimed they were told of the closure on the morning of the restaurant’s closure.

They also were given a paycheck on Friday, however, they were supposed to be given an additional check the following week, the Chicago Sun-Times explains.

Richard Roman and Nick Pyknis, the restaurant’s owners, made the following statement in a letter shared on an elevator, on the day of the closure: “For over 30 years, we have had the privilege and honor of serving Chicagoans and visitors from all over the world.

Read Related Also: Noida Lift Crash: Lift Crashed From The 14th Floor?

“Unfortunately, after the closure of our city and restaurant due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been faced with severe economic hardship and the challenges have been greater than anticipated.”

The closure spark sadness from its employees, with one, server Nina Hernandez, telling the Chicago Sun-Times: “I was completely floored. We all were.

“It really hurt to be so blindsided. It has been so disorienting. By closing without any notice, they robbed us of the opportunity to say goodbye.”

Nina, who had worked at The Signature Room for 18 years, added: “When I was first hired, my son was 4 months old. Today, he’s 18.

“I’m a single mom, and because of this job, I was able to raise my son and take care of my family.”

Meanwhile, 53-year-old Martin Torres, who worked as a line cook at the restaurant for five years, felt “lost after hearing the news.”

He learned about the closing from a coworker who called him.

Martin explained: “It was a co-worker saying did I hear what happened, that the Signature Room closed.

“And I’m like, ‘For what, a couple of days? What happened?’ And he’s like, ‘A couple of days? It’s not a couple of days, it’s like forever.’ I said BS.”

Unite Here Local 1 president Karen Kent said “every avenue” possible will be pursued to make sure the workers receive what they are owed.

She concluded: “The callous disregard that they have shown of workers is a disgrace, and it is shameful.

“We are not going to stand for it.”