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Wealthy Restaurant Owners crying they can't find workers... oppose min wage increase and hate free market

violette1984

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Companies need to stop acting like employees are guaranteed a particular wage when tips are factored in. Not everybody gives like they're supposed to. Some folks don't tip at all or find excuses to complain to reduce their bills.
 

skimup1

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Right.

Boo fµck!ng hoo. I know a business owner who got PPP/EIDL loans, and pocketed all the money to buy cars, clothes, jewelry, and vacations for herself. Now she can’t manage to keep any employees and is crying foul talking about people are not loyal.

Nah, b!tch.

Had you properly paid your employees like you were supposed to with that pandemic money, maybe they’d still work for you.


Agreed. Don't care. Won't care about an industry that basically pays their workers NOTHING.


BUSINESS isn't a right it's a privilege. I don't care if the majority shut down because they had a chance to do right while the rest of us were left to starve.


Let THEM eat their PPP cake ;)
 

mee9mee9

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Right.

Boo fµck!ng hoo. I know a business owner who got PPP/EIDL loans, and pocketed all the money to buy cars, clothes, jewelry, and vacations for herself. Now she can’t manage to keep any employees and is crying foul talking about people are not loyal.

Nah, b!tch.

Had you properly paid your employees like you were supposed to with that pandemic money, maybe they’d still work for you.
she will be one of those workers soon. i know some business owners who spent their PPP loans too. its alot of restaurants not coming back. people are cooking at home more too.
 

GlitterLady

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I don’t have any sympathy for them. Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants, I wonder how this Morhers Day will be since things have opened back up.
 

UGotServed

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Hard to be sympathetic. Offer benefits like healthcare & dental along with a normal wage. Or offer to hire people out of jail/prison with good wages, help break that cycle because most people refuse to hire them to begin with.

AND these employees were fµcked by the pandemic and let go during the hardest of times. Who would want to come back there?

this!!!!! all of this!!!!! especially the part about breaking the cycle. If corporations weren't so uppity, they would have a good workforce. Good Wages + Good Benefits + Free for All Mentality to employment is key but corporations don't wanna hear it. They want you to shut up and take their sh!tty pay and work under harsh conditions.
 

krikzil

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Trust those higher wages are going to be past on to the consumer. Dont complain when that $5 dollar burger is now $10 dollars. You get your higher wages but then in return businesses jack up the prices on consumer goods and food
And that’s fine with me. I won’t be complaining because eating out isn’t a necessity and it shouldn’t be at the expense of wait staff. These folks shouldn’t be at the mercy of the tip system and bad employers who take advantage with little to no security. I worked at a lot of crappy jobs in my youth (literally, I shoveled sh!t at a boarding kennel!) but there was no way in hell I’d be a waitress. I had too many friends with horror stories.
 

kbab

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I saw an Olive Garden with a sign up saying they were paying hiring bonuses. That confirmed for me the trouble they're in.

In the US, tipping culture has to be revised. The businesses have to start paying their employees a livable wage instead of relying on customers to pay it. They're also manipulating things by making most of their employees part time so they don't have to pay out all of the benefits. The hospitality industry as a whole needs a reset and perhaps this is it.

I prefer to do business with local restaurants that pay a living wage. They have to get certified each year by showing proof that they pay their employees enough per hour for them to live in the city that they operate in.
What is that certification called?
 

AKicking

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People need to be paid a livable wage for their area. That amount may be $15 in one area, $10 in another and $30 over there. The government collects all of the cost of living data so they have access to knowing what people need. If I ever open a business, I plan to pay people the livable wage at minimal.
 

AKicking

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What is that certification called?
Living Wage Certification. There's national one through an economics group but there are also some state and city run certifications. I'd recommend checking with your city to see if they have one. Followed by the state. The places in my area chose to get certification from the local organizations instead of the national ones.
 

AKicking

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And that’s fine with me. I won’t be complaining because eating out isn’t a necessity and it shouldn’t be at the expense of wait staff. These folks shouldn’t be at the mercy of the tip system and bad employers who take advantage with little to no security. I worked at a lot of crappy jobs in my youth (literally, I shoveled sh!t at a boarding kennel!) but there was no way in hell I’d be a waitress. I had too many friends with horror stories.

I'd rather pay the $10 and know people are getting paid than pay the $5 and then have to tip on top of that. The pressure shouldn't be on the customer. What other industry forces the customer to pay their employees wages?
 

