Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for November 26, 2013

They would all starve in Oz if they relied on tips.

The old phrase “You get what you pay for” has never been more true. The shocking stats regarding fast food workers being sick on the job reflects that.

And of course now only the executives have the holiday dinner party. Years ago they included all employees.

http://www.minimum-wage.org/michigan-tipped-employee-minimum-wage

You can always buy food from our store and donate to our all struggling employees. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

For all of you that don’t know, most union contracts are written that any increase in the minimum wage is added to their salary, too.

So that plumber making $35 per hour will see his pay go to $38 an hour the day the minimum wage is raised by $3.

Got to maintain that wage disparity for union workers, don’t you know.

Look it up.

The Christmas parties at the Hilton in Kalamazoo in the late seventies were the best ever….First of all, free beer! What could go wrong there? All kinds of hors d’oevours, mini quiche, chicken wings, meatballs, vegetable platters… Thick prime rib, broccoli spears. baked potato, green beans almondine, cherry cheesecake for desert….dancing, talent show, (Kazoo has a lot of musicians), cash bar, etc. Management were the servers…But you know, it worked. All the petty hassles of the job faded away for a while. We really felt appreciated after all….Modern companies should keep that in mind….So sayeth the Varnes of Ackley, MA Communications…

I worked for years as an executive, in the hospitality industry, which, like the food & beverage industry, has an extraordinarily high turnover rate, with the average employee lasting no more than six months. The last corporation I worked for was the exception to the rule. Our world-wide properties boasted a very high percentage of long-termed employees. Our accident and injury rates were very, very low, and our employee attendance was excellent. Why ?We paid our employees a higher rate of pay than they could get in any other resort. We had insurance plans that the average worker could afford. We offered flex hours for certain departments, maternity leave, English classes, CPR training for all employees, and offered scholarships for continuing education.Most importantly, we valued our employees and treated them with respect and dignity.

That and they now all work 28 hours a week…

Of course I worked such parties. There was one by a locally owned clothing store. It was pretty nice…I ask one of the people there if the people that owned the place if were good people to work for…With no hesitation she gave a solid yes, looking me right in the eyes…You can’t buy that. You can’t pay for loyalty. That has to be earned……..

Gratuity is a slavery system.

Egads, and I worked all those years for naught.

I’d go back to Reagan for where to place the blame for the attacks on middle- and working-class Americans. That’s when CEOs started getting paid ridiculous salaries for sending American jobs to countries that allowed slave labor.Incidentally, working for tips is only slave labor when the customer takes the service and refuses to tip. I supported myself and my family and put myself through college for years by waiting tables—I did well enough at a $2/hour wage plus tips because I was good at what I did.

This is happening already – it’s called interns. I advise young people who ask to demand at least a dollar – because totally unpaid employees don’t have legal protections against mistreatment.

as each dies of starvation just replace…..

If I ran a restaurant (and there’s no way in Hades I would), I would pay all my employees $5 a hour MORE than minimum wage, and be very selective about who I hired. That would reduce turnover, and therefore keep costs down right there. At worst, a $16.99 entree would become $17.99, but I probably wouldn’t even have to do that.

You said ‘there is nothing wrong with being a contract employee if you are college educated and have some years of experience’. There is a lot wrong with just having contract jobs to pick from; in almost any job where you have to deal with the public, there will inevitably be one customer who just can’t be satisfied. As a contract employee, you are automatically denied any appeal if the powers that be decide that the disappointed customer is your fault. Even one such episode can be enough to make it very difficult to get the next job. -The hospital nursing profession is increasingly becoming a contract profession. In part, this helps nurses with years of experience, because as employees of an agency that places them in hospital jobs, they will get more opportunity to pick the shifts they want. And the placement company often offers benefits, which a hospital may not. (That’s right, there are nurses who work full time and can’t afford health insurance.)

- But in the long run, it is patients who will suffer, because hospitals looking to cut costs will understaff. They are doing it now. So there are shifts where one nurse can be tied up with a critical care patient, and not a sufficient number of other nurses are available to monitor other patient. -Ironically, here in Florida, the hospitality industry is generating lots of low wage, no benefit jobs (many occupied by illegals), and our Governor Rick Scott celebrates THEM as jobs…

Ashburn, think unionized "Skilled Labour", those guys deserve every penny they make. I had my furnace repaired recently, and 2/3 of the bill was labour, which I called the "knowing what the %^( he’s doing fee" which I GLADLY paid. If we shipped every skilled trades person to the moon, they would be okay, we back on Earth would be screwed though.

