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Wolfgang Puck can’t find waiters because of labor shortage


Armybrat

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8 minutes ago, lmao said:

They don't provide which is why their labor has to be subsidized. They dodge taxes. They're the ultimate welfare queens. Socialism for the wealthy, rugged individualism for everyone else.

It's worse than that. In good times they take profits and buy back stock boosting their share price which effectively increases executive compensation. When the bad times hit they cry poor and want a bailout.

I guess corporations don't have bootstraps.

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8 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

But you don't want a free market, because you want government policy that ties workers to employers and makes it harder for them to change jobs.

How is that?  I want the American worker to find the very best job he/she can, with the best benefits and pay they can muster.  

8 minutes ago, lmao said:

They don't provide which is why their labor has to be subsidized.

Your stance is that corporations don’t provide jobs for 10’s of millions of people? 
 

8 minutes ago, lmao said:

They dodge taxes.

Sort of like waiters, that claim ALL those tips? 
 

9 minutes ago, lmao said:

They're the ultimate welfare queens.

I don’t know.  They are at the very minimum  providing a purpose and income for those they employ.  While others are literally content to sit on the fucking couch because muh feels. I’m worth more, damnit!!

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https://www.kxan.com/news/business/no-one-wants-to-work-anymore-oasis-on-lake-travis-pleas-for-employees/
 

Quote

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Friday, the extra $300 a week in federal unemployment assistance for the COVID-19 pandemic ends in Texas. 

According to data from Indeed, in states where they have already ended that extra money, fewer people are searching for jobs compared to the rest of the nation. In states yet to end the benefits, people are searching for jobs at a higher rate. 

Texas to end participation in federal pandemic-related unemployment June 26 

Despite the concern, the Austin Chamber of Commerce reported Austin regained 97% of the jobs lost due to the pandemic last spring. 

Leisure and hospitality industries added 4,800 jobs last month, which is nearly 74% of all jobs lost in that industry in March and April last year. 

This data makes it tough for some restaurants who are searching for workers. The Oasis on Lake Travis, a popular Austin-area attraction, is saying “no one wants to work” there. 

Outside the Oasis, you’ll find a sign that reads: “Thank you for coming. We are short staffed. Please be patient with the staff that did show up. No one wants to work anymore.”

“The entire public is ready to come back, and enjoy the summer as much as possible,” said Billy Enney, Oasis assistant general manager. 

It’s a great, but frustrating struggle for Enney, who does the scheduling for staff at the Oasis. 

“I’m more flexible than I’ve ever been before. We’re accepting part-time work, we’re accepting less than part-time work,” said Enney. 

As a manager, he’s having to work in the kitchen and wait tables too to fill in those gaps. Enney said staffing is down by 30% for the summer peak hours. Generally the Oasis needs 200 employees to efficiently run during the summer. Right now they’re a little over 100. 

Austin unemployment rate drops below 5% for 1st time since Dec. 2020 

“We’ve tried incentive programs, we’ve tried referral bonuses, we’ve raised the pay across the board,” said Enney. 

In Austin, the Capital Area Workforce Solutions organization helps connect people to jobs. Leslie Puckett, a research director for the group, said unemployment in Austin is trending down. 

“Some individuals are still hesitant to move into those face-to-face jobs,” said Puckett. 

In May 2021, more than 30,000 new jobs were posted for the Austin metro area. 5,000 of those postings were for the tech industry, with roughly 3,000 being for retail. 

The National Restaurant Association blames three things for the shortage of employees: People nervous about working in a close environment, switching from cooking and serving to driving for Door Dash or Uber Eats and unemployment benefits that often exceed the pay for some jobs. 

Texas businesses call for Gov. Abbott to end extra federal unemployment benefits 

“Everyone is different, and everyone has a different situation in life with their family and health,” said Puckett. 

Enney is banking on the worker pool expanding as benefits run out. 

“We’re pretty much always at 90% capacity for the first floor,” said Enney. 

According to Capital Area Workforce Solutions, the Austin-area unemployment rate is 4.2%, which is about 54,000 jobless residents. That number is 2% higher than pre-pandemic, however, it’s still less than the national unemployment rate at 5.5% and the Texas unemployment rate at 5.9%.

