Life as a Server Archives - Page 9 of 23 - I Hate Working In Retail

Dec
31

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Meet Four Working Moms Who Fought For Higher Wages

Category: Life as a Server, Retail Articles, Retail Stories Tags: , , Leave a Comment

Mothers struggling to get by on low wages made headlines in 2014. Some got in trouble for leaving their children in a car or on a playground while they worked because they couldn’t afford child care. Politicians highlighted the plight of low-wage working women in stump speeches. And Walmart moms protested for better pay and working conditions.

The news stories were reminders of how single moms acutely feel the pain of the low-wage economy. Women make up the majority of minimum-wage workers, and theyhave been disproportionately affected by what has for years been a part-time, low-wage recovery. A single mom making the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hourmust work 125 hours a week to afford food, shelter and child care for two kids, according to MIT’s Living Wage calculator.

Of course, many of these issues existed long before 2014. And there’s little sign the situation will change dramatically for these women in the years to come: The low-wage jobs the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts will have the fastest growth through 2022 are female-dominated.

Beyond the headlines, there are stories of daily struggle that don’t get nearly as much attention — getting dinner on the table before heading to work or finding a friend to watch the kids during weekend shifts.

The women whose stories you’ll read below are trying to make a difference by keeping the world focused on the problems of women in low-wage jobs once the news cameras have moved on. All have taken part in campaigns to raise wages for low-wage workers. They’ve protested at fast food restaurants and helped sign people up to vote. Their efforts — along with other demonstrations, protests and outcry — have had an impact:Twenty states will raise their minimum wages on New Year’s Day.

Nakima Jones, 37, waitress, living in New York City with three kids :

nakema
Nakima Jones at a rally for restaurant workers in September.

I’ve been in the industry for 13 years. I’ve been having it hard since I started. Sexual harassment is one of my big issues. I’m a big-breasted woman, so that was one of the only ways that I could get certain things. Why do I have to be so nice to you get a good tip? Why do you have to say “hey baby how are you doing? Take my number”? If I don’t take it, that means I’m not going to get a good tip, and they still would leave you a bad tip anyway. I did all that nice stuff for no reason.

I’m here to work, make money and leave. I’m not doing no extra. If I want that section I should be able to get it if I come in on time and do what I need to do.

I have kids, you have to learn how to respect yourself.

My kids go to school in the daytime and I try to usually work in the evenings. By the time I go to work, they’re home, they’re settled and I’ve cooked dinner for them.

I make all the money in my family, it’s just me. I’m a single parent — that’s another thing that’s hard.

Why do I have to keep getting $5 an hour? We deserve better. There are a lot of people that are afraid to speak up. If we’re here standing strong, why can’t the government help us out?

Patrice Dandridge, 44, home health aide living in Chicago. Has a 26-year-old daughter:

patrice
Patrice Dandridge.

I just love helping people in every way possible. Being a health care aide, you’re helping people that can’t help themselves. I have three clients that I help.

I don’t make minimum wage, I make $10 an hour. It’s still not much, it’s not easy for me to get by, with the cost of living going up all the time. You can’t find an apartment that you can keep up with your rent earning $10 an hour. My expenses are more than I make. I can bring home $1,200 a month, rent is $700, light and gas is $100 apiece, and we’re not even talking about cell phone bills and other personal expenses.

[Growing up], my daughter spent a lot of time with my mom, and eventually my mom and I decided to let my daughter stay with her because I couldn’t afford to take care of both of us because of my income. Thank God for my mom of course.

Politicians basically look out for the middle class and the upper class, and they support them more. I just complained about it, and I finally realized that I can complain all day long, but I have to start doing something more. It takes a community to come together to get what we want. Until the community can come together, then politicians aren’t really going to listen.

Paola Cabrera, 28, fast food worker living in New York City with her two kids:

Story told in Spanish through a translator.

poala
Paola Cabrera with her three-year-old daughter.

For a year I lived at a shelter on 28th Street and Fifth Avenue. It only had a microwave and a refrigerator. The little that I earned at McDonald’s was just enough to buy food. As the head of my household they don’t give me enough. I earn $170 weekly. It’s really hard for me when my kids ask for a toy and I can’t buy it for them. It’s heartbreaking.

I want to provide as much as I can. Every month I get $140 in food stamps. I also get $100 every two weeks in cash assistance. That’s not enough living in the shelter where everything is so expensive around me. I can’t save up to make more. Living in New York is a constant struggle.

