by: RDemocrat
Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 12:37:12 PM EST
With the apparent death of manufacturing in America the service industry has taken over as a major employer in our country. With over 13 million workers, the restaurant industry seems to be particularly booming. However, unfortunately for the young folks growing up in this "Lost Generation" for jobs, these jobs are thankless and provide little in the way of wages, benefits and job security.
A new report by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC), an advocate group for restaurant workers, reveals that up to 90 percent of restaurant staff is not offered health insurance or sick days and, as a result, many report to work sick.
A substantial number are forced to work "off the clock" and the national median hourly wage for food preparation and service workers is only $8.59, including tips, which means that half of all restaurant workers nationwide actually earn less.
These are poverty level wages with no benefits. Despite all the corporate welfare flying around our country these businesses treat their employees as virtual slaves. They also create a huge strain on the American economy:
The report also finds that low wages and lack of job security among restaurant workers leads to increased reliance on social assistance programs resulting in an indirect subsidy to employers engaging in low road practices and fewer such public resources available to all those in need.
Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 12:37:12 PM EST
With the apparent death of manufacturing in America the service industry has taken over as a major employer in our country. With over 13 million workers, the restaurant industry seems to be particularly booming. However, unfortunately for the young folks growing up in this "Lost Generation" for jobs, these jobs are thankless and provide little in the way of wages, benefits and job security.
A new report by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC), an advocate group for restaurant workers, reveals that up to 90 percent of restaurant staff is not offered health insurance or sick days and, as a result, many report to work sick.
A substantial number are forced to work "off the clock" and the national median hourly wage for food preparation and service workers is only $8.59, including tips, which means that half of all restaurant workers nationwide actually earn less.
These are poverty level wages with no benefits. Despite all the corporate welfare flying around our country these businesses treat their employees as virtual slaves. They also create a huge strain on the American economy:
The report also finds that low wages and lack of job security among restaurant workers leads to increased reliance on social assistance programs resulting in an indirect subsidy to employers engaging in low road practices and fewer such public resources available to all those in need.
