Some US Restaurants Are Struggling To Find New Employees, And People Lay Down The Reasons Why
With the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to ravage large parts of the world, its effects are felt by more and more people. And not just the devastating health issues—the short-term and long-term economic impact as well.
Some restaurants, cafes, and fast-food chains in the US are on the lookout for new staff members. Desperately. There’s a shortage of applicants in some places. However, some businesses aren’t having much success, trying all kinds of tactics to lure in potential workers. But some people have had enough and voiced their opinions about the ills of working low-paying menial jobs where employees aren’t respected as much as they should be.
In their opinion, businesses have to fundamentally change their approach to be more humane. And it’s not just about better finances. You’ll find some of their takes below, dear Pandas. When you’re done reading, share your thoughts and feelings about the job market right now.
Eddy Ng, the incoming Smith Professor of Equity and Inclusion in Business at Queen’s University in Ontario, explained to Bored Panda that the Covid-19 pandemic has created what economists are calling a K-shape recovery where some sectors have been doing very well or have the potential to bounce back (they’re on the upper arm of the ‘K’) while others languish (and are on the lower arm of the ‘K’).
While some people pointed out that restaurants are desperate to find staff, others shared the reasons why they might be struggling to fill those positions
For instance, those workers who are able to adjust their work remain mostly unaffected by the pandemic. One of the ways they can do this is by teleworking. Meanwhile, some sectors like logistics and delivery, groceries, ICT, and online entertainment have been doing remarkably well by filling the new demands created by the pandemic economy.
“Others, such as education, are able to pivot and their employees have to retool to adapt to new ways of working. Most of these workers ride the upper arm of the K-curve,” Professor Ng said.
“Yet some sectors, like travel, hospitality, in-person retail, will decline or even disappear because they are unable to survive the duration of the pandemic. The workers will ride the lower arm of the K-curve. These workers will essentially have to retool, learn new skills, and join industries that survived or emerged from the pandemic,” he pointed out.
However, there’s room to be optimistic, too! And Professor Ng believes that we’re seeing light at the end of the tunnel. “For sectors looking to fill the demand for workers, they will need to step up in terms of better working conditions and compensation. This includes ensuring a safe work environment and the provision of paid sick days especially if the work involves a high level of exposure to COVID-19.” One of the ways in which paid sick days actually pay off for the company, not just the employees, includes greater loyalty.
Others complained that some fast-food franchises refuse to pay a living wage because it might hurt their bottom line
While still others even made memes to show how weird it is to blame people for having high standards and wanting to not struggle to survive
While some businesses are struggling to look for new employees, however, others are struggling to even pay the rent and keep the lights on. The Chicago Sun Times and The Associated Press explain that around 30 percent of the jobs that the United States lost to the Covid-19 pandemic aren’t expected to come back.
These jobs mostly include face-to-face contact with customers, including working at restaurants, hotels, retailers, and even entertainment venues. In short, this means that a large number of Americans will have to look for a job elsewhere or even learn new skills and specialize anew.
However, on the flip side, nobody knows for sure what the job market will look like once the pandemic is under control. We might have a situation that’s far more optimistic, with more businesses bouncing back than expected while others make the necessary shifts to accommodate a more empathetic view of their employees.
Mass vaccination programs are an indication that there could be a light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against Covid, though the current situation in India indicates the opposite trend.
Folks all over the internet had a lot to say on the topic and shared their opinions about working low-paying jobs with poor working conditions
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Do you think that restaurant employees are given fair wages and other perks, dear Pandas? Where do you think we could stand to improve things more? Do you think everyone has the luxury of saying ‘no’ to a job in these difficult times? Write us a comment below—we always love reading what you have to say on important topics.
It always amazes me how s**t labor laws are in the US. You barely have any rights there. Businesses are protected but citizens have 0 rights. Land of the free and opportunity my ass.
This has been a long time coming, this needs to happen if workers are ever going to get fair opportunities.
Load More Replies...Oh, oh, the cherished capitalism does not work if the demand side does not match what you offer? Call the state for help, now! (If you spot sarcasm, tend it well. It likes pats and belly rubs.)
What ever will we do? We can't have the government valuing people more than money! Oh, such a tragedy.
Load More Replies...I own a small business that's seasonal I pay my employees 20$ an hr w benefits. I also give them supplemental income while they're collecting unemployment for 4 months if they aren't working somewhere else. My business has been thriving for 15 yrs even in the pandemic. I don't understand how corporations worth billions can't do what I do and I'm nowhere close to being even a millionaire.
I commend thee for treating your employees like humans.
Load More Replies...I mostly enjoyed my 2+ decades in and around kitchens (because your brain blocks out a lot bad stuff) lots of laughs, drinks, ‘socializing’ w the opposite sex. But the endless hours, sleeping at the place to close and open it, full months of working in the summer (and hey I even got a ‘decent’ wage at $16/hr) Now I drive a truck for $25/hr, cook for family and friends for fun, and finally wrapped my head around what ‘weekends and holidays off’ is. I’d -never- go back to the restaurant biz.
The Black Death absolutely transformed the labour market of Medieval Europe- suddenly workers were in great demand and the social changes of the next 100 years were massive. The World Wars transformed labour markets of early 20th century Europe as workers came back with a new sense of their value in society and then they challenged the economic system of the elites that controlled them. So why would Covid not be any different? Revolution IS COMING. History tells us that with certainty.
If you can’t afford to pay $15/hr, you have a s@it business. If you can afford to pay $15 and don’t? Well, you deserve as bad as karma can bring.
