Report shows food sector workers treated poorly, lack living wages and benefits

[CreekDog]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/ct-fast-food-workers-jun06,0,3795723.story

The Food Chain Workers Alliance interviewed some 700 workers and employers in food production, processing, distribution, retail and service sectors for its study. That includes employees at farms, slaughterhouses, warehouses, grocery stores, restaurants and more.

...

But just more than 1 in 10 of them earn a livable wage. The vast majority don’t get basic benefits from their employers and don’t have many opportunities for advancement. The food industry, according to the study’s authors, could be endangering its workers and customers by forcing employees to operate in conditions of high stress and little payback.

Here are some of the report’s more dramatic findings:
-$9.65 is the median wage for a food industry worker.
-13.8% of food industry employees depend food stamps (Compared with the 8.3% of American workers)
-83% say their employers don’t offer health insurance.
-More than 3 in 10 use the emergency room for primary care.
-79% either don’t get paid sick days or don’t know if they do.
-Three in 10 don’t always get a lunch break.
-81% have never received a promotion.
-Minorities and immigrants face especially high levels of discrimination and segregation and rarely advance beyond the lowest-paying positions.
-57% have suffered an injury or health problems on the job.

-More than half have picked, processed, sold, cooked or served food while sick -- an average of three days a year.

[southernyankeebelle]

1. Well my son pays over $400 dollars a month for health insurance and it isn't even a good

health insurance. He has a family of 4. He has been with the company for many, many years. He is the fastest cook they have and the best cook. He has done all the jobs except working at the bar. They even put him in a supervisor position. He has trained other cooks to where they have moved up to be managers in other places. The store finally got another manager who supervisors his area. My son wanted to move to another store because he is so tired of the abuse they use on him. Finally this new supervisor gave him a new position in the store and was pretty pissed at the manager and assistant manager because they should of been helping him to move up. He felt they should of helped him to study for the test. He isn't a good test taker but he knows the jobs they do and does it very well. He and all the cooks don't have sick leave. That is terrible. He use to have 2 weeks paid vacation however, they took that away from all the employees. They get one week vacation time now and must work 40 hrs per week for so many months. I will tell you there are times he goes to work at 7 am and works till closing time at 10:00 pm. They are doubles. It tires him out on his feet all day and night. He does it because he has a family like many of them have. He works as much as they will let him work. It is back breaking. It is also stressful. There were times he was ill but went to work. He was in the hospital for a virus for almost a week. He was very sick. When he got out he went back before he should have because he needed the money. You do what you have to do. He could get some food stamps but he won't do that.

[CreekDog]

5. And this is important not just because it's about mistreatment of workers

but because it undermines our whole society.

i mean, so people or corporations save a bit on meat processing and food prep this way, but...

Taxpayers end up subsidizing those profits because we provide for food stamps, Medicaid and the like (anti poverty programs which I fully support).

And yet, even with those programs, these people still live in poverty or close to it.

The lack of sick leave means that workers are potentially harming us all, when it would be better if they had paid sick leave that kept them out of the workplace on some days. We all benefit from that.

And philosophically, the real problem is for capitalism. Here you have hard working people unable to make a living wage, mistreated, little sick leave, access to health care or other benefits...it mocks the idea that hard, honest work gets one ahead. And that has societal implications, undermining our government, our institutions and even our sense of this country as democratic.

[southernyankeebelle]

6. I agree with you. The boss expects them to come in and work sick. I mean my son has gone and

work sick that he ends up going to the doctor that he gives him days off to recoup. I mean high fever, strep throat, ear infections. It isn't right.

[dadchef]

8. WOW, I feel like I don't belong here, because I was a F&B business owner.. GULP!

Please, let me start by saying most of what everyone is saying has more than a grain of truth in their opinions.. My business and my background is centered in the restaurant and hotel industry.. To most in my field, this business is commonly referred to as the job of last resort.. That is a pity, because many of us were and are dedicated professionals..

So many in our field today, are folks that feel that they are over qualified to be doing what positions that we offer, and too many are, at least, academically speaking.. That really isn't our fault, that I may have a waiter or line cook position open that can not take knowledge of computer software, or an adjunct professorship, as an asset in consideration when assigning value in this trade.. I did consider the value of their commitment to their education, and the loyalty to that goal, when weighting candidates against experiences in the decision.. Still, experience trumps scholastic achievements, in almost every aspect of my business..

Further, we must consider when thinking of advancement, that we are dealing with people that would leave us in a heartbeat if something opened up in their field of interest, or we would be spending time, money, and energy, training replacements for supervisors, or at the most, upper management, constantly.. Few service jobs return investment that rival scientific or highly technical, positions require. Everyone is usually compensated, according to their value of return on investment. That is Business Workshop, 101.

A line cook working in front of a steamy hot oven, at breakneck speed, is still trainable in less that 20 days, where a Petroleum Engineer, has a minimum of 6 years eduction, costing near $250,000, who is worth what income? How can we justify anything more that $20.00 an hour, and full benefits for such volatile recidivism? The average line cook lasts less than 1 year, and usually gets 2 raises in that period..

