Boston Teamsters indicted with felony extortion for 'hurling sexist and racist abuse' at Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi and her crew because the show was using non-union drivers

The Daily Mail reports:

A group of Teamsters have been charged with extortion for allegedly hurling racist, homophobic and sexist abuse at Top Chef's TV crew, including host Padma Lakshmi.

The union members are accused of repeatedly ambushing Lakshmi and her co-workers over a two-week period while they filmed in Boston last year.

It came after the show's producers, Magical Elves, declined to hire Teamsters members as drivers as they already had their own staff to do the job.

Now, five men involved in the high-profile picketing dispute have been charged with federal extortion as US Attorney Carmen Ortiz slammed their 'old school thug tactics', saying they reflected 'poorly on our city.'

Historically, those getting "beyond the market level of wages" employ violence to get what they want.