Last week we blogged that the real shortage in the American economy is not a labor shortage, but a shortage of imagination. In fact, the restaurant owners who complain that “nobody wants to work anymore” is a simplified version of events which does not hold up to scrutiny.

Following up on that story comes an article from Truthout, adding additional context:  on May 20, 2021, about 50 service worker leaders at One Fair Wage, an organization that brings together service workers to demand a living wage, gathered to take an official vote on whether to go on a “wage strike.” 

Some workers had already left the restaurant industry and were considering not returning, and some had stayed, doing the work of two or even three workers in understaffed environments. All were united in their determination not to continue to work for anything less than a full, living wage — plus tips.

“When the pandemic hit, I was furloughed. I tried to get unemployment, but my subminimum wage was too low to qualify,” said Ifeoma Ezimako, an African American server from Washington, D.C. who became a leader with One Fair Wage right after pandemic-related shutdowns began last year. “My real issue is that tips are supposed to be extra. It’s not the customer’s obligation to pay us. So the fact that the employer is not giving the customer that obligation, and the customer knows this, that’s where sexual harassment comes in.”

Unionwear has proven that paying people fair wages and offering generous benefits is possible, even in one of the most expensive labor markets in the world. If we can do it, so can they.

Read the rest of the story HERE