As for low pay, and that is what we hear most frequently from outside critics, 75% of our jobs are low or no prior experience required, and no matter how much we offer, most new hires leave within the first 90 days, for a myriad of reasons, least of which is income.. Most don't like the hours, because we are working while the rest of the world is at their leisure. It's the nature of the beast.. Next, it is difficult, and frantic working conditions. But we only get compensated for less than 6 hours work to recover the most labor intensiveness, and build-out, expensive square footage in commercial real estate. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.. $$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$..

Eighty percent of start-up restaurants, fail in the first year and a half. With my 45 years experience, with multiple outlets, specializing in high end, white tablecloth, Haute Cuisine fare, my threat of failure rate is only slightly better than a newcomer..

This is the crux of the problem, 15% of our positions are heavy experience, and highly specialized jobs, requiring strong resume requirements, with stable verifiable employment histories.. Those positions are highly paid.. Many of those jobs are tip related, meaning that no matter how much their salary is, and some are quite high, they receive major bucks in cash most are tabulated on credit cards, therefore taxable, but who knows how much the total compensation is. I am sure they report each and every dime to the IRS.....

Highly successful restauranteurs, are thrilled to receive 11% profit on the bottom line..

Even fast food outlets are nightmares to operate, and mom and pop cafes are operating with entire families working around the clock barely make ends meet.. SOOOOOOoooooo fire away..

[southernyankeebelle]

9. You make very good points. You really do. I will tell you my son has worked at this establishment

since it open over 15 yrs ago. He has a good work ethics that he learned from his family. To the point some times he puts his job above his family. But like he said to his wife that he is the only one working. She does some part-time job with beauty products. He would love her to go back into medical field she was in. But she doesn't want to work full time. She has never been able to stay in a job more than a year. My son isn't like that.

Funny thing he called me yesterday and told me that the supervisor for the area came to their place of business. The regular manager wasn't there that day and my son was in charge of opening up the place and getting things going. He said the manager asked him to come to his house yesterday during the afternoon. When he got to his home he told him about the supervisor and how impressed he was with his work. The area supervisor sent a test to the manager's home and he helped my son through the test. It is for a manager position. My son is like me we can do the job but tests makes us very nervous. So things are looking up for him. I hope he passes. His immediate boss said the test was stupid because they really don't use any of it in their everyday work. I pray for him that he gets it. He deserves it. The customers really like him. Sometimes he gets to wait tables. That is one of his favorite jobs. The other waitress love it when he gets to do it because everyone makes more money. He always makes good tips.

Your right there is a turnover. But you also must admit not all the managers care for their employees. If they would treat them alittle better they would work harder for the company. They want to feel part of the company.

[dadchef]

20. I really am disappointed that any service company would use tests as their top priority..

I can't take a test for the life of me. If my success would have determined my future, I would still be waiting tables..

I have something to say that may get me flamed out. Let me tell you that I am shocked that the fixation on higher education values. I can tell you that I have witnessed it's destructive results beginning in the 50's. Our desire to give our offspring a better shot at success for their future, a college education was a sure advantage. In the short term it did work really well, having a diploma meant you got their first job over most applicants without a degree..

However in those days, most kids that went to college were highly motivated, or just plain rich. Scholarships where the only way a poor kid got a shot at getting an education. Too many others that were truly qualified were forced to hold down full time jobs, or attended night school taking years to complete. However, with all that skin in the game, and with such a sacrifice, they really were motivated, and valued the cost and commitment to learn..

I'll spare the details, but today, none of those attributes need be present to acquire an advanced education, let alone receive a diploma. Government programs, such as the GI BILL, for vets, and later their offspring, was brilliant, and successful. However with politics, and political pandering, I don't believe a diploma has anywhere near the same value..

Here is where I might get in trouble, I believe the fact that too much easy money, and lower admission standards, throw in the greedy higher, financial, and education institutions, have perverted the value of a degree. Worse, it has wasted too many lives since it became a fraud in too many circumstances, it is almost meaningless. I'm not saying that it has not succeeded in many lives, and made a huge difference in so many poor kids futures, I'm saying a majority of employers, not just in my industry, don't just accept it at face value or sadly will not take it into consideration at all..

Sadly, if I am offered an applicant with 2 year loyal working history in a quality company, or related skills, over a 4 year +, Sociology, History, or Basic Management degree, I'll bet on the actual verifiable working commitment. The shame in the system is that those poor kids that can't find a job in their field of education, not only doesn't help them, they are carrying a major (UN-dischargable) debt, associated with the wasted time in their early life..

The facts are, that many of those degrees don't pay as much as my waiter, waitress, bartender, bellboy, assistant manager, bookkeeper, or even car-parker, or doorman, make more than the starting salary of their chosen field. SORRY, it's all too true the time wasted, stymied far too many individuals that have a disadvantaged these kids..

