The famous singing waitstaff at Ellen’s Stardust Diner fell silent on Wednesday to protest what they call poor working conditions and mass firings at the Times Square institution.
Newly unionized servers — mostly moonlighting Broadway performers who belt out showtunes during their shifts — dropped mikes at 10 a.m. and resumed at 3 p.m. as the most recent pink slippers left the building.
One of the organizers of the Stardust Family United union, Kristine Bogan, told Page Six that they performed “The Tower” — which had been specially written by colleague Max Demers as a theme song for their battle — and held their ketchup bottles aloft in tribute as the departing staffers exited stage-left.
The union claims that since a new management team was brought in, in January, safety standards have slipped, staff schedules have become chaotic and people have been fired for unionizing.
In a statement, owner Ken Sturm said the layoffs were “for valid reasons,” the schedule changes were necessary “to operate more efficiently” and that management had invested $80,000 in safety upgrades.