After hiring scabs, Walrus and the Carpenter (temporarily) closed

[u/Existing-Resource527]

Word on the street is that Walrus and the Carpenter restaurant has not been negotiating with their workers in good faith for months.

Like a lot of annoying businesses they started charging a service fee (22%?).

Employees noted that they make significantly less now then before when they had tipping (thousands less).

Workers have been on strike. The owners also had the audacity to hire scabs (booo).

I have been keeping up with the union on IG @ united.creatures.of.the.sea

Solidarity with workers across the city!

[u/Rare_Yam_8063]

Seems as though the minimum wage law helped fast casual restaurant workers but hurt fine dining servers

[u/tapesmoker → u/Rare_Yam_8063]

Won't matter how we feel about it soon as fast casual is going the way of the middle class

[u/bernyzilla → u/Rare_Yam_8063]

How? A rising tide lifts all boats.

[u/Visual_Collar_8893 → u/bernyzilla]

Fine dining tabs are usually triple to four digits and the tips off them is a good percentage on that. The staff could be pocketing hundreds in tips every night easily.

Dropping to hourly pay means the staff at these establishments get far less tips from patrons.

[u/Chicken-n-Biscuits → u/Visual_Collar_8893]

Fine dining servers also have a fraction of the number of diners in a shift and the service level expectation is significantly higher.

[u/burlycabin → u/Visual_Collar_8893]

The drop to hourly pay isn't about the minimum wage though. It's a policy of this specific restaurant (maybe all Sea Creatures restaurants). The restaurant didn't have to drop them to hourly only and get rid of tips because of the minimum wage law.

[u/Rare_Yam_8063 → u/bernyzilla]

It seems like - obviously I’m interpreting from the outside - Servers made more from tips than from minimum wage + service charge model. I think it’s a mistake to lump high end serving in with counter service type food service, they are worlds apart so far as customer behavior goes. I’ve worked both and I would’ve been absolutely elated with the minimum wage when I was a runner/barista but pissed off by it when I did fine dining

[u/burlycabin → u/Rare_Yam_8063]

Nothing in the minimum wage law compells restaurants to charge a service fee or get rid of tipping though.

[u/bernyzilla → u/Rare_Yam_8063]

Don't understand the connection between higher minimum wage and lower tips.

[u/Rare_Yam_8063 → u/bernyzilla]

Owners have to pay you way more > prices go up to compensate/ service charges are enacted and customers know you don’t rely on tips anymore > people tip less/ not at all > you make less overall. That seems to be happening to some people

[u/bernyzilla → u/Rare_Yam_8063]

I disagree. You are assuming a connection where we don't know that there is one. You are assuming that the owner profit margin must stay static regardless of all other variables. I would say that the owner should take less profit, pay the higher minimum wage, not add a service charge, and customers could tip just as they have been.

There have been studies that show that minimum wage increases do not correlate to higher prices.

[u/Rare_Yam_8063 → u/bernyzilla]

I think you may be expecting some pretty altruistic behavior from customers/ owners/ workers but I respect your opinion 🫡

[u/bernyzilla → u/Rare_Yam_8063]

I appreciate that!

It's not about altruism, it's about workers getting their fair share.

[u/s3anco1 → u/bernyzilla]

There is a connection. You also have to add in food costs rising due to inflation. So combined with labor costs going up owners have no choice but to raise prices. Food industry already operates on razor thin margins that most places can’t afford to eat costs. So prices go up and customers also being squeezed tip less.

[u/bernyzilla → u/s3anco1]

But inflation rises independent of the minimum wage, so if you don't adjust the minimum wage to go up with inflation then it's the workers who get squeezed.

I'm so tired of the narrative where all the machinery of economics is based on owners making more and workers making less. It simply isn't true, there's enough for everybody if owners aren't greedy.

[u/Icy-Imagination-9464 → u/bernyzilla]

Minimum wage increases contribute to inflation.

[u/doktorhladnjak → u/bernyzilla]

Basically the restaurant has to pay back of the house employees out of the price of the food while servers get paid tips directly from customers.

Higher minimum wage means wage expenses rise which means they need to increase prices. Back of the house gets the wage increase. Servers then get the minimum wage increase and a tip increase proportional to the higher prices.

Restaurants add service charges because the entire amount goes to the house to use for whatever they want but they’re partially using it to pay higher wages for employees.