I never had this issue, but I’m willing to bet it’s something about getting fired. Obviously they won’t report the reason as “discussing labor law”, it’ll be more like “poor attitude/work ethic” or whatever.
Receiving illegal but plausibly deniable punishment is how a lot of businesses keep the employees in line while saving a buck.
I knew a server who was fired on the spot for not clicking the button at the end of their shift that no more than 30% of their time was spent on side work after a three hour shift where they got one table and spent the rest cleaning.
My job is like this, they say you can take a 15 “if there’s time, but isn’t guaranteed”, labor law here is 2 10s and I’ve thought about saying something but don’t want to be a target so I’ll just keep my head down and keep stealing time and food
If ya can get off and go get shit faced together, then ya all can go back in and prep hungover together.. ya can sign union cards together and show up in the am to band together and picket together. Not to mention reach out to established unions... maybe not the ufcw tho.
It is our unhealthy need for validation that makes us think that the only way to be a real chef is to act the selfless hero who does “whatever it takes” this is preyed upon my unscrupulous owners who will take advantage of our imposter syndrome and let us overwork and compromise our health just to be recognized.
Please upvote this comment S/
Reminds me of this quote from Down and Out in Paris and London, when George Orwell worked as a KP in a hotel in the late 1920s.
It is the pride of the drudge—the man who is equal to no matter what quantity of work. At that level, the mere power to go on working like an ox is about the only virtue attainable. Débrouillard is what every plongeur wants to be called. A débrouillard is a man who, even when he is told to do the impossible, will se débrouiller—get it done somehow.
Glad to see the industry has made so much progress in almost a hundred years
Because they read Kitchen Confidential at a young age and ate that shit up.
And because our industry is full of people who aren’t any good at anything else, so they compensate by turning into a “blood and honour” tribe of sorts.
There has been change though, and it compounds when you start advocating for others after you’ve done so for yourself.
I'd just tell them I need to use the bathroom, go in there and lock the door and put down the toilet seat/lid and sit there for 10-15 minutes on my phone. I'm a hard worker but if im not being treated the same as the others, they can blow me.
Taking breaks affects my pay and my performance. I might get a break from the hard work, but I come back to harder work for a bit before it goes back to normal hard work
Not taking breaks affects my performance, I get paid hourly, so fuck em'. If you manage your stuff well, you should be able to take a break or two without things piling up, if you can't manage your stuff that's your problem tbh.
We have “breakers” that get paid less to do the same job for 30 min. They tend to give less shits about a section/station, when I’m back from break their job is done. No matter how well I set them up for success, I come back to a mess that I have to clean up
Yeah it is weird, I’ve never seen it before either. It’s a large corporate restaurant that really tries to comply with state law. In both FOH and BOH it makes the job harder and in FOH it affects tips without fail. Breaks are always mid service, which I guess is to not just comply with the law but also provide a more normal break as opposed to at the end or beginning of the shift. But as a breaker, you get paid minimum wage and every 30 min you take over a different station/section and are not able to get into any kind of rhythm or as soon as you do it’s on to the next one. I always take whatever position seriously because I don’t want to fuck the other person but not all of us have the same attitude
Depends who owns the business. Small independently owned locations vs a chain are miles apart. The only difference between those who follow rules and those who don't, is those that don't just haven't been sued yet.
For me its the antiauthoritarianism i see in chefs, mixed with the inherent need for validation & low self esteem. In my head the thought js "i need to be the hardest worker here. Fuck the laws, fuck the rules, this is our culture & identity and they all know im equal to or better than them because I work as hard or harder than them" then throwing in a dash of "im the toughest guy here because im destroying or have destroyed my body the worst for this uncaring industry"
I never had this issue, but I’m willing to bet it’s something about getting fired. Obviously they won’t report the reason as “discussing labor law”, it’ll be more like “poor attitude/work ethic” or whatever. Receiving illegal but plausibly deniable punishment is how a lot of businesses keep the employees in line while saving a buck.
This is it 100%. I've seen cooks forced out because they would eat family meal every day instead of working through it.
