Restaurants Way Of Dealing With Economy

[cmotherofpirl]

Sell it. Fire all employees and rehire them the next day so they can't get unemployment, and cancel all health insurance policies to raise their profit margin.

[Sojourner]

You'd rather they just went out of business?

Lots of businesses are asking employees to accept reductions in wages and businesses. It smells of elderberries, but it's better than the alternative.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1851214' date='Apr 28 2009, 11:42 AM']You'd rather they just went out of business?

Lots of businesses are asking employees to accept reductions in wages and businesses. It smells of elderberries, but it's better than the alternative.[/quote]

I bet the new owners have health insurance.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1851217' date='Apr 28 2009, 08:46 AM']I bet the new owners have health insurance.[/quote]
So?

My husband and I have health insurance that we pay for out of the earnings from his business, but we don't provide it for his employees. They are free to get it for themselves, of course, but we simply can't afford to provide it for all of them. The employees are paid a fair wage. If they didn't feel they were they would find work elsewhere.

We all make choices about how we're going to spend the money we have. There is nothing that says employers have to provide health insurance, or that employees who want that as a benefit must work for someone who doesn't provide it.

[allis-challmers]

this economy has allowed a lot of buisnesses to do a lot of shady stuff and when the economy goes back up the employes will never get it back

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1851221' date='Apr 28 2009, 11:55 AM']So?

My husband and I have health insurance that we pay for out of the earnings from his business, but we don't provide it for his employees. They are free to get it for themselves, of course, but we simply can't afford to provide it for all of them. The employees are paid a fair wage. If they didn't feel they were they would find work elsewhere.

We all make choices about how we're going to spend the money we have. There is nothing that says employers have to provide health insurance, or that employees who want that as a benefit must work for someone who doesn't provide it.[/quote]
So true. This is why when Obama institutes mandatory coverage by employers many people will welcome it with open arms.
I guess it depends on what is considered a fair wage doesn't it. . . I'm sure all people who work in restaurants [ where they don't even get minimum wage] have an extra 300+ a month to get insurance. Yeah, they are making big time wages, and of course they are quite free to go get a job at the other restuarants who don't pay health insurance as well.

[allis-challmers]

when people stop getting health insurance at work a lot of them can't afford it on ther own. so when they get sick and have to go to the hospital the resat of us with insurance have to pay for them because doctors have to charge more to nthe patiants who can pay. so this makes our premeums we pay to get insurance go up. then more employers have to drop insurance plans. and the cycle repeats itself. insurance should be mandatory like it is on cars

Edited April 28, 2009 by allis-challmers

[Sojourner]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1851232' date='Apr 28 2009, 09:04 AM']So true. This is why when Obama institutes mandatory coverage by employers many people will welcome it with open arms.
I guess it depends on what is considered a fair wage doesn't it. . . I'm sure all people who work in restaurants [ where they don't even get minimum wage] have an extra 300+ a month to get insurance. Yeah, they are making big time wages, and of course they are quite free to go get a job at the other restuarants who don't pay health insurance as well.[/quote]
Obama won't be mandating that employers pay for health insurance for employees. He'd get no support on that from business owners, especially not small business owners. If we, for example, had to provide health coverage for employees, it would put us out of business. We are not alone.

Businesses are going under all over the place. One of the biggest burdens on budgets is health care, and it is not a mandatory expense. In order to weather the economy, I am sure we will see lots of businesses shedding perks like health coverage.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1851232' date='Apr 28 2009, 12:04 PM']I guess it depends on what is considered a fair wage doesn't it. . . I'm sure all people who work in restaurants [ where they don't even get minimum wage] have an extra 300+ a month to get insurance. Yeah, they are making big time wages, and of course they are quite free to go get a job at the other restuarants who don't pay health insurance as well.[/quote]

They do earn minimum wage... $2.12 an hour (or whatever it is) is minimum wage for waiters. They make about $10/hour in tips on a slow night.

Besides, it's waiting tables... you can't earn more money without creating more value.

[Hassan]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1851232' date='Apr 28 2009, 11:04 AM']So true. This is why when Obama institutes mandatory coverage by employers many people will welcome it with open arms.
I guess it depends on what is considered a fair wage doesn't it. . . I'm sure all people who work in restaurants [ where they don't even get minimum wage] have an extra 300+ a month to get insurance. Yeah, they are making big time wages, and of course they are quite free to go get a job at the other restuarants who don't pay health insurance as well.[/quote]

You mean those great restraunts that pay you $2.00 an hour because you can get tips but then shift you around so many of the employees are doing grunt work with no tips even possible?

I guess anyone who says "they can get another job if they don't like the one they have" havn't been looking for a job lately. I mean I know people so I can get a job, plus I'm a college student. Means I need the money bad and won't cause a stir because I'm not making a career out of the job I have. Great for an employer who doesn't want to pay their workers a real living wage or benefits.