Fiestyfunsize

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Trust those higher wages are going to be past on to the consumer. Dont complain when that $5 dollar burger is now $10 dollars. You get your higher wages but then in return businesses jack up the prices on consumer goods and food
They can only hack up prices so much. Sorry but ppl are already complaining about grocery prices nobody gonna be paying 20 bucks for McDonald’s burger
 

GitchiYaYa

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Some of those restaurant workers made more on unemployment than they did working full time. COVID opened their eyes - they can do better. Living wage implementation is way overdue
 

Fluxion

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I remember how much power these companies had over people. They got comfortable. Disrespecting us on interviews, disrespecting us when we got hired, threatening workers with robot replacements, etc. I'm kind of enjoying these companies losing some of that power. I know this is probably temporary, but It's a good time lol. I don't want to eat fast food anyway.
 

QueenOlivier

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I'm tired of hearing ppl rather unemployment like they're just raking in money.
Nobody wants 5 an hour to be screamed at by whiny needy adults and an out of touch boss
 

LalaSharp

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Indoor dining is risky during an airborne pandemic because it's maskless.
Restaurant jobs weren't so great before.
Usually, hazardous jobs have some kind of special benefits or pay to account for the hazards. They want people to risk taking a deadly/disabling virus to their families for poverty wages.
People have become emboldened to be assholes when dealing w/ service workers when it comes to safety precautions.

Most of these news stories gloss over the working conditions, pay, lack of benefits/leave and the fact that we're in a f-cking pandemic & that people have a right to value their life/health.

News stories are headlining small one-time bonuses to make employees seem lazy for not wanting them when that has nothing to do w/ working pay & conditions.
 

Justbeingnosy

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Plus you can’t just sit on UI if you are called back to work
EXACTLY!
The media outlets always report that unemployment claims are declining but yet allow these restaurant owners to keep repeating the LIE that people are staying home collecting unemployment insurance. And depending on where you live, UI (state and federal combined) is still not enough to cover basic rent, food and utilities.

The restaurant owners have to face facts like the other fonts have pointed out: the business model has changed. Either pay up or close down!
 

LieslAlbrecht

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Dining out can be a luxury, once in awhile. Gladly, I don’t mind paying the extra five so that the people who prepared and brought my meal to me are healthy, less stressed, and able to make rent. Things cost money. We all have to do our part to ensure the country doesn’t economically fall apart. Too few people have the most wealth and too many have to scratch and survive on paltry income. There’s enough for all of us. This manufactured wealth exclusivity is crap.
 

nique71

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I know nothing about this industry. But I side with the workers. They want their low wage earners back. Boo hoo.
 

Ezra Miller

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People do realize that these bonus checks won't last forever, right? And restaurants run on a tight margin. It seems like the owners prefer to hire Americans, but if they're in desparate need, they will hire legal immigrants.
 

Ezra Miller

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Trust those higher wages are going to be past on to the consumer. Dont complain when that $5 dollar burger is now $10 dollars. You get your higher wages but then in return businesses jack up the prices on consumer goods and food
Not only that, but suddenly people who got great hours will get them cut to off-set the increase in wage.
 

TheRealNikkiO

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"New York (CNN Business)A few weeks ago, Philippe Massoud posted online ads looking for a cook to hire at ilili, his New York City restaurant.
Typically, he said, 60 or 80 people might show up to interview for a position like that one. This time? Nobody.
"That has not happened, ever, in the 14-year history of the business," Massoud said.
Ilili, an upscale Lebanese spot, currently has about 78 employees, a little less than half of its pre-pandemic workforce, Massoud said. The way business is going now, he could use another 12 people. The staffing shortage means the restaurant is not open for business during lunch or on Monday nights, even as it struggles.


"We just don't have the bodies," he said.
Dining restrictions are lifting across the country, and people are getting vaccinated each day. That's good news for restaurants desperate for more business after getting hit hard last year.
But some restaurant operators say they are facing a problem that could impair their road to normalcy: They can't find enough people to work for them.

View attachment 2532020

When states went into lockdown and US restaurants were ordered to close their doors in spring 2020, many establishments let workers go. From March to April of last year, restaurants and bars lost 5.5 million jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That meant millions of people found themselves out of work essentially overnight.

Those jobs are coming back: Restaurants and bars added about 176,000 jobs in March. But the sector was still 15%, or about 1.8 million jobs, below the pre-pandemic employment level, according to the National Restaurant Association.
It's not just high-end, independent restaurants like Massoud's that are feeling a labor pinch.
The CEO of Darden Restaurants (DRI), which owns Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen and other chains, recently called hiring the company's "number one priority."
"Our greatest challenge right now is staffing," Darden CEO Eugene Lee said on a call with analysts late last month. Before the pandemic, Darden had about 165,000 active hourly employees, he said, but as of a few weeks before the call that number was down to about 115,000.