Fucking evil assholes.  Damn these big corporations all to hell.

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43 minutes ago, TKthunder2 said:

https://www.kxan.com/news/business/no-one-wants-to-work-anymore-oasis-on-lake-travis-pleas-for-employees/
 

Fucking evil assholes.  Damn these big corporations all to hell.

Lulz at the Oasis complaining about people not wanting to work there. Fuck their shitty food and drinks. I'm shocked that it didn't "accidentally" burn down again last summer when times got lean.

 

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10 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Yup. Anecdotal but my friend who is a server, wife WFH, has no reason to go back.  With him on unemployment, it allows them to live rent free until Sept. They are still receiving two full incomes (actually more when rent is out of the equation).  They have been traveling. 
 

Im sure they are not alone and I don’t blame them for getting ahead in such an expensive place to live. (They had to relocate for her job from TX before COVID). 

So a household at 50% employment and not having to make a rent payment is able to afford to travel...this is the definition of excessive welfare 

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2 hours ago, Orale said:

When you talk about flexibility with schedules, what you really mean is that their employers purposefully avoid giving them enough hours so that they can't accrue healthcare and other benefits. Big fucking corporate employers making billions. And many of these employees are adults with limited skills that don't have the ability to work in higher skill industries that will give them full time jobs and benefits. You say fuck them it's them own fault, free markets, Darwinism, etc... You probably call yourself a Christian and then rejoice when big corporations fuck these people out of healthcare and basic human rights to maximize corporate profits. What a fucking asshole. 

You don't care about the truth.  Cling to your excuses bro.

Good paying jobs WITH HEALTHCARE are available.  "oh you want me to not do drugs, show up as scheduled, and fulfill responsibilities?"

 

Well fuck all of that...

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2 hours ago, wildcat09 said:

But you don't want a free market, because you want government policy that ties workers to employers and makes it harder for them to change jobs. Your complaints aren't really about government meddling at all. Your real complaint is that workers should consider themselves lucky for whatever scraps you deign to give them while they prepare and serve you a cheap meal, but they're acting all uppity now and disturbing the natural order of things.

what jobs are people locked into?

We have a more fluid labor market than at virtually any time in our history.

Y'all just like reading out of the "We suck at everything" playbook.  So far removed from reality...

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8 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

They should.  But in the same vain, if a waiters value is 2.13/hr plus tips, no amount of your feels changes that. People are worth what someone is willing to pay you for it.  Can’t live in the city you’d prefer on that? Well, I guess hope the govt starts to support you again or find another line of work.  This is pretty simple stuff without the subsidies. 

Do you even tip? Be honest. 

Edited by lmao
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Employers could get creative to entice people to apply and accept a job. As in a signing bonus that is paid out after 90 days. Of course that will most likely require offering that bonus to existing employees as well. Or temporarily raise prices and educate your customers on why you did it.

You’re not winning any points with me if you create a sign whining about people not wanting to work. If I ran across that type of sign, I would turn around and walk away to help the owner alleviate the problem of overworked staff.

In fairness I can see that a business that relies primarily on minimum wage staff is struggling to find workers. They’re probably stuck with first time workers. However it’s probably always a shaky enterprise that only survives by paying employees the lowest that the law allows. 

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1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

However it’s probably always a shaky enterprise that only survives by paying employees the lowest that the law allows. 

Jesus this is such a tired talking point.  It's not just restaurants that have help wanted signs plastered everywhere.  

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8 hours ago, lmao said:

 

Do you even tip? Be honest. 

Yeah. Pretty well I suspect.  That’s why I don’t understand the disconnect with the folks who hate the industry. If you can make $75-100 off my table for 2 for 90 mins of work, seems like a decent paying job.  When we eat out it’s usually at nicer places so maybe my view is warped. I’m probably a -30% on average.  I’m also not rude to people who handle my food - even if it’s prepared wrong which I don’t think has even happened in 10 years or so.  I’ve never worked in the industry. 

