Service Workers

Waffle House Workers Fight Back Against Wage Theft

September 20, 2024 People's Dispatch. Resist! Service Workers, The South, Waffle House, Wage Theft, Worker Rights and Jobs

A new survey by the Strategic Organizing Center found that 90% of Waffle House workers polled have experienced some form of wage theft in the past year. 77% reported experiencing more than one form of wage theft, and 49% reported experiencing more than two. 75% of Waffle House workers reported that they had “been required to perform job tasks before clocking in or after clocking out,” 72% had been “not been paid for all hours worked or all tasks performed,” 58% had been paid a much lower tipped wage for work they did not receive tips on, and 21% reported that they did not always receiving overtime pay despite working over 40 hours per week.

Tipping Is A Racist Relic

July 12, 2024 Nina Mast, Economic Policy Institute. Educate! Racism, Service Workers, Slavery, The South, Tipping, Worker Rights

In most of the country, workers in restaurants, bars, nail salons, barber shops, and various other service jobs are paid differently than workers in virtually all other occupations. For these workers, a large portion (in many cases all) of their take-home pay comes from gratuity or “tips” provided directly from the customer. While employers of workers in nearly all other occupations must pay at least the minimum wage, federal and most states’ laws establish a lower “subminimum wage” for tipped workers that effectively passes the responsibility for compensating these workers from their employers to their clientele.

Another Win For Union And Worker Center Collaborations

November 15, 2023 Isabela Escalona, The Real News Network. Strategize! Minneapolis, Service Workers, Unions, Victory, Worker Rights and Jobs

In the late summer of 2021, a group of workers from First Avenue, the iconic Minneapolis music venue, were fed up with low pay, last-minute scheduling, lack of parking, and safety concerns, and wanted to implement some of their own ideas in their workplace. Unsure of how to get it done, the workers decided to first contact Restaurant Opportunities Center of Minnesota (ROC-MN) to learn more about their workplace rights. Fast forward to November 2: Over 200 bartenders, event staff, and other in-house workers across seven venues affiliated with First Avenue marched on the boss and delivered a petition that included the faces and names of over 70% of staff who want to unionize with UNITE HERE Local 17.

Daily movement news and resources