We try to avoid qualifiers.
A great chef is a great chef, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexuality. A talented brewer, baker, mixologist, restaurateur is simply that talented.
And yet, the road to success is not as easily traveled by some.
According to a 2017 study by the National Restaurant Association (the most recent data available), 12% of the country s restaurant employees are Black, but only 9.5% of chefs (a more prestigious position) are Black. Black Americans make up 13.4% of the population according to 2019 census estimates.
The nonprofit Restaurant Opportunities Centers United released a report in 2015 covering the California dining scene. ROC United found that 28% of restaurant workers that had been denied a promotion named race as the main reason.
NEW YORK – Billy Swenson is waiting for the callback.
It s been about 11 months since he was furloughed from his serving job at a Midtown Manhattan restaurant.
At first, the time away from work was a welcome break. Some days before the COVID-19 pandemic, he was on his feet for 12 hours, also working in catering when jobs arose.
Now, things are dragging on. Unemployment does not scratch the surface of the money we used to make, he said. Sitting here making a quarter of what we used to make … that has been very stressful and there s been not much relief.
Swenson is one of the thousands of workers in New York City s beleaguered restaurant industry hoping to get back to a semblance of normal as indoor dining in the city reopens this week.
For these tipped workers, $15 minimum wage is a matter of COVID-19 survival
Many making subminimum wage don t earn enough to qualify for unemployment. During the pandemic, 6 million restaurant workers were left behind. Some tell their stories below.
Saru Jayaraman, Chantel St. Laurent, Alyson Martinez-Diaz, John Michael Alvarez, Haley Holland and Dominique Brown
Opinion contributors
Introduction by Saru Jayaraman
Biden’s initial decision (he has since said that the wage hike might not make it into the final package) demonstrates his understanding that the economy cannot recover after one of the most devastating pandemics in the nation s history unless millions of low-wage workers are able to recover.
In December, restaurant workers took to the streets of Manhattan to advocate for aid they desperately need. Full-service restaurants, independent foodservice contractors, caterers and bars are now at just 55% of pre-pandemic employment. More than 60% of restaurants in New York are predicted to close this year without financial relief. By order of Gov. Cuomo, indoor dining, which had been banned since December, will resume to only 25% capacity on Feb. 14. Outdoor dining, which has served as the lifeline for many restaurants, will be difficult to sustain through the winter months.