Singing Waiters Protest Outside Ellen's Stardust Diner Over What Union Calls Unjust Firings

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A union formed by the singing waiters and waitresses at Manhattan's well known Ellen's Stardust Diner held a protest Saturday afternoon over a string of server firings that the union says were unjust.

According to the protesters, 18 servers were fired in September within days of the union going public.

One woman told 1010 WINS' Roger Stern that she had worked at the diner for eight years.

"I felt awful, I mean this place has been my home for years. I've worked here during holidays, during hurricanes," she said. 

The restaurant did not comment on the union's complaints, including what another woman called a hostile work environment.

"A Jewish employee was talking to management about a specific table, and they didn't know that she was Jewish and the manager said, 'well you know how Jews are,'" she said.

Meanwhile, customers lined up around the block to get into the diner, many not seeing the protesters out front.