If you can't afford to pay your employees a realistic living wage, you can't afford to have a business.
Load More Replies...The restaurant where my daughter works isn't having any staffing problems at all. They pay all of their staff better than minimum wage, including their wait staff, and any tips that are received are shared by all the staff, not just the customer-facing ones, because they recognize that everybody put in the effort to make that positive experience happen. They treat their employees like human beings and it shows.
I wish there was a list of these types of restaurants so I can make sure to give them my patronage to support their business practices. I would visit the restaurant your daughter works at in a heartbeat!
Load More Replies...HAVE YOU SEEN THE LENGTH OF AB AVERAGE APPLICATION? I'm underemployed and staying that way until I get a new great job.the average online application takes over an hour to fill without the motivation letter and even then it just goes off in to cyberspace. I read that 60% of applicants abandon job applications because they do not believe anyone is reading them and they take too much time.
And that's if you don't encounter a glitch 3/4 of the way through that makes completing the application impossible.
Load More Replies...Amazing how being free from the gaslighting process for most of a year can wake people up to the fact that they were being scammed into a miserable half-existence, huh?
No, see, we knew already. The problem was that people had no opportunity to pass up work. So they just did what they could to make whatever they could. They weren’t stupid, they were desperate.
Load More Replies...Man this is so two faced. Corporations and the politicians they own keep talking about how The Market knows best blah blah. Well now they are finding out that supply and demand cuts both ways. F**k the big fast food corporations making billions but paying peanuts. I hope you all go to hell
This is exactly why Corporations have nightmares about their workers unionizing. As individuals, the worker is powerless. They can lose their job and some really need it, so they depend on keeping the job at all cost. As a whole, as a Union, though, the workers are very powerful. If they demand better pay and if they don't get it they stop working, change has to be made. The more people in a union the more power is in the people. It's why Amazon is fighting dirty against it, why most of the big corps are fighting dirty. In Germany, there is a union for 'Hotel and Restaurant-Industry" (well, a branch off the big 'service-union"), too. It's a fine line they walk, because if they demand too much, nobody will be able to pay the money and the businesses may end up bankrupt. But there's a lot of talking about wages and work-hours, and nobody really questions those. It's the way thigns work around here: you hope to reach a compromise that leaves both parties a winner in some way
Load More Replies...My town is having a huge crisis because the company they contracted to handle our trash/recycling/vegetation removal, WastePro, can’t hire enough drivers. My most recent trash pick up was this past Saturday, and before that they hadn’t come for 16 days. The people and the city are up in arms, and WastePro just keeps coming up with excuses while not addressing the fact that no one wants to get up an an incredibly early hour, frequently doing heavy lifting in south Florida heat to be a garbage man for $13/hour.
I'd say that's a breach of contract and the town should look for a new company. Or maybe create a municipal one for themselves? Might cost more on the short term, but will be helpful on the long run.
Load More Replies...This thing about US is very weird to me. Where I live you get normal salary for waiting and then you get tips. Also social insurance and some have even more benefits. This bar I go to banned a person going there because he was rude to one of the waiters. It is not "customer is always right" anymore. Growing up I always thought US was a dream land. Now I dream I never end up there.
It's amazing how hollywood movies sold us the idea of Usa being the land of dreams. Still amazes me how crap this country is. Literally stuck in the 80s, comparable to India
If only the cost of goods was stuck in the 80s along with peoples wages.
Load More Replies...Good for you! Stay strong Americans, this exploitation had to stop
Saw one locally here in the Bay area a place called Sobre Mesa here couldnt get workers. They had an issue with people not wanting to do a staged run, aka work for free to see if they would be a good employee. (yes I know shocking folks dont want to work at a job for free to see if they can get teh job) Meanwhile this place will happily charge you $13 for a mai tai. The restaunrant industry thrives on slave labor let them fail until they pay a livable wage to their employees i say. I can cook myself I really dont need you.
Staged run??! How the hell is that even legal. Screw that place. I don’t blame the workers one bit for not wanting to work there anymore.
Load More Replies...I worked at McDonalds for a while. I would have nightmares about working almost every night. I worked my ass off for months because they said they rewarded the hard workers. They gave me a 6 cent raise and more responsibility. When I found out how little the shift managers make I knew it wasn't going to work but I stayed because I needed money.
6 pennies an hour? a raise of 6 pennies? ffs! How LUCKY you were to get ANY raise AT ALL /s
Load More Replies...Maybe close a few locations and shift staff. My small city doesn't really need 21 McDonalds locations.
Wow - 21 McDs? That's nuts. I live in Cambridge in England, a town of about 125 k people. There are two McDonalds. London, a city of 8 million people, has 180.
Load More Replies...People are much more informed and will boycott places that treat and pay their staff like crap. There were a couple of headlines in the UK press recently about eateries not being able to get staff as the staff they did have went back to their homes in mainland Europe and don't want to or can't come back. Reading that McDonalds can pay their staff properly but won't just shows what sort of pond life is running it.
Wow, you mean some of the 'foreign worker' who 'stole the jobs' for good Brits were actually doing jobs the good Brits don't want to do? Who'da thunk! ;-) But a good point about the "much more informed". I imagine with the shutdown and all that, a LOT of people had a LOT more time on teh internet and some might have stumbled onto sites that showed them the hamster-wheel is going to grind them to death and they'll never get out if nothing changes. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, though. But I really hope this will shake things up.