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One other thought about the Oasis and the Austin server market in general - aside from the havoc Covid wreaked on the customer market, college students make up a fairly big slice of restaurant workers, and for the past year a lot of those college students haven't been here - they've been remote and not living in Austin.  I don't think that will be back to normal until this fall.

 

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7 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

Really, so you didn't say this?

I did say that. I think they should be paid what they are worth. If that’s $2.13 and tips,  well then I’m sorry that’s the current market value of them. I’d suggest they start night classes down at the cc or get a set of steel toes and improve their lot in life. 
 

8 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

And you didn't clearly imply that you think it's good that health benefits are tied to employers (which is an intended result of government policy that incentivizes employers to provide health benefits), which makes it harder for workers to leave one job for another?

How does any of that make it harder to leave than another?  It’s an option you have to weigh when considering another job. If your insurance is more valuable where you are, but you can make $1 more at job B, your need to normalize that and figure out what is best.  Same as you should do with commute, work life balance, and ability to move internally.  Healthcare is but one part of your decision making on job prospects. 

 

11 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

You think workers should be poor and live economically precarious lives.

I don’t know how to be any clearer. I think people should be paid what the market determines they are worth, and if they are unhappy with that, or can’t afford to continue where they are, they work to improve their lot in life.  The problem is we have a bunch of people who don’t want to do that, don’t want to make the sacrifice, and just want shit handed to them.  And we have a large portion of the country who just want to hand shit out for the fuck of it. 

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1 hour ago, Royalfan5 said:

If the jobs aren't filling at 2.13+tips, doesn't that suggest the employer is mispricing the market? 

Exactly. FF keeps repeating "$2.13 + tips" as if it was etched on a stone tablet on Mount Sinai.

It's a law. One that hasn't been updated in 28 years (at least in Texas).

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https://labor.mo.gov/data

 

Missouri ended Covid Bucks on June 12th

Unemployment

Initial Claims by Week

Week ending 05/15/21 - 6,489

Week ending 05/22/21 - 5,852

Week ending 05/29/21 - 8,644

Week ending 06/05/21 - 6,006

Week ending 06/12/21 - 5,196

Week ending 06/19/21 - 3,884

many variables of course

June information unavailable for Iowa and Mississippi at this time (also ended benefits 6/12/21)

Edited by ChickenSandwich
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3 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

They are.  And when the welfare stops, and things equalize, the business should hire new, more affordable labor. 

If the jobs are filling what are they bitching about then? Also, I'll assume they've done the demographic research to prove that the labor pool isn't shrinking demographically, that'll be facing increased competition anyway coming forward. 

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2 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

You only want the free market to apply to where YOU want it to apply. If you believed in the free market, you would have denounced the PPP loans to business owners. If you believed in the free market, no one in the US would have a job because someone in Kuala Lumpur would do that job for 1/100 the money. If you believe in the free market, we would still have six year old working in coal mines. If you believed in the free market, business owners wouldn't rely on US patent laws to protect them. If you believed in the free market, then you wouldn't support government tax incentives for providing health insurances to employees*

You believe people that receive assistance from the government are lazy worthless sacks of shit, that don't work hard, don't want to make a sacrifice, and want things handed to them. I'm sure these people exist, but it mostly a bogeyman used by the rich to shit on the poor. 44 million people use Medicare. 61 million people collect social security each month. Are these people lazy? Do these people want free handouts? Did they not work hard their entire life? 

Jesus Christ, my uncle could feed his entire herd of cattle on all this straw.  

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3 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

You only want the free market to apply to where YOU want it to apply. If you believed in the free market, you would have denounced the PPP loans to business owners. If you believed in the free market, no one in the US would have a job because someone in Kuala Lumpur would do that job for 1/100 the money. If you believe in the free market, we would still have six year old working in coal mines. If you believed in the free market, business owners wouldn't rely on US patent laws to protect them. If you believed in the free market, then you wouldn't support government tax incentives for providing health insurances to employees*

You believe people that receive assistance from the government are lazy worthless sacks of shit, that don't work hard, don't want to make a sacrifice, and want things handed to them. I'm sure these people exist, but it mostly a bogeyman used by the rich to shit on the poor. 44 million people use Medicare. 61 million people collect social security each month. Are these people lazy? Do these people want free handouts? Did they not work hard their entire life? 

