I have been a restaurant worker since I was fifteen years old. Like most teenagers, I started as a part-time worker at minimum wage, which was $5.15 in Ohio in 2001. Juggling schoolwork, my job at a cafe, and extracurricular activities was normal for most teens, but very difficult. I worked at the café for four years. I knew that I was taking hours from older employees because my labor was cheaper for the company, but I needed my job.
In college, I was employed by another restaurant. I changed jobs knowing I could work more hours and accumulate more income. In the first few years, I worked various positions, all under $7 an hour. I eventually began waitressing while being trained in other positions as well. By this point, I was a star employee, making an average income for a college student. Nevertheless, I was kept under 35 hours a week. This way, the company did not have to offer me overtime pay, vacation, or medical benefits, but I needed my job.
I did not realize that I was not receiving the respect and assistance I deserved until I was promoted to manage the restaurant. I, then, discovered all the unfair and contradictory tactics that most restaurants abide by. We had only a handful of full-time employees, and roughly 60 employees, who were intentionally kept under 35 hours a week. Our main employee demographic consisted of high school students working in the back-of-the-house under stressful conditions and working many hours. Young men of minority typically worked in the dish room and as fryers. Our hostesses’ and waitresses were mostly single mothers and were rarely given a break when their children needed care.
I was told how to run the business:
“Don’t schedule Stacey this Saturday. She will be on overtime soon.”
“Don’t hire Earl as a full-time employee, he is sick and getting older. We don’t want to be responsible for his health.”
“Keep the high school kids on nights and weekends, their labor is cheaper.”
“Don’t promote Kevin to wait tables. He is too good and efficient in the dish room.”
“If Liz calls off again without a doctor’s note she is GONE.”
These phrases may not have been explicitly stated, but they were very much implied.
As a past restaurant worker for this company, I knew how demeaning the workers felt. I had to compromise as a manager and I had to do what my superiors told me to do. I could not put my position in jeopardy. It was very difficult. I held this manager position for a year before coming to Union Theological Seminary, which made me unable to research my position fully. How much less was my pay in comparison to my male co-workers? Why does the General Manager receive bonuses when the restaurant does well, while the rest of us receive nothing? If I had questioned the company in this way, every day, I would have realized the contradiction. I would have left sooner, but I needed my job.
The Poverty Immersion Course students visited ROC-NY on January 21, 2010. ROC-NY states, “Organizing is a collective action by affected people.” Imagine what would have changed at my former workplace if the workers wanting full-time positions, organized, and demanded respect? Imagine if I, a manager, stood beside them through their fight? I think the restaurant business would look very different today.
I saw a glimpse of hope when participating in ROC-NY’s Prayer Vigil. We stood side by side, asking for equality and respect for the workers at Thelassa Restaurant, through songs, words, and actions. I saw the appreciation from workers directly affected by unfair treatment. I saw the discomfort of managers and front-of-the-house workers as we diligently stood facing them. Jeff Mansfield, an organizer for ROC-NY talked about the hope workers feel when seeing their future workplace for the first time. The reality is that so many workers lose that hope once they are treated unfairly. We all need our jobs. We are forced to deal with the unfair treatment we receive because we need our jobs. All restaurant workers, and those who support them, can continue to look at Thelassa Restaurant with hope, knowing that conditions for workers will improve, as long as we organize and continue to fight for our rights that are human rights to begin with.
By Suzanne Ujvagi, Second Year, Candidate for M.Div./M.S.S.W.
