Remember every fucking time your workplace had you over a barrel and used that barrel to force you to serve their needs.
Now apply those learned lessons.
And if you're not unionized, for fuck's sake, search for restaurant unions or food service unions and REACH OUT TO THEM.
The SEIU covers childcare workers, janitors, food service workers, healthcare workers, and probably a whole lot more.
[ID: A Twitter thread by Los Angeles Black Coyote Collective. Transcription is as follows:
If you work at one of those understaffed restaurants we keep hearing about, here's a few things that are much more doable in this current moment than they possibly ever have been:
-apply for another job. Even if you don't actually want to leave your current job, apply for one with a signing bonus and higher pay advertised on the job posting. If you get it, take that offer back to your boss and tell them you need a raise if they want to keep you.
-talk to your few remaining coworkers. They're probably overwhelmed too, and you can much more easily organize a walkout or a slowdown to demand higher pay and better benefits. Write a list of demands, aim high, and take action. What are they gonna do? Fire you? In this economy?
-don't hold back the next time some nasty customer chews you out for shit that's not your fault. Tell them to go fuck themselves. Your boss is struggling to hire anyone at all and they simply can't afford to fire you. You deserve the dignity of defending yourself from that shit.
-take advantage of these 'unprecedented times' to get what you can from your workplace for you and your coworkers. Threaten to leave. Get that raise, get those benefits to bribe you to stay. It's harder for them to reduce your pay later. This is a rare moment, don't waste it.
One bad week can ruin these businesses, and they know it. Whatever money they save not paying you more they will lose in a matter of days without you. Collective action gets more than individual action though, so it's crucial that you work with your coworkers to make your threats
This moment will pass, don't fuck yourself and your comrades in the industry over in the long term by not taking full advantage of it.
Solidarity forever 🖤🏴 [black heart emoji, black flag emoji]
Example list of demands
-higher starting pay
-medical insurance
-full time work options
-schedules set in advance and with consistency guaranteed
-a yearly raise schedule
-more sick time and PTO
-no more "lean staffing"
-and any other demands specific to your workplace
One last fun fact:
You don't actually have to get offered another job in order to tell your boss that you did and they offered you more money. You can just lie. I guarantee they don't have the time right now to follow up and verify. And they can't compel you to provide proof. End transcript.]
Btw: you can force a company or manager to "agree" to anything. The only thing that will create change that will last longer than 6 months? A contract. The only way to get that contract? A union.
