With wage theft ubiquitous in the fast food business, NCC moves to support fast food workers
If you work in a restaurant, you are, have been, or probably will be the victim of wage theft. That Chickie’s & Pete’s, has been forced to pay $8.52 million in back wages and damages to employees for illegally docking a portion of their tips, not paying minimum wage, or overtime, is sadly an exception. Usually the employers get away with it, because many food services jobs have wage theft locked in as part of the business model.
Servers alleged that they were routinely docked 2 percent to 4 percent of total table sales, a practice employees routinely called “Pete’s Tax.”
The investigation found that the practice was an established part of the business’ operations and that servers were expected to pay at the end of their shifts even when tips were not in cash but on credit card charges. As a result, servers sometimes had to borrow money from coworkers or take cash from ATMs to make their payments, according Brian Johnson, a regional director of enforcement for the Labor Department.Of the tip money collected by management, about 40 percent went to bartenders on duty, which is legal, Johnson said, while management kept the rest.
To address the ubiquity of wage theft in the world of fast food, the New Castle County Council has recently passed a resolution supporting fast food workers.
…the resolution decries the low average fast food worker wage of $8.80 and support workers organizing for a living wage and a union.
“For the past forty years, higher-paying manufacturing jobs have been replaced by low-wage service sector jobs. Unless we make sure service sector jobs are family-sustaining, income inequality will continue to rise,” said Council President Christopher Bullock. “New Castle County is committed to doing something about fast food poverty in our community.”“Today we’re sending a message that New Castle County can do better that fast food low pay and wage theft. Fast food workers deserve a living wage and should be paid for their work. We’re committed to standing with fast food workers in our community who are demanding a living wage and a union,” said Councilman David Tackett.
To help keep the pressure on and highlight the crime of wage theft, Wilmington fast food workers, along with community leaders, elected officials and clergy, will a rally at the McDonald’s on 4th Street on Thursday, April 3 at 1pm.
Wage theft is theft, and should be hit not only with restitution but serious (as in potentially business-ending) fines.
That said, we (as a population) frequent the damn restaurants. Instead of legislation at the get-go, let’s start voting with our wallets and NOT patronize those restaurants and chains that engage in wage theft or which we believe do not pay an acceptable wage. And let the owners of said chains know that.
But as we do that, the State of Delaware needs to walk the walk and make the State EITC credit refundable. It is not acceptable to say the State can’t find the money if the State won’t accept that argument from the private sector.
This will have as much of an impact on wages as the Sussex Council’s resolution had a while back on absorption clinics. Feel-good pandering nonsense. Good to know Bullock is leading through time-wasting.
It is something, which (you have to admit) is slightly more than nothing. Slightly.
Chickie and Pete’s is coming to the Blue Rocks stadium. Whoever is supposed to monitor employee payment practices here needs to watch these guys like a hawk.
The News Journal dedicated that new section to whether the minimum wage should be raised. Both writers agreed on one thing: expanding the EITC.
There is a consensus that the EITC should be expanded, but the Democrats are stuck on the minimum wage. Not that I blame them 100%–the Republicans are likely to withdraw support (if Democrats push expanding the EITC) as expanding the EITC will increase the budget deficit.
Fun times.
Profitability and productivity have steadily gone up, while wages have steadily gone down. Pushing hard to boost the minimum wage works so well as a Democratic issue (on both electoral and economic fronts) that it is no wonder Senator Carper so strongly opposes it.
Yes we should make the EITC refundable. We’re one of only two stages with an EITC program where it is not refundable.
However, it should not just be about the govt. subsidizing workers. A 200-billion dollar industry (fast food) should be able to pay its workers decent wages.
I would add, SussexWatcher, that Bullock is being responsive to the community. He is not proposing resolutions to hear his own voice. He is acting because the Delaware Fast Food Forward campaign has asked him to stand in solidarity with Delaware’s fast food workers.
Regarding wage theft, thank you Jason330 for the plug about the rally. I hope folks will come show their support. More information on the event is at: fastfoodforward.delawareada.org
The real question is why Councilman Bob Weiner decided to go “not voting” on the resolution. Even Councilwoman Janet Kilpatrick voted in support.
Finally wage theft is getting some attention. How vile, stealing from the poorest workers among us, any management found guilty of wage theft should get jail time.