Load More Replies...It always amazes me when people say that there is a shortage of whole groups of employees, when the real issue is that the conditions of employment are so awful, and it's better to be on the dole, yet employers think people are lazy. Perhaps if other jobs relied on tips, then the practice would be outlawed. Imagine solicitors, doctors, dentists just get $5 an hour and rely on being given tips....
Yeah sure. The small businesses have to properly pay and things like that. The Corporates pay money and find loopholes to not follow it properly. They can do things small businesses cannot do because they have the resources. A lot of people don't want to work because they get more money off of unemployment in Covid. My mom pays really good, but cannot pay better than what is being offered to them for not working. If her workers are sick and come to work, she tells them to go home and she pays them half of they're average salary because they are sick. She gives them plenty of vacation time. (paid btw) Now, for all this she's done, the employees have taken advantage of her kindness and she cannot find employees now. How in the world is this fair?
Load More Replies...I hope this will finally change things for the better for the workers, but I doubt it. At some point their unemployment will stop and they'll have no choice but to accept the shitty conditions again. Unionize, protest, vote people in power who want to raise minimum wage, protest some more, go on a strike, refuse to apply, DO SOMETHING AND KEEP DOING IT UNTIL IT GETS BETTER!
I am saying something to you I told someone else. The small businesses have to properly pay and things like that. The Corporates pay money and find loopholes to not follow it properly. They can do things small businesses cannot do because they have the resources. A lot of people don't want to work because they get more money off of unemployment in Covid. My mom pays really good, but cannot pay better than what is being offered to them for not working. If her workers are sick and come to work, she tells them to go home and she pays them half of they're average salary because they are sick. She gives them plenty of vacation time. (paid btw) Now, for all this she's done, the employees have taken advantage of her kindness and she cannot find employees now. How in the world is this fair?
Load More Replies...My family has owned and operated a certified green restaurant & bar for over 35 years that has always paid a living wage, offered medical, dental, profit sharing, and even matched 401k investments. We have staff that has been with us over 20 years, and even we are finding ourselves short-staffed right now. Not all restaurants treat their employees poorly, just like everything else in life, there are good and bad examples of everything.
Not ALL restaurants like not ALL men. We get it and no one has said ALL restaurants. We're talking about the industry as a WHOLE!
Load More Replies...15$ an hour can be paid by any job. The minimum wage in British Columbia is 15.20$ and not one mcdonalds closed down. They even opened new ones.
finally ppl are beginning to value their worth (the pandemic was just the tip of that awareness iceberg), demanding they be valued by receiving decent wages & corps are losing their sh*t bc they didn't expect the 'peons' to do this. kind of reminds me of when ppl complain that some ppl on public assistance need to work (yes, they do but...) don't realize that taking a crappy min wage job would put them on worse ground since child care/travel expense would eat up most of income. even programs that 'help' w/these things are limited to just a month or so which isn't enough time to get budget plan in place to incorporate the expenses. the u.s. needs to catch up w/the rest of the world when it comes to wages & workers
I have never ben able to understand how - or why -- a Country that thinks it is the best in the word, would basically simply ""allow"" people to work in their establishments for nothing but tips from customers. Sounds like the 1950s in the Middle East/Suez Canal bordering countries!
F**k any company that thinks that my tip makes up the bulk of their staffs paycheck. No - I give tips AS A GIFT to the server OUTSIDE OF THEIR PAY because they DESERVE IT for being a GENUINELY GOOD PERSON. I give tips because they went ABOVE their duties, so the tip exists ABOVE their paycheck.......or because I have a few loose bucks I need to offload. F*****G PAY YOUR WORKERS INSTEAD OF EXPECT ME TO.
I've been posting all sorts of negative comments on Bored Panda lately. I'm sorry I'm so grim but I feel we Americans must face this truth: America is collapsing. Very unsustainable here to allow a decent life. Things will keep falling apart unless things change quickly and they will not. Wheeee! I'm fun at parties! I'll be here all week! Sorry. That's how I'm seeing it. To quote Malcolm X when JFK was assassinated: the chickens are coming home to roost. (Countdown to butt-hurt Murkin CON-servatives telling me to gtfo in three....two....one....)
McDonalds was my first job @ $4.25/hour. I went across the counter on a customer cussing me out for what I have absolutely no idea. $4.25/hour is not enough for me to put up w/any s**t ... no regrets!
Unemployment should not be denied or lost unless the job offered is full-time, minimum wage or higher, and has benefits like health insurance.
McDonald's in the UK pays at least the legal minimum wage and doesn't go bust somehow.
I read recently that people in the service industry had a hard time getting setup on unemployment when things got shut down because of records of their earnings being a little wonky. They are now hesitant to take a job and leave unemployment, not because they're lazy, but because if everything gets shut down or drastically scaled back again they're back to square one. And it's a pain. Also, no one knows how things will fluctuate so while they might get a lot of hours/customers/tips this month, if there's a spike next month and restrictions are put in place, those volumes could be cut in half. A lot of people might be waiting to see that the industry and guidelines stabilize before giving up a known amount that they can count on to survive.
There are so many reasons why McDonalds is a crappy place to work. I did a short stint at one as a desperate young adult. I was working 3 jobs at the time and I didn't have a car. My life basically consisted of three things: working, walking to and from work and sleeping. I eventually quit the McDonalds job for health reasons. Whatever they use to clean and sanitize the dishes literally ate the skin off my hands. It was horrifying and definitely not worth the crappy wages I made working there.
People are quick to brand "millennials" as lazy and blame them for their problems but personally, I think it's brilliant to finally see people starting to stand up for themselves and their own self worth. It's about damn time. By sticking together and standing our ground is the only way things will ever change.