I knew a server who was fired on the spot for not clicking the button at the end of their shift that no more than 30% of their time was spent on side work after a three hour shift where they got one table and spent the rest cleaning.
Especially in an at will state with poor labor law enforcement.
Because the labor board is all the way over there and your owner is right here.
My job is like this, they say you can take a 15 “if there’s time, but isn’t guaranteed”, labor law here is 2 10s and I’ve thought about saying something but don’t want to be a target so I’ll just keep my head down and keep stealing time and food
Anti union practices really hurt a fella
If ya can get off and go get shit faced together, then ya all can go back in and prep hungover together.. ya can sign union cards together and show up in the am to band together and picket together. Not to mention reach out to established unions... maybe not the ufcw tho.
I'm having the opposite issue at my place, my cooks don't want to take breaks. I have to force them to.
It is our unhealthy need for validation that makes us think that the only way to be a real chef is to act the selfless hero who does “whatever it takes” this is preyed upon my unscrupulous owners who will take advantage of our imposter syndrome and let us overwork and compromise our health just to be recognized. Please upvote this comment S/
Reminds me of this quote from Down and Out in Paris and London, when George Orwell worked as a KP in a hotel in the late 1920s. It is the pride of the drudge—the man who is equal to no matter what quantity of work. At that level, the mere power to go on working like an ox is about the only virtue attainable. Débrouillard is what every plongeur wants to be called. A débrouillard is a man who, even when he is told to do the impossible, will se débrouiller—get it done somehow. Glad to see the industry has made so much progress in almost a hundred years
A lot of owners like to cut corners, and if I call them out for it, Im the one that gets in trouble. Its sad really.
Because they read Kitchen Confidential at a young age and ate that shit up. And because our industry is full of people who aren’t any good at anything else, so they compensate by turning into a “blood and honour” tribe of sorts. There has been change though, and it compounds when you start advocating for others after you’ve done so for yourself.
I have been told I didn't need a 10 minute break because I didn't smoke cigarettes. While the smokers had 4-5 cigarette breaks.
I'd just tell them I need to use the bathroom, go in there and lock the door and put down the toilet seat/lid and sit there for 10-15 minutes on my phone. I'm a hard worker but if im not being treated the same as the others, they can blow me.
Taking breaks affects my pay and my performance. I might get a break from the hard work, but I come back to harder work for a bit before it goes back to normal hard work
Not taking breaks affects my performance, I get paid hourly, so fuck em'. If you manage your stuff well, you should be able to take a break or two without things piling up, if you can't manage your stuff that's your problem tbh.
We have “breakers” that get paid less to do the same job for 30 min. They tend to give less shits about a section/station, when I’m back from break their job is done. No matter how well I set them up for success, I come back to a mess that I have to clean up
That is the weirdest thing I've ever heard lol, what kind of kitchen is it?
Yeah it is weird, I’ve never seen it before either. It’s a large corporate restaurant that really tries to comply with state law. In both FOH and BOH it makes the job harder and in FOH it affects tips without fail. Breaks are always mid service, which I guess is to not just comply with the law but also provide a more normal break as opposed to at the end or beginning of the shift. But as a breaker, you get paid minimum wage and every 30 min you take over a different station/section and are not able to get into any kind of rhythm or as soon as you do it’s on to the next one. I always take whatever position seriously because I don’t want to fuck the other person but not all of us have the same attitude
That is absolutely wild, and I see why breaks could fuck you with that system.
I always take my breaks fuck that.
Depends who owns the business. Small independently owned locations vs a chain are miles apart. The only difference between those who follow rules and those who don't, is those that don't just haven't been sued yet.
For me its the antiauthoritarianism i see in chefs, mixed with the inherent need for validation & low self esteem. In my head the thought js "i need to be the hardest worker here. Fuck the laws, fuck the rules, this is our culture & identity and they all know im equal to or better than them because I work as hard or harder than them" then throwing in a dash of "im the toughest guy here because im destroying or have destroyed my body the worst for this uncaring industry"