@GeldhartThere is an other alternative – profit sharing. Over my lifetime, I have been an absentee owner of 2 different bars and restaurants, in 2 different countries and cultures. In both cases, I hired an extremely competent manager and great local help. I put everyone on modest wages and ( depending on their positions and length of time with the business ) a percentage of the yearly profits. Because all my employees felt that the place was theirs, and they were working for themselves, I had no “shrinkage” problems, and no absenteeism. Not only that, but because the employees loved their jobs, the customers loved them, and the businesses grew and prospered. And yes, the employees got percentages of the profit when I sold the places.

@Hardthought

Do you enjoy your weekends? How about the 40 hour work week, like that, too? Do you work in a safe environment? Are you happy that your children don’t have to choose between school and work? If you do, then thank the unions.

Reagan began the union-busting that’s since went on steroids because the 1% knew that unions would force better pay, safer working conditions and the right to protest unfair treatment. That would cost them a few pennies in relation to their already exorbitant salaries. Desperate workers are compliant workers. Good men and their families spilled their blood and sacrificed all they had so that you can sit home on your weekends and trash the unions.

Show some respect.

When did it become “an accepted practice for restaurants to not pay their employees”? I know restaurant workers don’t make a lot, but they legally have to be paid some kind of wage…don’’t they?

The Obama economy has been one of steady if sluggish recovery from the ruinous policies of the Bush economy. A recent article in the WSJ said the recovery would have been much faster except for the gaping and growing disparity between the rich (none of whom are union) and everybody else.

Unpaid internships is just another way to keep the lower class in it’s place. You scrimp and save and finally get through school working part time and now they want you to work for free for 6 months or a year just to get “some experience”. Sadly, these “potential employers” can pick one out of ten and just get a new batch in for the next year. Many movie industry, broadcasting, and financial positions open up every year, some need family just the get the “privilege”.

I am sorry, but that should be considered slavery, even though it is voluntary. If you don’t have a family paying your bills and transportation, you can never achieve one of these jobs. It is better just to go back to nepotism, like it was in the past.

You neglected to mention the economy collapsed under W., bailouts began under W., the housing market collapsed under W., the market went from 13,000+to 6600 in 6 months, etc. etc.

I work for an employee owned company. Our Christmas parties involve everyone. We are paid fairly, have excellent insurance and bonuses are fair across the board. That being said, I have worked my tail off to get where I am, was never complacent in a job and have moved several times for a better opportunity. Unfortunately, many today demand benefits they have not earned and refuse to leave their comfort zone in order to better themselves.

Redkaycei Repoc: The ones who come to your house when you let your pipes freeze probably are self-employed (or hired along with two or three other assistants). The ones who installed the plumbing in large buildings so they wouldn’t freeze are most likely union (except in states with a history of slavery) and therefore you wouldn’t have much likelihood of ever seeing them. .mwbarr: Yes, they have to be paid some kind of wage – about 60% the minimum wage. And tips must be reported as income too.

You know the housing bubble was about a lot more than just making loans to people who couldn’t afford them. There were also a bunch of stock analysts who bundled those bad loans and sold them as an investment product, telling their clients that the investment was solid. At the same time, those stock analysts bet against those investments and they earned a bundle when the investments fell through. Then there were the speculators who bought houses, suborned appraisers to issue false findings, and sold the units back and forth until the ‘value’ was hyper-inflated. Then they sold the overvalued house to a mark. NAFTA is not the only thing that punched the American workforce in the gut. And none of those who sold the rotten securities or hyperinflated houses have paid a penalty. They are all part of the ‘too big to fail’ economy.

If they pretend to pay me, I’ll pretend to work.

That situation has been going on longer than Obama’s period in office. I lost my job during Bubba’s stint and low pay was all I was offered, temporary or real jobs. It was worse when temping since the agency got a big cut of what the employer paid out.I ran into one of those Rand-ites once and she held the opinion that businesspeople were the most moral people in the world.I responded that I found their morals equalled those of a cat in heat.

I really dont understand why anyone would work as a server in a restuarant or bar without getting paid. You cant guarantee tips.