Damn it, we really need that battle royale for the rich, the careless and the out-of-touch. I really want to see misery and suffering inflicted upon them. People who do and allow things like this, just don't deserve waking up in the morning and say "yeah, my life is great" or better. They deserve existential crisis and life changing experiences. But i'm okay if they'd all just died.
Inflation, f*****s. It's really that simple. If cost of living goes up...you have to raise the pay.
It is not just restaurants - it's most every field/job. Gen Xer here - and I work in corporate finance. I made more in 1995 than I do today - no lie. Then, I was able to afford to buy a house, have a decent (used) car, and have my basic needs met - nothing extravagant, but comfortable. All these years later and I make 70% of what I made then. (Same job field/corporate) In 2003, I went through a divorce and lost everything (except my life, so - yeah!). Now, I rent a house now and drive a 92 Buick. At this point, working 50+ hours a week, I can't even dream of buying a home again, and if my rent goes up - I will be forced to rent a studio apartment or worse - here, that runs upwards of $800 per month. The US is -effed-. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for folks who live on tips. At least I know what I have coming in per month for the most part.
You were NEVER expected to work at McDonald's your whole lives! It was always meant to be a place where teenagers could learn to have a good work ethic, and then after high school, learn a better skill and get a better job! Many years ago, everyone knew this. I know. I graduated from high school many decades ago, and this was always true. I don't care if you don't believe it.
Why don't people get that when they raise wages, the overall cost of living goes up with it, so it will just even out. The only difference is we would have the perception of everything costing more.. Que endless cycle of raising wages until the economy dies... And also, at least where I'm at, employers have been raising wages, to no avail. They still can't get people to work.
The restaurant industry is REALLY going to be in trouble if the new Jobs Act passes. Can you imagine someone working at a restaurant where they're underpaid and abused when they can get a Union job with Union pay? It's going to be a big change for those who've taken advantage of crappy laws that let them get away with this.
I think the America practise of making tips the main part of someone's income is just nasty, mean, selfish.
Try security. Not any better. They keep dumping more responsibility and jobs on you but never a raise. Only raise was Government ordered.
Use to work for KFC part time and it was slave wages. They also made us work only on the peak hours of lunch, dinner and closing. Making us sit out after lunch for 3 hours. Basically making us stay the whole day without getting meals benefits. They would literally give us 5.5hour shifts X 2 just so we can't get the meals benefit if we worked 6 hours straight! Some brave individuals complained to the worker's union and got them sorted out. Made it illegal for them to give us a break in the day without meals and stay the whole day for the peak periods!
They've conned poor people into believing that Universal Health Care and labor unions are "evil Socialism"!!
It's easy to find people to do unskilled work if you are offering reasonable pay. Tipping should be banned as it enables employers to pay less than the job is worth.
That's latinoamerica everyday, even with a college degree, you can aspire to be have a good job, well paid, unless you're quiting with your social life
I've been in the industry for 25 years. I started working at THIRTEEN. I want to go back part time, but because I want to be there for my kids it'll never happen. If you aren't available 6am-10pm, 7 days a week, they won't even consider hiring you. In all my years, I've NEVER been offered benefits or overtime. Breaks aren't a thing. It's unreal.
Help is on the way. I am a small business owner who makes (after expenses and paying uncle Biden his share) about $13.75/hour. When the minimum wage exceeds that, I will be raising my fees, and if my clients go elsewhere I will be available for work. As a business owner, I know that it is the employee's job to make the boss money. I have no problem with that. This means I will: Show up on time, every time. Work during working hours, be prompt, polite, courteous, and accurate. I will also encourage my co-workers to do the same.
I'm currently on unemployment bc my son has a catheter in his heart and can't attend school. He is severely immunocompromised. We've been in hiding for a year. There are many caregivers who can't go back to work. In my state, South Carolina, i attended a mandatory meeting yesterday where i was given 5 jobs i must apply for and if offered any of them and refuse i lose my unemployment. I'm drawing 450 a month. I made much more working. These jobs pay 2.13hr. PLUS TIPS the guy said. The governor announced today the unemployment will end for all on June 30th. He's withdrawing the state from federal funding bc these restaurants and hotels paying $8-9 hr have 80,000 job openings. My eyes are rolling so hard. Not everyone is just being a bum. Some of us are truly scared for our childrens lives. But 2.13 hr to get treated like crap and laid off in September is rubbish. The man at the unemployment office even said in the meeting if you accept one of these jobs now, when you get laid off at the end of the summer you can draw again. Woohoo. Something to look forward to.
Oh god, these posts say it all. Pay an acceptable wage for a decent days work rather than insulting patrons by insisting they have to pay a gratuity to top up your offensive meagre wage. In the UK, a tip is a complement... not a mandate that invites abuse if you don't pay it. Go figure...
I want a job "writing" for Bored Panda. Write a couple of paragraphs, Quote someone else's article and fill with other peoples comments.
I know people here who have made a good career from Mcdonalds, started as a server and now regional manager on a very good wage, but then we do have vastly better employment laws than you guys, it's about time this s**t needs to change.
I normally dont attempt to respond to these "wage fairness" threads but have to this time. The issue now of days isn't is $15 fair or not, it's the US covid response of throwing 2x unemployment, extending it indefinitely, giving people 1400 per kid every month, these barely made 35k people now make the equivalent of almost 100k for a family of 4-5. Who would want to work with this going on? I think the answer is ending the payments and unemployment especially at this labor shortage, no offense to anyone in these minimal wage jobs, I've had plenty, I just don't find it fair when I make sure roads and bridges don't collapse for a living to make only $7 more than a person could just pressing buttons and assembling mediocre pre-made food items for a living.
