#food service workers

[redshift-13]

It wasn’t such a merry Christmas for grocery store management in central Minnesota. Five hundred grocery workers in the Brainerd Lakes area walked out on an unfair labor practice strike, deserting five stores between December 22 and 25. Management tried to keep the stores running, but workers said they turned into disaster zones. Why did two Cub Foods stores, two Super Ones, and a SuperValu find themselves on Santa’s naughty list last year? United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 663 charges management with interrogation, surveillance, intimidation, and bargaining in bad faith. Those misdeeds included infiltrating a WhatsApp group chat for workers and stationing “loss prevention” employees — who normally focus on catching shoplifters — near the store exits to intimidate workers out of participating in walkouts leading up to the strike. The union’s top bargaining demand is a raise. Wages have been stagnant a long time and lag behind what grocery workers are making a few hours south in the Twin Cities. Part-time wages are especially uncompetitive; turnover is high.

More at the link.

#minnesota #labor #strike #labor militancy #left politics #food service workers

[iww-gnv]

California fast-food workers are forming a unique kind of union

Lizzet Aguilar has worked at a McDonald’s in Los Angeles for 17 years. She’s never once been given a paid day off. She’s never taken a vacation. When her husband or nine-year-old son get sick and need her to care for them—or if she gets sick herself—she has to call out and lose a day’s pay. “Es difícil,” she says: It’s difficult. Her wages are already low. She makes $16.78 per hour. “Estamos luchando día a día. Es difícil vivir en California,” says Aguilar: We live day to day. It’s difficult to live in California. But for many years she was afraid to speak up and join the Fight for 15, a national movement to raise the minimum wage that started with fast-food workers and has since seen 14 states and Washington, D.C., raise their minimum wages to $15 an hour, increasing pay for 26 million workers.   Then the pandemic hit and Aguilar’s boss didn’t give workers any hand sanitizer, gloves, or even masks. Six coworkers got COVID-19. “Ese me puso a decir, ‘Basta,’” she recalls: It pushed her to say, Enough. She got involved to protect herself and her family.  Now Aguilar will be part of the next evolution in the Fight for 15 movement: She and her coworkers will announce on February 9 that they are forming the California Fast Food Workers Union, which will be part of SEIU. Hundreds of workers from different fast-food companies will gather in Los Angeles to sign union cards. It’s time, Aguilar and her coworkers decided, to become more formal members of a union and pay dues. It’s a fresh start, she says, on the road toward securing bigger gains.

Read the rest here.

#news #labor news #fast food workers #fast food #food service #food and dining #unionize #union strong #fight for 15 #california fast food workers union #california news #california #us news

[over-grown-emo-kid]

Going to the restaurant you work at and sitting at the bar is one thing, but doing homework there is another entirely. 9/10 highly recommend.

#waitress #restaurant #food service workers #reading day #finals #college

[dusksescape]

My manager was late to work today so hence, we opened late. Now we have cones in the drive thru until we open. Well, me and the manager were finishing up when we saw on the camera that watches the drive thru there was a man in a car in a puffy red coat.

This dude gets out of his car and moves the cone to the side and drives off.

But thats not what makes this story fun. This godtier stealth lord comes back after we gave up and just opened a little before we were ready . With his coat inside out so it wasn't red...

This is how I know Hannah Montana was realistic.

#work #food service workers #customer service #drive thru

[incognitopolls]

This is specifically about things that affect your ability to clean the table afterward, not about if they were rude customers/didn't tip/etc.

–

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

#polls #incognito polls #anonymous #tumblr polls #tumblr users #questions #polls about jobs #submitted nov 22 #jobs #restaurant worker #cleaning #restaurants #employees #food service

[mysharona1987]

#Doordash #service workers #food #delivery

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

#us politics #twitter #tweet #2023 #nina turner #raise the minimum wage #minimum wage #living wage #wages #wage gap #affordable housing #cost of living #service workers #retail workers #service industry #food service industry #janitorial services

[catnippackets]

I used to have really intense shopping anxiety and wouldn't be able to buy something in person even if I really really wanted it and then I worked as a cashier for 5 months and it completely cured me BUT ONLY for non-food places. if I'm buying food I still have crazy bad anxiety. that's the only thing. I'm now completely fine with getting clothes or books or toys or groceries or whatever any material item is fine but something about food or drink when it's from a restaurant or some sort of specialty store still freaks me out. by this logic if I went out and got a job working in food service for a few months I would also become cured but even just thinking about doing that and having to interact with The Public is freaking me out lol

#ramblings #food service workers are some of our strongest soldiers honestly

[redrabbu]

Kobeni sticker I made for December’s substar reward! Will be coming to my [ store ] sometime next month!

