Do you care about where your food comes from? Who grows it? What it tastes like? If it's in season?
Do you care about restaurant workers? Their rights? Their access to health insurance? How about after they get in an accident? Die? Make the headlines?
Yesterday there was a benefit to raise money for funerary and medical costs for workers from Bar Crudo, a small restaurant in San Francisco which lost a wonderful waiter and almost lost its chef and sous chef in a horrible car accident recently.
I'm sad, but I'm also mad. Because I work in a dangerous industry that seems to have an impossible time figuring out how to take care of its staff. Even though our business is all about caring for diners; feeding people food and giving them a wonderful place in which to dine.
Who's job is it to care for us? Follow me to KQED where I ask some hard questions.
Shuna, you are describing most small companies in America, not just restaurants. Healthcare premiums can easily top $1000 per month per employee, and that's when you can get coverage at all.
Posted by: Dave | 11 December 2006 at 07:33 PM
It's unfortunate that we need tragic events to start getting the public to think about the plight of the restaurant workers. Advocates in New York City are taking on creative strategies to encourage restaurants to pay their workers higher wages. I'm currently working with Wage to Live (www.wagetolive.org), a newly formed conscientious consumption campaign that will soon start certifying restaurants that comply with set wage standards. We are confident that by helping consumers identify restaurants that are striving to pay their workers well, we can spread awareness throughout the public and bring about change in the industry. While providing living wages and health benefits may be expensive now, hopefully consumer demand for these things will make it easier for restaurateurs to simultaneously care for their workers and run successful businesses.
Posted by: Nikki Zeichner, Project Coordinator, Wage to Live | 14 December 2006 at 12:10 PM
I find it amazing that the resturant industy is able to get away with the things they do. The hours they force employees to work and at low rates that seem to reek of third world countries. The fast food industry seems to be the worst of all.
Posted by: Jim Johnson | 08 January 2007 at 09:17 AM