They don't pay 1400 per kid per month. Every citizen who earns less than 75.000 a year gets ONE check of 1400 $. They also get tax-credit for children under 6, which amounts to a monthly pay of 300/month/child. For children over 6yrs, it's 3000/year. Still - that's more money than they ever had before. But look at it this way: they now have 'normal' money and can afford more. More affordable stuff creates more demand, and in a few months time, they'll want to work again because what is now considered unbelievably much will be 'normal' by then. And about you not getting paid enough - that's absolutely unfair, but it's not the fault of the people who had even less before. If you need more money, take it to those who pay you. Get unionized, organize protests, make sure your voice is heard. Or if that is not an option, see if you find a better job. Or - how about become unemployed? If that's so amazing and pays so well, you can try it, too.
Load More Replies...This lady is full of s**t. I work at Chili's, so I know for a fact she's lying about that part. Also, none of what she said is the actual reason they can't find employees. Unemployment being endlessly extended is the sole reason there aren't employees to fill these positions.
The labour market is out of balance since I was born and even longer. They took massive advantage of that, of the desperation of people in countries where social security isn't around, and now, the first time in decades they face a little bit of backlash - and now they're crying. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of employers always praising themselves for all the risk and responsibility they say they take, but then, whenever some risk they very well knew about comes to reality, they cry for the government to bail them out. They always cry for regulation in their favour, and cry about regulation "crippling them" if it is in the slightest favor of employees. We should get rid of companies so weak they can't survive while paying a wage you can actually live by. No damage if these go bankrupt, and take they higher-ups with them!
I’m sure all the idiots thinking they’ll strong arm their way to $15/hr will be happy when $15 has the buying power of $10 due to inflation.
It always amazes me how s**t labor laws are in the US. You barely have any rights there. Businesses are protected but citizens have 0 rights. Land of the free and opportunity my ass.
This has been a long time coming, this needs to happen if workers are ever going to get fair opportunities.
Load More Replies...Oh, oh, the cherished capitalism does not work if the demand side does not match what you offer? Call the state for help, now! (If you spot sarcasm, tend it well. It likes pats and belly rubs.)
What ever will we do? We can't have the government valuing people more than money! Oh, such a tragedy.
Load More Replies...I own a small business that's seasonal I pay my employees 20$ an hr w benefits. I also give them supplemental income while they're collecting unemployment for 4 months if they aren't working somewhere else. My business has been thriving for 15 yrs even in the pandemic. I don't understand how corporations worth billions can't do what I do and I'm nowhere close to being even a millionaire.
I commend thee for treating your employees like humans.
Load More Replies...I mostly enjoyed my 2+ decades in and around kitchens (because your brain blocks out a lot bad stuff) lots of laughs, drinks, ‘socializing’ w the opposite sex. But the endless hours, sleeping at the place to close and open it, full months of working in the summer (and hey I even got a ‘decent’ wage at $16/hr) Now I drive a truck for $25/hr, cook for family and friends for fun, and finally wrapped my head around what ‘weekends and holidays off’ is. I’d -never- go back to the restaurant biz.
The Black Death absolutely transformed the labour market of Medieval Europe- suddenly workers were in great demand and the social changes of the next 100 years were massive. The World Wars transformed labour markets of early 20th century Europe as workers came back with a new sense of their value in society and then they challenged the economic system of the elites that controlled them. So why would Covid not be any different? Revolution IS COMING. History tells us that with certainty.
If you can’t afford to pay $15/hr, you have a s@it business. If you can afford to pay $15 and don’t? Well, you deserve as bad as karma can bring.
If you can't afford to pay your employees a realistic living wage, you can't afford to have a business.
Load More Replies...The restaurant where my daughter works isn't having any staffing problems at all. They pay all of their staff better than minimum wage, including their wait staff, and any tips that are received are shared by all the staff, not just the customer-facing ones, because they recognize that everybody put in the effort to make that positive experience happen. They treat their employees like human beings and it shows.
I wish there was a list of these types of restaurants so I can make sure to give them my patronage to support their business practices. I would visit the restaurant your daughter works at in a heartbeat!
Load More Replies...HAVE YOU SEEN THE LENGTH OF AB AVERAGE APPLICATION? I'm underemployed and staying that way until I get a new great job.the average online application takes over an hour to fill without the motivation letter and even then it just goes off in to cyberspace. I read that 60% of applicants abandon job applications because they do not believe anyone is reading them and they take too much time.
And that's if you don't encounter a glitch 3/4 of the way through that makes completing the application impossible.
Load More Replies...Amazing how being free from the gaslighting process for most of a year can wake people up to the fact that they were being scammed into a miserable half-existence, huh?
No, see, we knew already. The problem was that people had no opportunity to pass up work. So they just did what they could to make whatever they could. They weren’t stupid, they were desperate.