[ twitter ] [ subscribestar ] [ kofi ] [ insta ] [ bluesky ]

#kobeni #chainsaw man #retail worker #food service #sticker #redrabbuartsu

[devouringbodies]

Need an au where Will is a waiter at some diner in Louisiana and Hannibal is down there for whatever fucking reason but he stops in everyday cause despite the ....charm of the place not being his usual dining deal it's actually pretty good and the waiter is super cute. Anyways. Hannibal kills all the customers who are rude to Will.

#🪰 #hannibal #hannigram #will graham #hannibal lecter #living through this vicariously #straight up if you're rude to food service workers/cashiers/receptionists for just doing their jobs literally die I'm so serious #I'll say it again hannibal lecter was right if you're needlessly discourteous go get hit by a truck about it #waste of air fr

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

As multiple work stoppages continued across the United States, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania on Thursday introduced legislation that would enable striking workers to qualify for federal food aid.

Called the Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023, Fetterman's bill would amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to ensure that striking workers aren't excluded from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. In addition, the bill would preserve food stamp eligibility for public sector workers who are fired for striking and clarify that any income-eligible household is entitled to SNAP benefits even if a member of that household is on strike.

"Every union worker who is walking the picket line this summer needs to know that we have their back here in Washington," Fetterman said in a statement. "The union way of life is sacred. It's what built Pennsylvania and this nation. It is critical for us to protect workers' right to organize, and that includes making sure they and their families have the resources to support themselves while on strike."

"As chair of the Nutrition Subcommittee and an advocate for the union way of life, this bill is just plain common sense," he added. "I'm proud to introduce this bill that will eliminate the need for workers to choose between fighting for fair working conditions and putting food on the table for their families."

Workers typically forgo pay when they exercise their right to walk off the job in pursuit of higher wages and better conditions. Although union strike funds sometimes provide workers on the picket line with a stipend, it is less than their regular income.

Under existing law, striking workers and their households are ineligible to receive SNAP benefits unless they already qualified for food stamps prior to withholding their labor. This gives employers significant leverage over employees who can only endure economic hardship for so long. By repealing the current restriction on striking workers securing SNAP benefits, Fetterman's bill would help restore some balance to the struggle between capital and labor.

"It's good to see lawmakers attempting to correct the wrongs of the past by reinstating a benefit for striking workers that never should have been taken away in the first place," said International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O'Brien. "Congress should never pass laws that punish American workers and hopefully this amendment is a repudiation of that practice."

O'Brien spent the past several weeks preparing 340,000 United Parcel Service (UPS) warehouse workers and delivery drivers for what would have been the second-largest work stoppage at a single employer in U.S. history, trailing only a 1970 strike of 400,000 General Motors workers. Although a UPS strike has likely been averted after the logistics giant and the Teamsters reached a tentative five-year contract agreement on Tuesday, Fetterman's proposal comes amid a nationwide wave of ongoing and potential labor actions.

"The United Auto Workers have mirrored the Teamsters' militant stance, blasting CEOs ahead of their own contract negotiations slated for later this year," The Intercept reported Thursday. "And the truckers union has staged trainings in dozens of cities for a strike that could shut down shipping from coast to coast. In California, meanwhile, thousands of hotel workers organized with Unite Here are already on strike, along with tens of thousands of Hollywood writers and actors belonging to the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA, respectively."

The walkout of 160,000 writers and actors, who are fighting for improved remuneration and attempting to safeguard unionized jobs threatened by artificial intelligence-induced automation, is perhaps the most well-known of the current strikes.

Earlier this month, an anonymous studio executive admitted to Deadline that "the endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses," drawing widespread condemnation, including from star actor Ron Perlman.

The Food Secure Strikers Act is designed to counteract the delay tactics that bosses rely on to crush workers.

