In all the obnoxious, fetid waft of discussion on the current restaurant worker shortage our pathetic, lazy journalism corps has faithfully parroted the owner line that unemployment insurance is the cause, if workers are getting paid for nothing why would they come back? Eliminate the unemployment, that will do it!
Incredibly to a great extent it’s worked and in a seriously stupid move that’s classically Republican-self-destructive GOP governors are actually going to cut off unemployment, the health of their economies and other workers be damned, we can’t have America without a $12 chili dog slung out by an exploited American serf, now can we?
As the Republican stupidity sets in and workers are about to get slammed the American journalism corps has yet again withstood a fusillade of smashing criticism to get off their lazy asses and stop parroting Republicans! It’s a huge public policy move, a reporter is supposed to convey the truth, is it true that unemployment is causing a worker shortage? Never mind. Are there actual restaurant workers one could actually talk to in an attempt at the truth? Not for lazy American corporate journalists.
Finally, in a breaking dawn of enlightenment in a long, long night of sputtering Republican lying the Washington Post talked to American restaurant workers and the real truth of why that terrible industry is facing shortages becomes quite clear. The lead is stark and short, this restaurant worker was making $2.13 and hour.
Whaaaaaaat? How could that slavery wage be possible in the United States? Well, long ago greedy, avaricious restaurant owners and hostile Republicans hated the fact that a waitress on minimum wage could pull in a decent yearly wage of 60k, around 65% untaxed cash from tips.
Heaven forbid a waitress brutally on her feet eight hours and dealing with the flowing mayhem of the job in off hours with searing unprofessional supervision and that special hell of dealing with customers, my god, she should get a break in that American life? Tax those tips!
Cut her wage to slavery $2.13, take the tips and then give back the difference to whatever wage they state is fair, like $13. Yeah.
Despite the gross unfairness and greed the tactic should have been seen as of course horribly ripe and easy for abuse and exploitation, so many restaurant owners figure out a hundred different ways to steal that tip money. Just right here is so much of the truth of why there’s a restaurant worker shortage, this is an outrageous pay setup that can only rip you off as a worker, if you’re looking for work or a start stay, stay stay away from restaurants, it’s a terrible setup!
Making the great assumption restaurants cared about their workers and paid them a living wage they’d still have a hard time finding workers—brutally physical work, injury, chefs who are notorious for being snarling sexist jerks, god-awful customers, squirrel management, night scheduling, my god it’s really tough.
Finally in all the mayhem of the pandemic the American restaurant worker was given a pause, a chance to find other work, to figure out a different environment, or to finally say the hell with it, nothing could make them go back, the Washington Post talked to ten workers and not surprisingly the truth coming back is varied and complex.
Just talking to workers its instantly clear unemployment benefits are not the reason for the worker shortage, let alone the confirmation from numerous studies.
It’s also extremely easy to see how hard the pandemic has been on so many workers, bouncing geographically around, living with parents, learning other work. How a governor could be so stupid and so callous after learning the lives of these little people and then cutting off their benefits almost defies belief, we have fallen so far in our regard and respect for the American worker, so brutally callous and indifferent to what it takes to make it here.
That’s what happens when Republicans get parroted too much and then elected, they ruthlessly knife the American worker so some callous, exploitive restaurant owner can make money on chili dogs. It’s been going on for a long time and that industry is finally paying for it.
Better late than never, Washington Post, it won’t help the workers living with idiot Republican governors but the truth has an inevitable power to it, thank you, Eli Rosenberg and your editor, that was good journalism.