Major chains in the fast-food industry have also said they are staffing up. Taco Bell is hoping to hire at least 5,000 people during a nationwide hiring event on Wednesday. McDonald's wants to hire 25,000 employees in Texas alone, starting with a three-day hiring event last week. IHOP wants to hire 10,000 new people, and is planning a national recruiting day for May 19.
Restaurants "are getting ready to open up and hire at the same time," said Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at Glassdoor, which hosts job ads. "It's leading to a massive boost in demand for these workers," he said, noting that "makes them scarce and hard to hire." But there may also be fewer people looking for restaurant jobs than before.

Where are the restaurant workers?​

So if restaurant workers aren't looking for restaurant work, where are they going?
Some have left the industry altogether.
Jessica Vines, 45, left her job as a server at Mexican restaurant El Pavo Real in New Orleans last year.
While she had held jobs in human resources and accounting in the past, her passion was hospitality, she said. About six years ago, following her son's high school graduation, she moved to the city from Indianapolis to work in the industry.
When the pandemic hit last year, her busy schedule — which included a separate bartending gig — dwindled, and her wages took a hit. She was working just five hours a day at the restaurant, which was only preparing takeout orders.

Vines decided in August to head back to Indianapolis, where her son still lives. She was able to find a job as an accounting associate at a medical device company,
"I just didn't see an end in sight," she said. "I knew I couldn't do it for another year."
Vines had become close with the El Pavo team, and leaving them was difficult. "Those are the people I keep in touch with the most," she said. "Those are still the people I talk to every single week."
Lindsay McLellan, who along with her husband owns El Pavo Real, described Vines as not just an employee but a friend. "We're very sad to have her leave, but I get it, I really do," she said.
Even though she misses the camaraderie of restaurants, she's not sure she'll ever work in a restaurant or bar again. The last year has made her wary of a future in the hospitality industry.
"If this happened again, I would be at the same place," she said. "I don't foresee ... a safety net for people like me."
Last year, a Glassdoor analysis looked at a group of over 120,000 job seekers who were actively searching for "restaurant server" positions on its site in January and February. It then tracked those users' job searches in April and the first half of May. Glassdoor found that within that cohort, searches for "data entry" jobs jumped about 400% during that period compared to the year before. Searches for "remote" positions jumped roughly 300%, and searches for Amazon — which Glassdoor sees as a catch-all for warehouse, delivery and other jobs — rose about 600%.
The analysis didn't track whether those people ended up in new jobs but Chamberlain said that, statistically, it's likely at least some fraction did.
"They might be reluctant to leave those new sectors and move back over into restaurants because of the turmoil over the past year," he said.

Some young restaurant workers have likely gone back to school, he said, and left the labor market completely. School enrollment tends to surge during recessions, he explained. And, of course, many people may be afraid of going back to restaurant jobs while the pandemic is still going on, or may be unable to return to work because of child care or other responsibilities that have become more acute during the pandemic.
"All of these factors combined are creating a perfect storm hitting restaurants," he said.
The changes could prove permanent Chamberlain said. And, he added, that could mean restaurants having to adapt new technologies to replace certain roles and making other positions more efficient.

Making a second first impression​

John Horne, owner of Anna Maria Oyster Bar in the Bradenton area in Florida, employs about 300 workers across his four locations. Before the pandemic, that figure was closer to 400.
"Our problem is not being able to get staff," Horne said. "It's absolutely horrible."
Unlike Massoud, Horne hasn't shortened hours, even though he's looking to hire about 50 workers. But his employees are pulling long shifts, he noted, leading to an unsustainable situation.
"At some point, they're going to just say 'I can't,'" Horne said. "We're doing everything we can to make sure that we're getting them everything they need," he added. "But we also have to give good service. My guests don't care that I have a staffing problem."
After a year at home, some customers will show up to restaurants with a critical eye, Horne noted. They'll want to feel safe and taken care of. "It's almost like you've got first-time guests again," he said.
Horne said his kitchen workers earn between $13 and $18, and servers earn more on average because of tips. He said he's offering hiring bonuses to try to bring people in. He suspects that some people are opting to rely on unemployment benefits instead. Horne, who serves as restaurant director at the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, has voiced concerns about raising the minimum wage, a position that aligns with that of the association.
For some low-earning workers, unemployment benefits could amount to about the same as a check from a restaurant — where they run the risk of exposure to Covid-19.
Massoud also mentioned unemployment benefits as a possible reason some workers are not coming back to work. But there are other factors, too, he said. Some of his former employees left New York City. Some don't have child care without school and so aren't able to return to work, and others may have decided to switch careers.
"If this does not get rectified soon as possible, it's going to further damage our industry," he said. "The mere fact that we are unable to open fully because of the labor shortages is going to hurt us in the long term."