"Workers who make the difficult decision to go on strike are coming together to lift the standard of living and gain more respect for all working people," said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA). "They are prepared to make sacrifices—but going hungry should not be one of them. The Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023 will help ensure that when striking workers stand in solidarity for better working conditions and wages they can receive SNAP benefits so they don't put themselves and their families at risk."

The legislation is co-sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 10 Senate Democrats, including Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), and Ron Wyden (Ore.). A companion bill was unveiled in the House by Democratic Reps. Alma Adams (N.C.) and Greg Casar (Texas).

It is also endorsed by numerous unions and anti-hunger organizations, including the Teamsters, NEA, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the Communications Workers of America, the Food Research Action Center, and Hunger-Free America.

"We need to get rid of the anti-union provisions in our code that starve striking workers," said Casar. "We're seeing workers exercise their rights across the country by going on strike to demand better wages and working conditions. That's why our bill, the Food Secure Strikers Act, is more important now than ever. We need to stop starving strikers, and ensure all working families are able to make ends meet."

#us politics #news #common dreams #Democrats #progressives #2023 #Sen. John Fetterman #pennsylvania #Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023 #supplemental nutrition assistance program #Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 #striking workers #workers union #worker's rights #working class #union workers #Senate Nutrition Subcommittee #International Brotherhood of Teamsters #united parcel service inc #United Auto Workers #writers guild strike #writers guild of america #sag aftra #sag strike #National Education Association #United Food and Commercial Workers #Communications Workers of America #Food Research Action Center #Hunger-Free America

[worklabournewsresearch]

OPINION: Only One Starbucks in Canada is Currently Unionized, and it’s in B.C. Why is Starbucks So Afraid of Unions?

Barnea, A. (2022, April 23). Only one Starbucks in Canada is currently unionized, and it’s in B.C. Why is Starbucks so afraid of unions?. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/business/opinion/2022/04/23/a-strong-momentum-to-unionize-is-brewing-at-starbucks-south-of-the-border-its-already-begun-in-canada.html  UTL Link: http://myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fblogs-podcasts-websites%2Fonly-one-starbucks-canada-is-currently-unionized%2Fdocview%2F2653573724%2Fse-2%3F

Amir Barnea writes “Starbucks Coffee has gained the reputation of a company that provides great benefits to its employees. It refers to its workers as ‘partners’ and is proud of investing in them. … Until June 2021, none of the North American workers in company-owned stores belonged to a union. But last summer, some 30 employees at a Starbucks drive-thru location at Douglas and Alpha streets in Victoria, B.C., changed that, making their store the only corporate-owned Starbucks in North America to unionize.”

“’It was the summer of 2020 and there was a lot of miscommunication and lack of communication between us and management. For example, with respect to what type of PPE we were supposed to be wearing,’ … [Barista, Sarah] Broad told me in an interview … After reaching out to a few unions, the employees chose to work with the United Steelworkers (USW). … After months of negotiations, United Steelworkers (USW) announced a three-year deal, … It negotiated wage increases of up to $2.47 per hour based on years of service. In a statement following the agreement, Starbucks Canada minimized the achievements accomplished by the employees. ‘After union dues and donations, some hourly employees in this store will earn only a few cents ($0.04 to $0.07) more per hour than other Starbucks partners in the province,’ the statement reads.”

“Yet, judging by recent comments by its interim CEO it appears that Starbucks is still frightened of the idea that more of its stores will unionize. … While there is only one unionized store in Canada (a recent attempt to unionize a Calgary store was voted down), south of the border a strong momentum is building. … Starbucks has been a leader on so many fronts. From being one of the first S&P 500 firms to publish a Corporate Social Responsibility report back in 2001, to its current initiatives with respect to fighting climate change. So it’s disappointing that it seems to view unionization as a threat. … But the reality is that unionization simply provides a safety net for employees and shouldn’t be viewed as a threat.”