I say get a state job. I worked for my school (state school) and have never had an easier job in my life (seriously, it's almost enough to make me a republican). Honestly I worked harder when I was 16 than I did at that job this year. Unfortunatly it's the most inane boring work I've ever done and I just feel dirty doing it. I feel like I get paid to sit around and read old doctoral papers (there is a suprising ammoung of old world vampire mythology in the "Silence of the Lambs" series btw). I mean when I started off it was a job where I actually did something, but now its office work and I'm not digging it.

[LouisvilleFan]

Restaurants can be great places to work... and the worst places to work. All depends on the manager, co-workers, and regulars. Good places will attract good people to work with and for, so if you want to enjoy waiting tables, work at the kind of place you'd want to eat.

As for finding a job in today's economy, that depends on your geography. You shouldn't have that much trouble finding a job in most areas of the country. Everyone likes to throw around the economic excuse, but if you actually look around, while it's not the best of times, it's not that bad either.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1851239' date='Apr 28 2009, 12:15 PM']Obama won't be mandating that employers pay for health insurance for employees. He'd get no support on that from business owners, especially not small business owners. If we, for example, had to provide health coverage for employees, it would put us out of business. We are not alone.

Businesses are going under all over the place. One of the biggest burdens on budgets is health care, and it is not a mandatory expense. In order to weather the economy, I am sure we will see lots of businesses shedding perks like health coverage.[/quote]
You mean its not mandatory yet.
As more and more people lose their "perks" of health care or their jobs they are not going to stop getting sick or having accidents or babies, and the hospitals can't turn them away. Its obviously not going to be the unemployed - so its going to be taxes or mandatory- one way or another - someone is going to pay.

[BG45]

[quote name='Hassan' post='1851258' date='Apr 28 2009, 01:13 PM']You mean those great restraunts that pay you $2.00 an hour because you can get tips but then shift you around so many of the employees are doing grunt work with no tips even possible?

I guess anyone who says "they can get another job if they don't like the one they have" havn't been looking for a job lately. I mean I know people so I can get a job, plus I'm a college student. Means I need the money bad and won't cause a stir because I'm not making a career out of the job I have. Great for an employer who doesn't want to pay their workers a real living wage or benefits.

I say get a state job. I worked for my school (state school) and have never had an easier job in my life (seriously, it's almost enough to make me a republican). Honestly I worked harder when I was 16 than I did at that job this year. Unfortunatly it's the most inane boring work I've ever done and I just feel dirty doing it. I feel like I get paid to sit around and read old doctoral papers (there is a suprising ammoung of old world vampire mythology in the "Silence of the Lambs" series btw). I mean when I started off it was a job where I actually did something, but now its office work and I'm not digging it.[/quote]

Yeah, I was liquidated from my last position, and with nearly a year of graduate studies under my belt, and having presented alongside the likes of Henry Kissinger, I'm working a minimum wage job that it took me three weeks to manage to be hired for with over 20 rejections for other minimum wage work and even more professional positions.

As for the state job idea, that's one of the things I'm trying to do. I did an internship once in a Probation Office and the guy in charge made a comment on my second day, "I never realized how lazy we were until we got an intern. Phil's done more to reorganize everything in a little over a day than we do in weeks!"

Which was sad, they were some of the hardest working state employees I've ever met. Juggling court dates, check ins, random drug tests, home visitations, etc. Often in the same day.

[CatherineM]

When the Canadian Auto Workers redid their contract with Chrysler this week, they decided to take $19/hour off their benefits rather than their wages. With universal health care, they have a backstop that the UAW in the US don't. I remember every year growing up the Teamsters threatened to strike if some new benefit was added. The best was dental when I was 14. I finally got to go to a dentist for the first time. No one is threatening strikes anymore.

[Hassan]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' post='1851260' date='Apr 28 2009, 11:19 AM']Restaurants can be great places to work... and the worst places to work. All depends on the manager, co-workers, and regulars. Good places will attract good people to work with and for, so if you want to enjoy waiting tables, work at the kind of place you'd want to eat.

As for finding a job in today's economy, that depends on your geography. You shouldn't have that much trouble finding a job in most areas of the country. Everyone likes to throw around the economic excuse, but if you actually look around, while it's not the best of times, it's not that bad either.[/quote]

That's right it depends on geography. I live in North Carolina, which is one of the hardest hit states in the country. Like I said I can get a job (I mean besides from the campus job) because I have friends who work all over and can give me a leg up in the application, plus I don't have to get paid a long term living wage which employed like. But, in NC at least, it's pretty bad. I just glad I'm not someone with a family who has a family to support.