A new petition is calling for higher pay for Waffle House workers throughout the South.

The petition started by the Union of Southern Service Workers, part of the Service Employees International Union, calls for a pay boost at least $25 per hour for all workers, cooks and servers, among other concessions.

“Waffle House workers from across the South are fed up. We’re sick and tired of making poverty wages, the constant threat of in-store violence, and mandatory meal deductions – whether we eat a meal or not while on a shift. We refuse to be exploited – and so we’re getting organized,” the petition noted.

The petition also calls for an end to mandatory deductions for meals and a change to make it optional for workers to purchase discounted meals while working their shifts. It also asks for Waffle House to provide round-the-clock security and allow workers to have “real input”  on store safety plans, including during natural disasters.

The restaurant chain has traditionally stayed open whenever possible, coining the phrase “The Waffle House Index,” to indicate how bad a natural disaster was. A closed Waffle House, the Index noted, is reserved for only the most serious of events.

Waffle House, a privately held company, has more than 2,100 locations in 25 states with an estimated revenue of $1 billion annually.