"The other NRA" and thoughts on workers in the retail industry in the USA

"The real cause of all this is an industry lobby called the National Restaurant Association, that we call the other NRA, that has made a deal with Congress that tipped-workers’ wages will never go up ever.  So it’s been stuck at $2.15 an hour for the last 22 years. " 

"There’s severe racial segregation. In fine dining and casual restaurants, white workers in the front, and workers of color in lower paid busser, runner, back-of-the-house positions."

- Saru Jayaraman (http://rocunited.org/)

I had purchased the newspaper called "street roots", from a vendor outside the central branch  of the Multnomah County Library, and one of the articles in it contained an interview with the labor organizer, Saru Jayaraman. The original article appeared at this website, and can be read in full here: http://realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives/7643

It is always fantastic to hear the opinion on a social issue from someone who is working in the field: their level of understanding of the intricacies and nuances greatly improves one's understanding of the subject.  It makes one realize how indebted one is to all the people who worked and are working on improving social conditions; work that takes years of dedication with daily setbacks and challenges. I am looking forward to reading Saru Jayaraman's book "Behind the Kitchen Door". [ http://thewelcometable.net/behind-the-kitchen-door/]

It was an eye-opening article- and contained information which I had always suspected- that service workers in the restaurant industry do not make decent wages and work hard. It contains sobering statistics, and makes one wonder what one human being can subject another to- whether it was slavery until the 19th century (which continues in many parts of the world today), or sweatshop factories in poor countries.

It is one thing to read about something in a history textbook, and another to see it in front of your eyes. I had always wondered about the suffering of the restaurant workers, and if anyone had ever documented their conditions. I have never talked to any restaurant worker outside their work settings- that kind of conversation never happens in the USA (or in India for that matter). The interaction with the waiter consists of ordering food from the menu, and asking for suggestions- and then hoping to catch the waiter's attention so that I can pay the bill and leave.

I now live close to an upscale shopping district, 23rd Avenue on Burnside- it is lined with many stores that are outside my price range. Most of the stores are staffed by "hip and attractive" young people- mostly white in their 20s and 30s- at least in the front. It makes one wonder- what happens when an "ugly" person applies for a job interview? Do they get rejected because they do not have the "look" or perhaps are too "old"?  In contrast, when shopping at a super store like Fred Meyer or Safeway, you meet people with different ethnicities, and a wider spectrum in ages.

It also makes me think of a former room-mate who worked as a waiter in a restaurant in his 20s- where he had no trouble finding a job as an attractive young male- whilst he has not been able to find a job in the service industry in the past few years- perhaps it is because of his beard or his age (he is in mid-40s now).

Another friend of mine, who is a black female, was telling me about her experience working in retail- where the manager of the store wanted her to "smile more". She was wondering why the manager had singled her out, when there was another white worker in the store, with a perpetual frown on his face, who had never been asked to offer a smiling face to customers.