In the recent election, a certain candidate running for governor declared that Oregon waiters and waitresses make too much money. He stated that if elected, he would lower the minimum wage for service workers, paying them less than the minimum wage because they received tips. Now, I know this is the case in many other states, including Massachusetts, where I lived for many years. Luckily, I was never a server when I lived there, so it didn't affect me. Now, after being a server for over six years, I am appalled that it is considered decent to pay, perhaps some of the hardest working people in America, less than minimum wage. So I ask the question now, how much is too much for service workers to make?
A recent conversation with a co-worker and close friend brought this issue to the forefront for me. Obviously I did not vote for the candidate above, and he did lose the election probably because so many Oregonians do work in the service industry. But what about those who don't? Do they have any idea what it takes to wait on people day in and day out? If I had a reality show, I would make high powered corporate executives and business people become servers for a day, and then laugh my butt off as I watched them fail miserably. Service is perhaps one of the most taxing industries in today's economy, and one that is so often overlooked, snubbed and taken for granted. I can't tell you how many times I have had a guest, friend or even family member ask me when I am going to get a real job. As if there is no validity or merit to the job I do have, and, if I might add, am extremely successful at.
So many people believe that as a server, or busser or dishwasher, you are less intelligent, less driven, less responsible and less successful than the rest of society. But what would the rest of society do without this class of workers? Who would provide the service expected,and do it with a smile on their face? And how is it right to believe that we should be payed less than the minimum wage, when no one else wants to do this job anyway. Honestly, the whole conversation is too much for me sometimes.
True, I could walk our of a four hour shift with $300 in my pocket, but I could also be snapped at, beckoned and treated rudely by a guest in order to make that $300. I could also walk out of a four hour shift with $30 in my pocket, and rent due the next day, having no control over the fact that I can't pay it. I could be extremely diligent and efficient in my service and receive no tip at all because a guest doesn't believe I deserve a tip, or because they come from a culture that doesn't include tipping in their society. With so many factors out of my control regarding the money that I make, who in their right mind would believe that I should make less than the minimum wage? In fact, doesn't it make sense that service workers should make more than the minimum wage, since the tips they earn are so unreliable?
What do you think? How much is too much for a service worker's wage? Comments would be much appreciated.