What ancap are you talking to on here?

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31 minutes ago, TXSooner518 said:

Such massive overlap in the Venn diagram of the people who are bitching and complaining about why there are no service employees available and the entitled dicksmacks who made sure to yell at all the clerks/servers/cashiers about masks and vaccine policies and contributed to making shitty jobs 100000x shittier. 

Everyone fucking hates you and is tired of dealing with you and we all pay the price. Try being less shitty?

Hope you didn't hurt yourself beating up that strawman.

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1 minute ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

He may be overexuberant, but he's not entirely wrong.  Everyone is tired of everyone else's shit.  I think we should all take a break, and make it on our own for a while.

There you go disenfranchising the political establishment.  Bastard.

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1 minute ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Assholes are assholes regardless of circumstances. I think wisdom is avoiding assholes instead of engaging them and posting it on social media for fake internet points. 

That's true.  But you know in their heads, everyone is giving every other asshole an epic beatdown.  

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4 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

You believe people that receive assistance from the government are lazy worthless sacks of shit, that don't work hard, don't want to make a sacrifice, and want things handed to them. I'm sure these people exist, but it mostly a bogeyman used by the rich to shit on the poor. 44 million people use Medicare. 61 million people collect social security each month. Are these people lazy? Do these people want free handouts? Did they not work hard their entire life? 

He doesn't consider the trillions in corporate welfare & bailouts to corporations as 'lazy'. So he's not totally against welfare.

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1 hour ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Hope you didn't hurt yourself beating up that strawman.

It's a strawman that people have become drastically shittier to service industry employees over the last 15 months? Definitely not. And many of those same people who came at those employees with a sense of entitlement now feel entitled to have service workers and are befuddled at the shortage.

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6 minutes ago, TXSooner518 said:

It's a strawman that people have become drastically shittier to service industry employees over the last 15 months? Definitely not. And many of those same people who came at those employees with a sense of entitlement now feel entitled to have service workers and are befuddled at the shortage.

The Big Lebowski Film GIF by The Good Films

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You're free to just say "nuh uh" but feel free to say which of these tenets you disagree with:

1) On average, customer service and retail workers have faced worsening conditions during COVID, both due to health risks and due to customers lashing out about COVID restrictions.

2) Worsening conditions lead people to seek out different employment.

3) Entitled people were more likely to be intolerant of COVID restrictions such as masks or testing/vaccine requirements.

4) Entitled people are more likely to be annoyed to not have a militia of service employees waiting to serve their needs.

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17 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

I don’t see what’s so hard to understand. Menial jobs have always sucked and many of those worker have found better options. Affecting all kinds of industries.

The issue is a lot of people feel like those workers weren't entitled to have any help finding better options.  They "feel" like someone is getting something more than they did.  They "feel" like little Tyrone or Jaime got a bigger piece of the pie than they did.  It's about peoples feelings, even if they say "fuck your feelings".  The greatest thing about all of this whole mess has been watching entitled people lose their shit on social media over being "denied their god-given rights".  Can't go into a store?  Can't go into a restaurant?  Can't do this or that?  Well now you know how it must have felt to be brown/black for a couple hundred years.  Except you just got embarrassed on youtube, you didn't get whipped, lynched or had fire hoses or dogs sicced on you.  And your lesser punishment is because you were being an entitled asshat, and a detriment to society, not because of something you could not control.

Edited by Judge Roybeanbag
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2 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

The issue is a lot of people feel like those workers weren't entitled to have any help finding better options.

I don't think anyone is saying that.  People are concerned with external market factors (govt printing money) that distorts the markets and prices many small businesses out of a certain price-point for mainly unskilled labor ($21-24/hr in many areas).

It's not just restaurants, it many small businesses trying to fill roles at or below that price point just referenced and it's crushing them.  

4 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Can't go into a store?  Can't go into a restaurant?  Can't do this or that?  Well now you know how it must have felt to be brown/black for a couple hundred years. 

Did you just try and correlate wearing masks to Jim Crow?  Dude.....

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