PC LOAD LETTER
9th August 2011, 06:22
First: I posted this here and not in Worker Struggles because this is more of a learning experience for me and my co-workers and less a documentation of a struggle gaining attention or a request for debate. Mods please move it if this was in error.
I've begun to try and organize my fellow employees at the restaurant I work at. At first they didn't take me seriously, until I started crunching numbers and proved they could pay us more and still make a profit along with giving us occasional sick days, and a decent AC system so the kitchen doesn't reach nearly 100 degrees in the summer. Then they got slightly interested.
But they think it's futile; they're afraid of getting fired. Two of us are on some kind of government assistance (I'm the exception, along with three other people, out of 6 total). All of us can barely pay our bills. I've been with the company about a year, but everyone else has anywhere from 4 to 16 years. They think "Right to Work State" means "Even think about organizing and get fired". I told them we still have a right to collective bargaining and that right to work doesn't mean we'll get fired.
What can I do to further this cause? Anyone else with experience organizing labor in Georgia? Anywhere in the southern US?
The two managers will likely either back us up or remain neutral, but will definitely not be against us. They may join us as they're used by the company just as much, if not more, than us, and have just as many grievances with the owner. I'm not actively trying to get them 'in on it' because I know they feel like they have to be exceptionally subservient in order to protect their job. But like I said, if this gains more momentum with my co-workers, they may jump in.
This isn't a chain, but a private semi-fast-food restaurant.
Of somewhat importance: They trust me after I brought to their attention that they don't have to sign a waiver allowing the owner to dock wages based on shortages. I told them they can't force us to sign it (we were accused of stealing alcohol and food, but most of us don't eat the food and we rarely drink; it was a math error, but it resulted in a month-long tirade). So they didn't. And the owner shut up. Well, sort of. Continued harrassment got the managers to sign it out of fear for their job, along with one of us 'regular workers'. The rest of us didn't. No wages have been docked after they realized it was "their bad," but we didn't get an apology. And the waiver is still on file for the ones that still signed it.
I've begun to try and organize my fellow employees at the restaurant I work at. At first they didn't take me seriously, until I started crunching numbers and proved they could pay us more and still make a profit along with giving us occasional sick days, and a decent AC system so the kitchen doesn't reach nearly 100 degrees in the summer. Then they got slightly interested.
But they think it's futile; they're afraid of getting fired. Two of us are on some kind of government assistance (I'm the exception, along with three other people, out of 6 total). All of us can barely pay our bills. I've been with the company about a year, but everyone else has anywhere from 4 to 16 years. They think "Right to Work State" means "Even think about organizing and get fired". I told them we still have a right to collective bargaining and that right to work doesn't mean we'll get fired.
What can I do to further this cause? Anyone else with experience organizing labor in Georgia? Anywhere in the southern US?
The two managers will likely either back us up or remain neutral, but will definitely not be against us. They may join us as they're used by the company just as much, if not more, than us, and have just as many grievances with the owner. I'm not actively trying to get them 'in on it' because I know they feel like they have to be exceptionally subservient in order to protect their job. But like I said, if this gains more momentum with my co-workers, they may jump in.
This isn't a chain, but a private semi-fast-food restaurant.
Of somewhat importance: They trust me after I brought to their attention that they don't have to sign a waiver allowing the owner to dock wages based on shortages. I told them they can't force us to sign it (we were accused of stealing alcohol and food, but most of us don't eat the food and we rarely drink; it was a math error, but it resulted in a month-long tirade). So they didn't. And the owner shut up. Well, sort of. Continued harrassment got the managers to sign it out of fear for their job, along with one of us 'regular workers'. The rest of us didn't. No wages have been docked after they realized it was "their bad," but we didn't get an apology. And the waiver is still on file for the ones that still signed it.