I used to work in assisted living. I couldn’t make it to interviews to renew my license because I couldn’t get child care. Now, I have subsidized child care. It’s really hard to get it, I spent 2 1/2 months filing paperwork. On weekends I work overnight and I don’t get to see my kids. Paying for a babysitter on a weekend is too expensive, so they usually stay with my friend.

The second week of working was when I decided things weren’t OK. That’s why I’m part of the movement now. I’ve done strikes, interviews, conferences. I’m encouraging all of my coworkers to join. A lot of them are afraid. I try to motivate them not to be afraid. It’s a free country.

I see my work at McDonald’s as just a stepping stone. I’m studying criminal justice, and I take online courses every Sunday. I want to do better and become better. Whoever I leave behind I’ll keep motivating. I’ll never stop fighting.

[Editor’s note: A representative for McDonald’s noted that about 90 percent of McDonald’s restaurants are owned by independent franchisees. “The topic of minimum wage goes well beyond McDonald’s — it affects our country’s entire workforce,” she wrote. “McDonald’s and our independent franchisees support paying our valued employees fair wages aligned with a competitive marketplace.”]

Claudia Leon, 36, maintenance worker and cashier. Lives in New York City, and her three kids live in Mexico:

Story told in Spanish through a translator.

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Claudia Leon.

I was working in a restaurant for $120 per week plus tips. I couldn’t support my family making that wage, and on top of that I had my tips stolen. I worked six days a week for eight or nine hours a day, and I didn’t have breaks. They would call me names, they would tell me I should quit my job. You end up staying there because you need to work and you need to provide. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving; I came to the U.S. four years ago from Mexico, and it was the only place I knew.

I was at the restaurant for 3 1/2 years. Now I work two jobs as a cashier and doing maintenance in an office building. I’m making triple now for fewer hours and it’s less stressful. I support my family back home and I’m their role model. The distance is very challenging, long-term my kids are going to be better off.

I protested in front of the business where I used to work. I’ve participated in the fast food campaign. I’ve testified in front of the wage and hour board. Many of us women play the role of both mother and father, and these wages aren’t enough to support families. It’s crucial for them to raise the minimum wage, especially in NYC. It’s not a salary where you can raise a family.

The accounts above have been edited for clarity.

Sourced from huffingtonpost.com

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Dec
30

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Which US state tips the most? and which tips the least

Category: Fun Facts, infographics, Life as a Server Tags: , , Leave a Comment

 

Which-US-states-tip-well-and-which-ones-don-t-_mapbuilder (1)

What’s in your (waiter’s) wallet?

Visitors to the US are often mystified about the “right” amount to tip for service, and it turns out Americans don’t agree too much either.

An analysis of tens of millions of transactions across the US by payment service Square revealed that, when customers left a tip, Alaska (17%), Arkansas (16.9%), and North Carolina (16.8%) registered the three highest average tips for any US state. Delaware (14%), Hawaii (15.1%), and South Dakota (15.3%) registered the three lowest.
The highest average tip for any individual city was Denver, Colorado, at 16.8%, followed by Chicago (16.7%), Tampa (16.4%), Atlanta (16.3%), and Austin (16.2%). The nationwide average, according to Square’s data, is roughly 16.1%.
It’s worth noting that Square’s data aren’t perfect. The tips it logs are paid out not in cash, but using credit cards, which likely tempt customers into doling out a bit more cash than they would otherwise. Studies have shown that as little as a credit card insignia can lead to heftier tips (pdf). In fact, technology in general, justified or not, has been blamed for encouraging “guilt tipping.”
But Square serves a number of business types in each state, including restaurants, cafes, taxi services, and small vendors—meaning that its tipping wings spread across all sorts of tipping lands. The average transaction size per state also doesn’t deviate much. And the distribution of businesses in each state is fairly similar.
Square’s data is in fact fairly in line with perceived nationwide tipping trends. ”Those numbers are pretty consistent with what we’ve found,” Michael McCall, a professor at Ithaca college who specializes in consumer behavior, told Quartz. “The average tip was once about 15%, but it’s creeping up towards 20%.”
A bigger surprise, in fact, is Square’s data on the percentage of customers who tip at all. This varies from Illinois, where people left a little extra over 61% of the time, to Delaware, where fewer than 38% of transactions added a tip. (McCall had no light to shed on why the variance is so big.)