Cliffs: Restaurant owners don't want to raise wages, think they are entitled to workers time and oppose raising abysmally low wages or improving working conditions. Restaurant workers are fleeing the industry and getting better paying more stable jobs as unemployment allows them some break. Owners are crying they can't make a few more millions due to federal unemployment.
They can keep crying. People are learning their worth. Raise the wages, give benefits and they will come.
 

Ernada

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they probably don’t want to raise wages because they lost almost a year by being closed. It’s not like that didn’t happen
Grant there is PPP and a variety of federal, state and local programs subsidizing the wages, they'd be paying less now with subsidies than they would before the pandemic. Plus, they got off for years underpaying employees, they had made extra profit in those years and used it to buy houses in the hamptoms and mcmansions.
 

ineedTheTEA

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Paying them more than two dollars an hour and expecting the customers to foot the rest of that would be a great start. The fact that he referred to his employees as bodies is so dehumanizing. What scum.
 

Ernada

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This is why you must always be decent to people. Chances are he was probably a horrible boss, now look at the humble position he's in. These people are so obsessed with trying to stop unemployment that people are entitled to just because they want them to come and slave for $3. Pay your people a liveable wage and I bet they'll show up. Until then, oh well.
Unemployment is an INSURANCE, how can the employer stop your INSURANCE! This is messed up.
 

Afrohemian

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This whole pandemic is a class war. Landlords vs tenants, SBOs vs their employees, etc.
 

Afrohemian

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Also can some of y’all stop sucking up rich people like you’ll be wealthy by proxy for defending them omg
 

Sarah330

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People do realize that these bonus checks won't last forever, right? And restaurants run on a tight margin. It seems like the owners prefer to hire Americans, but if they're in desparate need, they will hire legal immigrants.
So? If they don't have to go back why would they? They hire legal and illegal immigrants regardless. They need to pay people what they're worth. They had no issue before taking advantage so now people are taking advantage of their right to collect their unemployment.
 

Ezra Miller

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So? If they don't have to go back why would they? They hire legal and illegal immigrants regardless. They need to pay people what they're worth. They had no issue before taking advantage so now people are taking advantage of their right to collect their unemployment.

"So?"

Have you ever been on unemployed before? Because you speak like you never have been.

NO ONE is saying ppl shouldn't collect their unemployment, just pointing out the fact that the sh!t is going to run out.

It's easy to talk trash behind a computer screen about what "rich people" should or shouldn't be doing with their money and vacancies, but when push comes to shove, you won't be paying ppl's bills and offering them jobs.
 

strawberryanise

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Cliffs: Restaurant owners don't want to raise wages, think they are entitled to workers time and oppose raising abysmally low wages or improving working conditions. Restaurant workers are fleeing the industry and getting better paying more stable jobs as unemployment allows them some break. Owners are crying they can't make a few more millions due to federal unemployment.

I have seen a meme or two circulating on social media from pro-labor folks that alludes to this situation. Companies (in this case restaurants) want to offer workers garbage wages; yet, they wonder why they can't find enough people to work for them. :disdain

tenor.gif
 

Sarah330

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"So?"

Have you ever been on unemployed before? Because you speak like you never have been.

NO ONE is saying ppl shouldn't collect their unemployment, just pointing out the fact that the sh!t is going to run out.

It's easy to talk trash behind a computer screen about what "rich people" should or shouldn't be doing with their money and vacancies, but when push comes to shove, you won't be paying ppl's bills and offering them jobs.
Lmao how am I talking sh!t?? Unemployment runs out, that is true. These people know when their unemployment is going to run out so they will then go get another job. Just like if you have a job, there is always a chance that you will get fired or that you would want to move on from that job.. what do you do? You get another job.

I never once mentioned rich people. I know how a business is run and more importantly, I know how a successful business should run. If it is that you feel like people will have no choice but to come work your job when their unemployment runs out, then why are you complaining now?? People are entitled to their unemployment and there's nothing that you can do about it. Moving forward, pay your staff a liveable wage and be kind. Maybe then the staff will have some sort of loyalty to you. However, these people will never learn as they're always threatening to replace and fire people when the options are endless. Well, now they have no options so they'll have to sit and wait.

I've never worked in a restaurant but I've heard the woes of servers and it's a shame.
 

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