Now, let me tell you, dear southernyankeebelle, your son is being punished by this same mindset that I stated above.. Academia has infiltrated business, and replaced commonsense. Your son's proven history, extensive experience in their own company, loyalty and commitment to his field, what in the hell can a test do but satisfy some egghead in upper management. I have 2 degrees, one is an MBA I just completed, at 69, that I acquired after I became successful.. UGH.. I was flabbergasted at the lack of actual business knowledge my professors, most of my time was shamefully wasted on truly useless..

[CreekDog]

17. a living wage should be the law, and that's higher than our minimum wage

somehow in other nations, they manage this.

and in California, the minimum wage for restaurant servers is higher because it still applies even for tipped positions.

and somehow we manage to have restaurants of every kind here. in San Francisco workers have to be offered health insurance too and the minimum waqe is near $10/hour.

and somehow it is a great place to go out and eat.

it can be done.

[dadchef]

27. California has laws that don't help the tip employees..

What California has done is help restaurant owners. The law places conditions that every one of the owners can now limit their contribution to the new Mandated law. Before they enacted their control, competitiveness was crucial and they were forced to compete with their competition vigorously. Now they ALL hide behind the new law for new hires, that they have a fixed amount to pay, which includes the reported tips..

It must have sounded good in concept, but we still add perks for highly qualified applicants, but now they have an excuse to limit raises on continued employment. In other words, the establishment delays the automatic raises that we had to do to compete with other competitors, now they have mandated excuses that they all welcomed. It hits the youth employment hard once again.. BTW, it did close down small operations that were on the edge as it became the straw etc...

The real downside, is that they now make waiters and waitresses, bus (clean up) their own tables, therefore eliminating busboys.. Much the same as when Carter raised the min wage in the 70's allowing service stations to eliminating gas station attendants, and forced everyone of us to pump our own gas. Same with young baggers in supermarkets..

Check the youth employment charts comparing the youth unemployment to min wage increases. It wouldn't be so bad, but these are the jobs were the entry level jobs for kids and teaching them to work and earn..

[mrmpa]

24. Regarding going to work while sick......

here in Pennsylvania, during the flu season the Commonwealth runs a TV campaign explaining why you should not go to work while sick. I commend the campaign, but unless businesses are forced to pay their employees for time off while sick, the campaign is worthless.

[southernyankeebelle]

25. I'll agree with you on that. Believe me my son goes because he can't afford to lose the money.

There are many good employees like that. I know they would rather stay home and get well but they don't really have a choice most of the time. It really is sad you know..

[kestrel91316]

2. USA! USA! USA!

[Shadowflash]

3. With all this 'right to work' (for less) crap coming down,

we're all gonna be there soon.

[southernyankeebelle]

10. I will tell you it ain't pretty either. My husband and I are helping my son and his family.

They don't go spending money foolishly. My husband and I make sure the grandkids don't do without. We buy them cloths and they earn money helping us around the house. They are young 10 and 6 yrs old. They want to help out to earn money. They dust the furniture and vacuum. That alone is worth it. They got to go to the zoo yesterday. We gave them spending money. I had to laugh my granddaughter said the $10.00 I gave her that she only got a penny back. I laughed and told her what nerve they have. I tell her now Dream big, work hard and don't let anyone say no.

[Shadowflash]

12. Good for you.

I hear this alot and it's sad that adult kids are now having to get substance from, or live with, their parents for economic reasons. Especially with kids.

Good on you for your help.

[southernyankeebelle]

14. To me it's a duty. I grew up in a large family and when I was in high school I had a little

part time job and I gave it to my parents. I knew they used it for the good of the family. My mother bought our closes and food and they were such good parents. I can't complain. I think some families today are rediscovering their families because they must work together for the good of the whole family. It would be different if my son went out and blew money on things he doesn't need.

[Romulox]

4. People cite breaking the Air Traffic Controllers as a watershed, but breaking the meat packers

unions has been far more devastating to a far larger class of workers, imo.

The latter, unfortunately, is at least tacitly approved of by many here, via support for illegal immigration.

[CreekDog]

7. and nonunion supermarkets are also a distressing trend

[Phhhtttt]

11. It's that service economy don't you know

The one George Bush the first told us he would transform the U.S. economy into.

The rich elite fucks have turned us all into butlers,waiters,cashiers,janitors,customer service reps;and the list goes on.

Isn't Amerika great!

[shcrane71]

13. Welcome to DU!

Now get back to work serf!... just kidding.

[Phhhtttt]

16. Thanks for the welcome

I like the empathy expressed in this community.Y'all are just nice people.It is a difficult commodity to find in this mixed up country of ours.

[shcrane71]

21. Empathy is a rare commodity. Sad isn't it? It's not how I was raise. nt

[southernyankeebelle]

15. welcome to the world of a service corporation.

[Phhhtttt]

22. Thanks

[southernyankeebelle]

26. Don't mention it.

[mahina]

18. Welcome to DU.

Aloha.

[Phhhtttt]

23. Thank you

[Odin2005]

19. In other news, water is wet.