Load More Replies...Man this is so two faced. Corporations and the politicians they own keep talking about how The Market knows best blah blah. Well now they are finding out that supply and demand cuts both ways. F**k the big fast food corporations making billions but paying peanuts. I hope you all go to hell
This is exactly why Corporations have nightmares about their workers unionizing. As individuals, the worker is powerless. They can lose their job and some really need it, so they depend on keeping the job at all cost. As a whole, as a Union, though, the workers are very powerful. If they demand better pay and if they don't get it they stop working, change has to be made. The more people in a union the more power is in the people. It's why Amazon is fighting dirty against it, why most of the big corps are fighting dirty. In Germany, there is a union for 'Hotel and Restaurant-Industry" (well, a branch off the big 'service-union"), too. It's a fine line they walk, because if they demand too much, nobody will be able to pay the money and the businesses may end up bankrupt. But there's a lot of talking about wages and work-hours, and nobody really questions those. It's the way thigns work around here: you hope to reach a compromise that leaves both parties a winner in some way
Load More Replies...My town is having a huge crisis because the company they contracted to handle our trash/recycling/vegetation removal, WastePro, can’t hire enough drivers. My most recent trash pick up was this past Saturday, and before that they hadn’t come for 16 days. The people and the city are up in arms, and WastePro just keeps coming up with excuses while not addressing the fact that no one wants to get up an an incredibly early hour, frequently doing heavy lifting in south Florida heat to be a garbage man for $13/hour.
I'd say that's a breach of contract and the town should look for a new company. Or maybe create a municipal one for themselves? Might cost more on the short term, but will be helpful on the long run.
Load More Replies...This thing about US is very weird to me. Where I live you get normal salary for waiting and then you get tips. Also social insurance and some have even more benefits. This bar I go to banned a person going there because he was rude to one of the waiters. It is not "customer is always right" anymore. Growing up I always thought US was a dream land. Now I dream I never end up there.
It's amazing how hollywood movies sold us the idea of Usa being the land of dreams. Still amazes me how crap this country is. Literally stuck in the 80s, comparable to India
If only the cost of goods was stuck in the 80s along with peoples wages.
Load More Replies...Good for you! Stay strong Americans, this exploitation had to stop
Saw one locally here in the Bay area a place called Sobre Mesa here couldnt get workers. They had an issue with people not wanting to do a staged run, aka work for free to see if they would be a good employee. (yes I know shocking folks dont want to work at a job for free to see if they can get teh job) Meanwhile this place will happily charge you $13 for a mai tai. The restaunrant industry thrives on slave labor let them fail until they pay a livable wage to their employees i say. I can cook myself I really dont need you.
Staged run??! How the hell is that even legal. Screw that place. I don’t blame the workers one bit for not wanting to work there anymore.
Load More Replies...I worked at McDonalds for a while. I would have nightmares about working almost every night. I worked my ass off for months because they said they rewarded the hard workers. They gave me a 6 cent raise and more responsibility. When I found out how little the shift managers make I knew it wasn't going to work but I stayed because I needed money.
6 pennies an hour? a raise of 6 pennies? ffs! How LUCKY you were to get ANY raise AT ALL /s
Load More Replies...Maybe close a few locations and shift staff. My small city doesn't really need 21 McDonalds locations.
Wow - 21 McDs? That's nuts. I live in Cambridge in England, a town of about 125 k people. There are two McDonalds. London, a city of 8 million people, has 180.
Load More Replies...People are much more informed and will boycott places that treat and pay their staff like crap. There were a couple of headlines in the UK press recently about eateries not being able to get staff as the staff they did have went back to their homes in mainland Europe and don't want to or can't come back. Reading that McDonalds can pay their staff properly but won't just shows what sort of pond life is running it.
Wow, you mean some of the 'foreign worker' who 'stole the jobs' for good Brits were actually doing jobs the good Brits don't want to do? Who'da thunk! ;-) But a good point about the "much more informed". I imagine with the shutdown and all that, a LOT of people had a LOT more time on teh internet and some might have stumbled onto sites that showed them the hamster-wheel is going to grind them to death and they'll never get out if nothing changes. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, though. But I really hope this will shake things up.
Load More Replies...It always amazes me when people say that there is a shortage of whole groups of employees, when the real issue is that the conditions of employment are so awful, and it's better to be on the dole, yet employers think people are lazy. Perhaps if other jobs relied on tips, then the practice would be outlawed. Imagine solicitors, doctors, dentists just get $5 an hour and rely on being given tips....
Yeah sure. The small businesses have to properly pay and things like that. The Corporates pay money and find loopholes to not follow it properly. They can do things small businesses cannot do because they have the resources. A lot of people don't want to work because they get more money off of unemployment in Covid. My mom pays really good, but cannot pay better than what is being offered to them for not working. If her workers are sick and come to work, she tells them to go home and she pays them half of they're average salary because they are sick. She gives them plenty of vacation time. (paid btw) Now, for all this she's done, the employees have taken advantage of her kindness and she cannot find employees now. How in the world is this fair?
Load More Replies...I hope this will finally change things for the better for the workers, but I doubt it. At some point their unemployment will stop and they'll have no choice but to accept the shitty conditions again. Unionize, protest, vote people in power who want to raise minimum wage, protest some more, go on a strike, refuse to apply, DO SOMETHING AND KEEP DOING IT UNTIL IT GETS BETTER!
I am saying something to you I told someone else. The small businesses have to properly pay and things like that. The Corporates pay money and find loopholes to not follow it properly. They can do things small businesses cannot do because they have the resources. A lot of people don't want to work because they get more money off of unemployment in Covid. My mom pays really good, but cannot pay better than what is being offered to them for not working. If her workers are sick and come to work, she tells them to go home and she pays them half of they're average salary because they are sick. She gives them plenty of vacation time. (paid btw) Now, for all this she's done, the employees have taken advantage of her kindness and she cannot find employees now. How in the world is this fair?
Load More Replies...My family has owned and operated a certified green restaurant & bar for over 35 years that has always paid a living wage, offered medical, dental, profit sharing, and even matched 401k investments. We have staff that has been with us over 20 years, and even we are finding ourselves short-staffed right now. Not all restaurants treat their employees poorly, just like everything else in life, there are good and bad examples of everything.
