I make $2.35 an hour in coal country. I don’t want handouts. I want a living wage.

[prehnite]

The white working class doesn't need a savior at the ballot box. We need decent pay in the jobs we already have

Comments

[policraticus]

First off, no one makes jiust $2.35/hour. By law your employer must pay tipped employees the minimum wage if the tipped wage does not equal the minimum wage for the area. This article is useless until we learn how much the author makes including tips and how much of those tips they declare as income versus how much they keep hidden. We need to understand her real income, not just her per hour rate.

My point isn't that the author is secretly making big money, but I've known many diner servers who routinely make over $25/ hour in tips for a breakfast shift. ($150/6 hours) That is high volume, quick service and small check average. Its a tough job. Kind of like WaffleHouse. How much of that they declare, I do not know but my guess is less than half. It doesn't matter, though. If that diner suddenly eliminated tipping and paid them $15/hour while raising the prices of waffles, etc by enough to cover the added expense, I doubt they would be happy. They would almost certainly lose money. What would happen to the diner when

[amw]

It is complete and utter assfuckery that in America it is legal to pay someone $2 an hour and then expect them to rely on tips to make up the difference. Seriously, I know it is some kind of American tradition, but to people around the rest of the world this comes across as hideously regressive. If servers can earn $25ph - on or off the record - with tips, then bully for them, but it is no excuse for restauranteurs to underpay their staff. And if that means breakfasts double in price then oh fucking well. I get mad about a lot of politics, but this kind of wack double standard for pink collar workers is next level infuriating. I can hardly even believe that people think it is fair, because it seriously is not fucking fair.

[mimblexwimble]

MTE.

[lollycunt]

MTE. I think food should be priced at what it costs to serve and turn a profit, which includes paying the staff a live wage. If that means raising prices, so be it. I'd rather pay double than have my server forced to subsidize my meal with their incredibly low wage.

[policraticus]

If tips were treated as they are elsewhere in the world, I think that would be absolutely true. But it is an expected norm that the customer pays the server directly in the US, via the tip. Not indirectly, via the employer as in other countries. Fixating on just the amount paid by the employer (Who also subsidises the employees taxes, workers comp and social security payments, btw.) ignores what a server's real income is. I don't understand why that doesn't matter and is so hard to understand. It isn't like the employer is charging for waffles as if they were paying servers $15/hr and then pocketing the difference. How is it unfair that a server can come to work at 7 AM, work a hard shift for 6 hours and walk out the door with $150 cash in their pocket? Every two weeks the $2.35 paid by the employer goes to pay the taxes owed on whatever they've claimed, probably much less than $150. What makes that so wrong? Under the proposed changes they would do the same work, walk out with $0 and have to wait until payday for $90, minus the

[lollycunt]

Where is your $25/hr figure coming from? That's quite a bit higher than the average reported earnings, even in expensive cities

[sinsterminister]

I'm agreeing with you, but just supplementing what you're saying

[sinsterminister]

I don't think the original poster was disputing anything you're saying. The central point (I believe) is that the actual physical employer is only paying about 40% of what is "minimum wage". I'm sure as a server, the poster (and pretty much anyone else that waits tables) makes that and thensome, even at a place like Waffle House

[policraticus]

Making the 20% tip mandatory is a good way to avoid the problem of raising prices, but understand this, that might mean the restaurant will be capturing 20% but then paying out much less than 20% to the servers

[sinsterminister]

Right. I'm not assuming the full 20% tip goes to the servers (it's not even listed as "gratuity" on the bill, it's "local living wage adjustment" or something of that ilk). Effectively, they're charging the extra 20% just to get to the $15/hour. I don't know the specifics of the dispersal of profits at this place (nor do I care to ask) but judging solely on the lack of turnover in the wait staff there, I'd say they're probably not getting screwed

[omimouse]

Minimum wage in Seattle went up to $15/hour; rest of the state it's st $10, though we did just vote to raise it to $15.

I moved here (here being the Olympia/Lacey area) from WV, and the cost of living is maybe a little higher, but basically the same. And that's *with* us paying an extra $500 ish a month in rent. Because, surprise, surprise, when the minimum wage goes up, workers can actually purchase things beyond sheer survival. And the costs on the employer's end don't go up enough to be really noticeable, especially to people that normally couldn't afford things like buying clothing that's never been worn before.

[policraticus]

And the costs on the employer's end don't go up enough to be really noticeable

$2.35/hour X 30 hours = $70.50, plus employer contribution to taxes etc, $100 (roughly)

$15/hour X 30 hours = $450, plus emploer contribution to taxes, etc., $520 (roughly)

I assure you, an employer will notice a quadrupling of his labor cost for a server.