Don't punish the victims
July 30, 2018 8:33 PM Subscribe
Small, local restaurant chain agreed to pay wage theft penalties in the millions of dollars (unpaid overtime, missed breaks, etc). My husband doesn't want to eat there anymore because of the worker abuse. If every customer does the same, the staff will be abused again without tips, fewer hours and maybe job loss. What's the correct approach?
How is the service economy in your town? If restaurants are starving for good help, let the business die, and the servers will find find other jobs at hopefully better restaurants.
If restaurant jobs aren’t competitive, continue to give it your business because those servers are raising families on those tips.
posted by Grandysaur at 9:04 PM on July 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
If restaurant jobs aren’t competitive, continue to give it your business because those servers are raising families on those tips.
posted by Grandysaur at 9:04 PM on July 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
One thing to consider: Do the restaurant owners seem like they have learned the error of their ways, and will be turning over a new leaf? Or do they seem like they got caught and paid up because they had to, but don’t have a plan to change their ways?
posted by ejs at 9:14 PM on July 30, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by ejs at 9:14 PM on July 30, 2018 [7 favorites]
Spend your money at businesses that pay a living wage and treat their employees well. I would need to see some huge show of good faith effort to make things better to keep eating there, for instance, paying more than $15 an hour, increasing vacation time, etc.
posted by xammerboy at 10:05 PM on July 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by xammerboy at 10:05 PM on July 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
If every customer does the same, the staff will be abused again without tips, fewer hours and maybe job loss. What's the correct approach?
Working for a failing business is not active abuse the way wage theft is. I agree with ejs, if it seems like the restaurant is actually actively trying to make this right, I would consider giving them a chance. That said, assuming a normal restaurant economy, I personally would think it's good to send a message that you don't want to spend your money in a place where they treat their employees badly. It is not, at all, your responsibility to patronize bad businesses because if you didn't go the employees would be treated worse than they already are.
posted by jessamyn at 5:33 AM on July 31, 2018 [3 favorites]
Working for a failing business is not active abuse the way wage theft is. I agree with ejs, if it seems like the restaurant is actually actively trying to make this right, I would consider giving them a chance. That said, assuming a normal restaurant economy, I personally would think it's good to send a message that you don't want to spend your money in a place where they treat their employees badly. It is not, at all, your responsibility to patronize bad businesses because if you didn't go the employees would be treated worse than they already are.
posted by jessamyn at 5:33 AM on July 31, 2018 [3 favorites]
xammerboy: Spend your money at businesses that pay a living wage and treat their employees well
Agreed. But if this place paid the fines and changed their ways, don't they belong in the virtuous group who deserves business?
(Speaking here as a former food service worker who would like to see orbital strikes on bad restaurant owners and managers who steal tips, but who also believes in redemption.)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:26 AM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
Agreed. But if this place paid the fines and changed their ways, don't they belong in the virtuous group who deserves business?
(Speaking here as a former food service worker who would like to see orbital strikes on bad restaurant owners and managers who steal tips, but who also believes in redemption.)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:26 AM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
As a union organizer, it’s important to have the carrot as well as the stick. If businesses don’t feel that good thing should happen when they do good, they don’t have any incentive to do so. I would personally eat there, but stop to talk to the manager and say it’s only because they agreed to pay the back wages.
posted by corb at 7:51 AM on July 31, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by corb at 7:51 AM on July 31, 2018 [5 favorites]
Mod note: Couple comments deleted; better not to get into identifying the restaurant, since that can reveal non-public info from OP's profile page. Thanks.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:14 AM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:14 AM on July 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
The story of Boston's Upper Crust Pizza may be relevant here. They received a similarly sized fine for wage theft and labor violations. Even after settling that lawsuit, they tried to steal the settlement money back from their employees, leading to another suit and eventual bankruptcy.
What happened to the stores after they went bankrupt? Some of the franchise-owned shops went independent. The company-owned locations were put up for auction, eventually to be purchased by one or more of the original owners. But for a business of that size and popularity, someone would have wanted the brand. And the demand for pizza is certainly still there in those neighborhoods. Failed pizzerias usually get replaced by other pizzerias, in my experience.
Paying wage theft penalties is not a sign of contrition. It means they were caught and the alternative was going to be worse. And it doesn't mean they'll treat their workers any better than they can get away with in the future. Not engaging in large scale labor violations is not a high bar. There are probably plenty of decently-run restaurants in your area that are failing for lack of business. Save those jobs instead.
posted by serathen at 1:53 PM on July 31, 2018 [5 favorites]
What happened to the stores after they went bankrupt? Some of the franchise-owned shops went independent. The company-owned locations were put up for auction, eventually to be purchased by one or more of the original owners. But for a business of that size and popularity, someone would have wanted the brand. And the demand for pizza is certainly still there in those neighborhoods. Failed pizzerias usually get replaced by other pizzerias, in my experience.
Paying wage theft penalties is not a sign of contrition. It means they were caught and the alternative was going to be worse. And it doesn't mean they'll treat their workers any better than they can get away with in the future. Not engaging in large scale labor violations is not a high bar. There are probably plenty of decently-run restaurants in your area that are failing for lack of business. Save those jobs instead.
posted by serathen at 1:53 PM on July 31, 2018 [5 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you don't eat at this chain, your money isn't "going away". Presumably if you continue to eat out, you'll be eating out somewhere that you perceive to be treating their employees better. This creates market pressure supporting those companies and hurting the chain in question. Yes, there's a short term pain from having to find a new job, but also you're creating that new job with your money.
What's the correct approach?
Provide financial support to candidates and policy organizations that work to eliminate worker abuse. This is the best I've come up with when faced with a similar question for myself. I figure my individual actions are near-useless and that any scalable effective solution to worker abuse will have to come from enhancement of worker protections and government enforcement of those protections.
posted by saeculorum at 8:39 PM on July 30, 2018 [36 favorites]