Not ALL restaurants like not ALL men. We get it and no one has said ALL restaurants. We're talking about the industry as a WHOLE!
Load More Replies...15$ an hour can be paid by any job. The minimum wage in British Columbia is 15.20$ and not one mcdonalds closed down. They even opened new ones.
finally ppl are beginning to value their worth (the pandemic was just the tip of that awareness iceberg), demanding they be valued by receiving decent wages & corps are losing their sh*t bc they didn't expect the 'peons' to do this. kind of reminds me of when ppl complain that some ppl on public assistance need to work (yes, they do but...) don't realize that taking a crappy min wage job would put them on worse ground since child care/travel expense would eat up most of income. even programs that 'help' w/these things are limited to just a month or so which isn't enough time to get budget plan in place to incorporate the expenses. the u.s. needs to catch up w/the rest of the world when it comes to wages & workers
I have never ben able to understand how - or why -- a Country that thinks it is the best in the word, would basically simply ""allow"" people to work in their establishments for nothing but tips from customers. Sounds like the 1950s in the Middle East/Suez Canal bordering countries!
F**k any company that thinks that my tip makes up the bulk of their staffs paycheck. No - I give tips AS A GIFT to the server OUTSIDE OF THEIR PAY because they DESERVE IT for being a GENUINELY GOOD PERSON. I give tips because they went ABOVE their duties, so the tip exists ABOVE their paycheck.......or because I have a few loose bucks I need to offload. F*****G PAY YOUR WORKERS INSTEAD OF EXPECT ME TO.
I've been posting all sorts of negative comments on Bored Panda lately. I'm sorry I'm so grim but I feel we Americans must face this truth: America is collapsing. Very unsustainable here to allow a decent life. Things will keep falling apart unless things change quickly and they will not. Wheeee! I'm fun at parties! I'll be here all week! Sorry. That's how I'm seeing it. To quote Malcolm X when JFK was assassinated: the chickens are coming home to roost. (Countdown to butt-hurt Murkin CON-servatives telling me to gtfo in three....two....one....)
McDonalds was my first job @ $4.25/hour. I went across the counter on a customer cussing me out for what I have absolutely no idea. $4.25/hour is not enough for me to put up w/any s**t ... no regrets!
Unemployment should not be denied or lost unless the job offered is full-time, minimum wage or higher, and has benefits like health insurance.
McDonald's in the UK pays at least the legal minimum wage and doesn't go bust somehow.
I read recently that people in the service industry had a hard time getting setup on unemployment when things got shut down because of records of their earnings being a little wonky. They are now hesitant to take a job and leave unemployment, not because they're lazy, but because if everything gets shut down or drastically scaled back again they're back to square one. And it's a pain. Also, no one knows how things will fluctuate so while they might get a lot of hours/customers/tips this month, if there's a spike next month and restrictions are put in place, those volumes could be cut in half. A lot of people might be waiting to see that the industry and guidelines stabilize before giving up a known amount that they can count on to survive.
There are so many reasons why McDonalds is a crappy place to work. I did a short stint at one as a desperate young adult. I was working 3 jobs at the time and I didn't have a car. My life basically consisted of three things: working, walking to and from work and sleeping. I eventually quit the McDonalds job for health reasons. Whatever they use to clean and sanitize the dishes literally ate the skin off my hands. It was horrifying and definitely not worth the crappy wages I made working there.
People are quick to brand "millennials" as lazy and blame them for their problems but personally, I think it's brilliant to finally see people starting to stand up for themselves and their own self worth. It's about damn time. By sticking together and standing our ground is the only way things will ever change.
Damn it, we really need that battle royale for the rich, the careless and the out-of-touch. I really want to see misery and suffering inflicted upon them. People who do and allow things like this, just don't deserve waking up in the morning and say "yeah, my life is great" or better. They deserve existential crisis and life changing experiences. But i'm okay if they'd all just died.
Inflation, f*****s. It's really that simple. If cost of living goes up...you have to raise the pay.
It is not just restaurants - it's most every field/job. Gen Xer here - and I work in corporate finance. I made more in 1995 than I do today - no lie. Then, I was able to afford to buy a house, have a decent (used) car, and have my basic needs met - nothing extravagant, but comfortable. All these years later and I make 70% of what I made then. (Same job field/corporate) In 2003, I went through a divorce and lost everything (except my life, so - yeah!). Now, I rent a house now and drive a 92 Buick. At this point, working 50+ hours a week, I can't even dream of buying a home again, and if my rent goes up - I will be forced to rent a studio apartment or worse - here, that runs upwards of $800 per month. The US is -effed-. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for folks who live on tips. At least I know what I have coming in per month for the most part.
You were NEVER expected to work at McDonald's your whole lives! It was always meant to be a place where teenagers could learn to have a good work ethic, and then after high school, learn a better skill and get a better job! Many years ago, everyone knew this. I know. I graduated from high school many decades ago, and this was always true. I don't care if you don't believe it.
Why don't people get that when they raise wages, the overall cost of living goes up with it, so it will just even out. The only difference is we would have the perception of everything costing more.. Que endless cycle of raising wages until the economy dies... And also, at least where I'm at, employers have been raising wages, to no avail. They still can't get people to work.
The restaurant industry is REALLY going to be in trouble if the new Jobs Act passes. Can you imagine someone working at a restaurant where they're underpaid and abused when they can get a Union job with Union pay? It's going to be a big change for those who've taken advantage of crappy laws that let them get away with this.
