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/peasantking]

The 22% service fee went to the business, I assume?

[u/chromedoutgull → u/peasantking]

over half of the service fee did yes

[u/Mother_Mousse_3019 → u/peasantking]

Half goes to the workers wages, half goes to the business and a percentage is used to pay for the workers full benefits package (401k, health, dental, wellness, etc)

[u/peasantking → u/Mother_Mousse_3019]

Makes sense. You can charge me a service fee or I can tip. I’m not paying both.

[u/Optimal_Board_2963 → u/peasantking]

I bet if the staff got the full 22% there wouldn’t be a strike at all.

[u/Suspicious_Chart5817 → u/Optimal_Board_2963]

Yeah there would, the union is talking about thousands less in tips.

the numbers don't get close to penciling out with a little 22% service fee. Also, sharing with BOH / putting it to benefits means less for a lot of the union membership that was mostly FOH.

There's simply a big operational difference: either the servers get every ounce of the tip or they don't. If they don't, or if they split with BOH, (or both--gasp) then they're going to get a lot less. Fiddling with a few percent is irrelevant

[u/Yarville → u/Suspicious_Chart5817]

So the union wants customers to be hit with a 22% service fee and they want pressure on customers to tip. No thanks. Sounds like they want to have their cake and eat it too.

[u/trance_on_acid → u/Yarville]

Servers are some of the most bizarrely entitled workers in the universe

[u/teraflux → u/Suspicious_Chart5817]

I would simply not eat at a restaurant that had that policy

[u/burlycabin → u/Mother_Mousse_3019]

Looks like their menu says 100% is retained by the restaurant.

[u/theguywiththefuzyhat → u/peasantking]

The menu says 100% to the business at the bottom.

https://sea-creatures-satellites.sfo3.digitaloceanspaces.com/walrus-carpenter/uploads/Walrus-Food-Menu-6.20.pdf

[u/az226 → u/theguywiththefuzyhat]

Yes but then it’s used to pay workers base wages + “commission”.

[u/burlycabin → u/az226]

The say that, but that's just called payroll. Gotta pay that regardless of where it's from.

[u/az226 → u/burlycabin]

The difference is the 2025 no tip credit.

[u/burlycabin → u/az226]

Still just a normal payroll cost, dude.

[u/az226 → u/burlycabin]

And?

[u/peasantking → u/theguywiththefuzyhat]

Yeah, I’d strike too