 

which-us-states-tip-and-which-ones-don-t-_mapbuilder_002

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While it’s tempting to look for trends that might explain the variation, it would be hasty to establish any definite links, according to McCall. “There are certain cultural norms that develop across the country in terms of tipping,” he said. “If you’re traveling through and not coming back, there’s probably less incentive to tip well.” States like Delaware, for instance, that sit along major thoroughfares, likely deal with more transient customers. “But I’m not sure, for example, how much something like politics has to do with it,” McCall added. According to his research, a sense of empathy and culture of hospitality are harder to define, but would likely serve as better indicators.

So have a look at how each US state tips, but be easy on drawing any conclusions.

Which-US-states-are-nicest-to-their-servers-Average-tip-Customers-who-tip_chartbuilder (2)

 

Sourced from QZ.com

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Dec
21

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McDonald’s Complaint Redefines The Meaning Of “Employee”

Category: Life as a Server, McDonlads, Retail Articles Tags: , Leave a Comment

Mike Blake / Reuters

They wear the company’s logo on their shirt, but does a worker at a franchised McDonald’s restaurant really work for the McDonald’s corporation?

It’s a big, important legal question with huge ramifications for the company and its industry, and today rhe National Labor Relations Board dived further into thet debate, releasing a complaint against McDonald’s that declared the company a “joint employer” of the workers in its franchises, and at least partially responsible for their treatment.

An administrative judge’s ruling on the complaint in the weeks to come will likely set a precedent for companies that operate under the franchise model, and determine their level of responsibility when it comes to their employees. Franchisees own about 90% of the 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S.

The decision, if it affirms the NLRB’s claim, would hit home particularly hard in the restaurant industry, which employs nearly 10% of the U.S. workforce. Restaurants are the country’s second largest private sector employer, and have been one of the largest creators of new jobs since the recession.

The NLRB believes that McDonald’s as a corporation and its franchisees are joint employers of the people who work at the fast food chain, and should therefore both be held accountable for any employee rights violations. The complaint released today alleges certain employees were persecuted for advocating for higher wages.

Some McDonald’s employees have been at the forefront of a national campaign to raise the minimum wage, and the NLRB complaint says they experienced retaliation from their employers over the activism.

In a statement, the NLRB said its complaint alleges “that McDonald’s USA, LLC and certain franchisees violated the rights of employees working at McDonald’s restaurants at various locations around the country by, among other things, making statements and taking actions against them for engaging in activities aimed at improving their wages and working conditions, including participating in nationwide fast food worker protests about their terms and conditions of employment during the past two years.”

McDonald’s spokeswoman Lisa McComb said the NLRB’s actions “improperly and dramatically strike at the heart of the franchise system – a system that creates economic opportunity, jobs and income for thousands of business owners and their employees across the country.” The company will contest both the designation as a “joint employer” and the underlying allegations, she said.

More vocal opposition to the NLRB coming from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Federation, and the International Franchise Association, which held a joint call shortly after the complaint’s release to express their objection to the NLRB’s claim that McDonald’s can be seen as an employer of workers in its franchises.

“It’s a sad day,” Angelo Amador, Vice President & Regulatory Counsel at the National Restaurant Association said on the call. “It’s going to upend the franchise model and resolutions to do business in the economy.”

The IFA’s Executive Vice President, Government Relations & Public Policy Robert Cresanti was the most critical of the NLRB’s statement, as well as the timing of the move.

“For us this is the nightmare before Christmas,” Cresanti said. “A group of non-elected bureaucrats have joined up with the unions while Congress has left for the holidays, it’s a devastating blow.”

When pressed by media listening in on the call for specific examples of how the NLRB’s complaint would negatively affect franchisees, as Cresanti also alleged over the course of the 45-minute call, Cresanti said it would limit their control of employees.

“This pierces the corporate entity of the small business owner in an attempt to go into a national chain,” Cresant said. “It creates uncertainty and increased risk for franchisors. There are significant threats that pile on as a result of that. It takes away franchisees’ control to operate independently.”

The IFA’s Labor Counsel, Michael Lotito, added it is prohibitively expensive for franchisees to do battle with the NLRB in court, and said today’s complaint “is part of a corporate campaign to put pressure on the franchisor by constantly attacking the franchisees”

Franchisees “have to hire counsel when faced with a complaint and do not have the resources to undertake this kind of fight,” he said. “The franchisees are at a tremendous disadvantage to figure out these complex rules and regulations.”

Sourced from buzzfeed.com

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