I think the America practise of making tips the main part of someone's income is just nasty, mean, selfish.
Try security. Not any better. They keep dumping more responsibility and jobs on you but never a raise. Only raise was Government ordered.
Use to work for KFC part time and it was slave wages. They also made us work only on the peak hours of lunch, dinner and closing. Making us sit out after lunch for 3 hours. Basically making us stay the whole day without getting meals benefits. They would literally give us 5.5hour shifts X 2 just so we can't get the meals benefit if we worked 6 hours straight! Some brave individuals complained to the worker's union and got them sorted out. Made it illegal for them to give us a break in the day without meals and stay the whole day for the peak periods!
They've conned poor people into believing that Universal Health Care and labor unions are "evil Socialism"!!
It's easy to find people to do unskilled work if you are offering reasonable pay. Tipping should be banned as it enables employers to pay less than the job is worth.
That's latinoamerica everyday, even with a college degree, you can aspire to be have a good job, well paid, unless you're quiting with your social life
I've been in the industry for 25 years. I started working at THIRTEEN. I want to go back part time, but because I want to be there for my kids it'll never happen. If you aren't available 6am-10pm, 7 days a week, they won't even consider hiring you. In all my years, I've NEVER been offered benefits or overtime. Breaks aren't a thing. It's unreal.
Help is on the way. I am a small business owner who makes (after expenses and paying uncle Biden his share) about $13.75/hour. When the minimum wage exceeds that, I will be raising my fees, and if my clients go elsewhere I will be available for work. As a business owner, I know that it is the employee's job to make the boss money. I have no problem with that. This means I will: Show up on time, every time. Work during working hours, be prompt, polite, courteous, and accurate. I will also encourage my co-workers to do the same.
I'm currently on unemployment bc my son has a catheter in his heart and can't attend school. He is severely immunocompromised. We've been in hiding for a year. There are many caregivers who can't go back to work. In my state, South Carolina, i attended a mandatory meeting yesterday where i was given 5 jobs i must apply for and if offered any of them and refuse i lose my unemployment. I'm drawing 450 a month. I made much more working. These jobs pay 2.13hr. PLUS TIPS the guy said. The governor announced today the unemployment will end for all on June 30th. He's withdrawing the state from federal funding bc these restaurants and hotels paying $8-9 hr have 80,000 job openings. My eyes are rolling so hard. Not everyone is just being a bum. Some of us are truly scared for our childrens lives. But 2.13 hr to get treated like crap and laid off in September is rubbish. The man at the unemployment office even said in the meeting if you accept one of these jobs now, when you get laid off at the end of the summer you can draw again. Woohoo. Something to look forward to.
Oh god, these posts say it all. Pay an acceptable wage for a decent days work rather than insulting patrons by insisting they have to pay a gratuity to top up your offensive meagre wage. In the UK, a tip is a complement... not a mandate that invites abuse if you don't pay it. Go figure...
I want a job "writing" for Bored Panda. Write a couple of paragraphs, Quote someone else's article and fill with other peoples comments.
I know people here who have made a good career from Mcdonalds, started as a server and now regional manager on a very good wage, but then we do have vastly better employment laws than you guys, it's about time this s**t needs to change.
I normally dont attempt to respond to these "wage fairness" threads but have to this time. The issue now of days isn't is $15 fair or not, it's the US covid response of throwing 2x unemployment, extending it indefinitely, giving people 1400 per kid every month, these barely made 35k people now make the equivalent of almost 100k for a family of 4-5. Who would want to work with this going on? I think the answer is ending the payments and unemployment especially at this labor shortage, no offense to anyone in these minimal wage jobs, I've had plenty, I just don't find it fair when I make sure roads and bridges don't collapse for a living to make only $7 more than a person could just pressing buttons and assembling mediocre pre-made food items for a living.
They don't pay 1400 per kid per month. Every citizen who earns less than 75.000 a year gets ONE check of 1400 $. They also get tax-credit for children under 6, which amounts to a monthly pay of 300/month/child. For children over 6yrs, it's 3000/year. Still - that's more money than they ever had before. But look at it this way: they now have 'normal' money and can afford more. More affordable stuff creates more demand, and in a few months time, they'll want to work again because what is now considered unbelievably much will be 'normal' by then. And about you not getting paid enough - that's absolutely unfair, but it's not the fault of the people who had even less before. If you need more money, take it to those who pay you. Get unionized, organize protests, make sure your voice is heard. Or if that is not an option, see if you find a better job. Or - how about become unemployed? If that's so amazing and pays so well, you can try it, too.
Load More Replies...This lady is full of s**t. I work at Chili's, so I know for a fact she's lying about that part. Also, none of what she said is the actual reason they can't find employees. Unemployment being endlessly extended is the sole reason there aren't employees to fill these positions.
The labour market is out of balance since I was born and even longer. They took massive advantage of that, of the desperation of people in countries where social security isn't around, and now, the first time in decades they face a little bit of backlash - and now they're crying. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of employers always praising themselves for all the risk and responsibility they say they take, but then, whenever some risk they very well knew about comes to reality, they cry for the government to bail them out. They always cry for regulation in their favour, and cry about regulation "crippling them" if it is in the slightest favor of employees. We should get rid of companies so weak they can't survive while paying a wage you can actually live by. No damage if these go bankrupt, and take they higher-ups with them!
I’m sure all the idiots thinking they’ll strong arm their way to $15/hr will be happy when $15 has the buying power of $10 due to inflation.
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