imnotthatfunnyipromise:

onlyblackgirl:

crystalmariangeladiaz:

thirstiest:

megalesbian6000:

elijahelegia:

You know what’s a major pet peeve for me when it comes to arguments against raising the minimum wage? All the references to food service workers as “burger flippers”. Burger flippers are not a thing. You’re never going to see a restaurant post a sign that says “help wanted: hiring burger flippers.” “Burger flipper” is a term used pretty much exclusively to condescend to food service workers and downplay the real work and stress that goes into food service. It makes out like minimum wage workers are lazy people who are literally just standing at a grill, occasionally moving a spatula, all day, mindlessly, and that is their one and only responsibility, which anyone who has ever worked in food service can tell you is not what that job entails. It’s rhetoric used solely to designate them inferior. It doesn’t reflect the reality of minimum wage food service work. It’s annoying.

to put this in perspective, my job consists of:

• prepping hundreds of pounds of vegetables alone per week, using knives, a heavy-duty meat slicer, and a vegetable chopper, any of which could easily take off a finger from a careless move
• constantly refilling vegetables, cheeses, sauces, and non-perishables (cups, salad bowls, ecc)
• cooking on a 200°-400° F grill for anywhere from 2-6 hours per day, often intentionally putting hot oil on it upon customer request
• ensuring meat is not over or undercooked as to prevent food poisoning
• quality control of every single topping on the line (freshness, consistency, overall taste and appearance), as well as making sure to regularly change gloves
• being conscious and accommodating of any allergies or dietary restrictions
• talking to a wide variety of customers each day, with a mandated Cheerful Smile, regardless of any events in my personal life or how they treat me
• having to explain prices and menu options as well as toe the company line by upselling certain deals to every single person
• and above all making sure all dishes and the entire rest of the store is clean and sanitary, as well as making it neat and orderly for customers.

every one of my coworkers does all of this every single day. every day my coworkers and i plunge our hands into scalding water to ensure dishes are properly sanitized, every day we take blades within an inch of our hands so that people have an enjoyable variety of food to eat. it is not uncommon to leave a shift at work with a second-degree burn at the very least.

what do i personally earn for this? $7.50 an hour, and that was after a 25 cent raise. this is an emotionally and physically taxing job. this job is non-stop customer service with concern for public health hanging over every move i make. what about this sounds easy? what about this sounds desirable for such a pittance? if i cared a little less about my job, hundreds of people could get sick in a single day if i served onions i dropped on the floor, or meat i undercooked, or if i sneezed and didnt take the time to wash my hands and change my gloves.

but sure. i guess i just flip burgers.

and it’s not just the folks in the kitchen! service staff who work out on the floor also have a huge variety of responsibilities. in a normal lunch shift, i have to constantly go back and forth to tables to offer drinks, fetch refills if the customer wants them, clear dirty plates and glasses to the dishwasher’s station, completely clear off and reset tables with fresh linens and silverware whenever anyone leaves, and usually i’m dealing with 4 or 5 tables at once. that doesn’t even include setup beforehand (I work at a private business club that does private events along with dining, so the setup of rooms gets completely changed up on the daily) or setup/cleanup of the wait station. plus, the supervisors tend to get irritated if they see anything needing doing, like an empty plate on someone’s table, that you haven’t gotten to yet, even if you’re occupied helping another table. it’s not impossible, but it’s definitely demanding and stressful!

I’m sorry, but I’ll be the first to say that I have a problem with the raise of those who work in food service and I did work at McDonald’s for about two years. Now, I agree about the fact that the level of stress that goes into working in fast food is ridiculous and yes the whole “burger flipper” thing was always something that was brought up in conversation when I said I worked at Mcdonald’s. But Christ, 15 fucking dollars an hour? That’s ridiculous. So say someone who works at McDonald’s works about roughly 30 hours a week for a month. They would make about 2,000 dollars that month. That’s more than a Private First Class would make in the Marine Corps. We’re talking about someone who signed up to serve the nation and sacrifices so much to fall short on his paycheck to a McDonald’s employee. So no sorry. I don’t agree. I think America needs to get it’s shit together and prioritize.

Why is that ridiculous? Have you seen the cost of living? Here in Boston your rent is at minimum $800 IF YOURE LUCKY otherwise on average you’re looking at $1200-$1500 how the fuck you supposed to pay that on top of food, school, utilities etc on $7.50/hour? You act like people work just to go shopping. People have bills to pay.

Dragging the military into it.

It’s true a private first class (e-2) in the marines makes less than 2000$ a month, but you have to take into consideration:

an e-2 in the military probably lives on base, most unmarried e-4 and below are either required or heavily encouraged to live on base.  And guess what?  It’s free to live in the barracks.  There is no rent.  Also, very cheep food in the galley, cheep, relatively healthy food.  

You want to know what else military personnel don’t have to pay for?

• health care
• dental
• college
• some child care
• private tutors
• gym membership
• MWR sponsored events
• private trainers

Yeah, so although they are being paid under $2000 a month (the military is paid below minimum wage btw) they literally only have to pay for entertainment (even then, there’s tons of free things open to them).

Just because someone isn’t deemed “worthy” in your eyes, doesn’t mean they don’t have the right TO LIVE.  

Don’t use the military to prove your point.  It’s irritating honestly.  Because if you’re not in it, you have no idea what the heck you’re talking about, and if you are, you’re bitching about nothing.