Additional Information

Starbucks Coffee Canada and the United Steelworkers Local 2009. (2021).  Collective Bargaining Agreement between Starbucks Coffee Canada and the United Steelworkers Local 2009, June 1, 2021 - June 30, 2024. https://www.usw2009.ca/docs/starbucks_2021-2024.pdf 

Starbucks Canada. (2021, July 31). Statement: Starbucks Canada reaches a collective bargaining agreement with United Steelworkers union for Douglas Street drive-thru location. Starbucks Stories Canada.  https://stories.starbucks.ca/en-ca/stories/2021/statement-starbucks-canada-reaches-a-collective-bargaining-agreement-with-united-steelworkers-union-for-douglas-street-drive-thru-location/  

Zilber, A. (2022, April 11). Starbucks CEO to unionizing baristas: ‘Why don’t you go somewhere else?’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2022/04/11/starbucks-ceo-lashes-out-at-unionizing-baristas/  

Starbucks Canada. (2002). Continuing to Invest in Partners. Starbucks Coffee Company.  https://stories.starbucks.com/uploads/sites/9/2022/01/Partner-Care-Infographic.png

Starbucks Coffee Company. (2001) Corporate Social Responsibility Annual Report Fiscal 2001. Starbucks Coffee Company.  https://content-prod-live.cert.starbucks.com/binary/v2/asset/143-71975.pdf  

Photo Source: [Photograph]. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/business/opinion/2022/04/23/a-strong-momentum-to-unionize-is-brewing-at-starbucks-south-of-the-border-its-already-begun-in-canada.html

#starbucks #unionization #unions #starbucks canada #USW local 2009 #collective agreements #corporate social responsibility #food service workers #anti-union activity

[16th-cornelia-street]

I see people doing the whole “she asked for no pickles thing” with Wednesday speaking up for Enid, but I could see Enid being the one speaking up for Wednesday as a way to prevent her for stabbing the server for messing up her order.

#wenclair #wednesday netflix #she asked for no pickles #of course this is only because the server insisted he didn't need to write things down #and was totally slacking off #wednesday has nothing against food service workers #just those who insist on not listening when taking orders

[tooquirkytolose]

I bitch about my job a lot-as is my right, and I SHOULD get paid more, but all in all I don't really mind my work? Like I genuinely enjoy what it is that I do, and it's not like I'm ashamed of what I do BUT I've just learned over time to be apprehensive when I tell someone oh I work at a grocery store to expect, in REAL TIME, this person hold less respect for me. It's happened often enough that I just dislike the question like they go oh ok let me just reevaluate how I treat you real quick, which is not good :)

#like fuck me i guess #we as a society really need to re evaluate how we treat service retail and food workers :/ #hmmm bit of a vent post sorry

[kyacchan-comics]

I drew this during dinner breaks, which makes it even more coherent. There’s a BIG festival in my town in these days so I basically live at work (more than the usual)

#kyacchan art #art #illustration #drawing #food service worker #food service #work #retail #procreate

[yardsards]

a tactic of abusive parents that i don't see brought up very often: convincing their victims that child protective services are evil and that foster parents would certainly be even more abusive than their current circumstances

#eliot posts #csa mention #abuse mention #im watching an interview with a cult survivor #and she was talking about how her parents told her that child services would hurt her and put her with abusive foster parents #and i was like HOLY SHIT MY MOTHER DID THAT TOO #my mother always told me that if i got put in foster care i would get beaten and molested #and that if we told anyone about our home life they would ''misunderstand'' and ''incorrectly assume'' we were being abused #and then we'd get taken away by uncaring cps workers and given to evil foster parents #when in reality there would be no ''misunderstandings''. what was going on at home WAS abuse #but until my teen years i was convinced i was lucky #because i only got beaten sometimes and i got access to food and a roof over my head and i never got molested #this is not to say the foster system is perfect. there definitely are flaws in the system and occasional bad incidents #but it's nothing like my mother made it out to be #in fact the main issue with child services in my area that i knew of was that they rarely did much #like a classmate i knew called cps on her dad and they showed up and talked to him and he said she was lying #and when they left he punished her by burning her with a cigarette butt #when we were kids a few times our mother called the cops on our dad cuz they got into a violent fight #she'd tell the cops he was abusing her (though the violence was mutual) but when they showed up she refused to press charges #and a few times the cops SAW me and my sister there and DID NOTHING #like maybe if you get called to this same house multiple times you should investigate what's happening to the kids??? #child abuse #abuse #abuse tw #anyway i'm still not 100% sure if that was deliberate manipulation on her part or if it was part of her weird paranoia about everything #but nonetheless it ultimately had the same effect as deliberate manipulation #she refused to get help for her mental illness even though a doctor told her she needed to