A Salute to Servers

I worked in a restaurant during my sophomore and junior years in college.  I could go on all day about the horrors I endured while waiting on tables.  It was these horrors that made me appreciate the work servers do when I dine while on the campaign trail.

Servers are paid $2.13 per hour from their employers.  The current rate for any other profession is $7.15 per hour.  The other $5.02 per hour is supposed to come from tips.  Servers don’t just wait on tables – they also make sure the condiments are full.  They vacuum and mop floors and clean the bathrooms.  Let’s not forget they clean tables after every customer to assure you have a clean table when you are seated.  (Some people are impatient and sit at a table before a server cleans the table off from the last customer – this is a no-no!)

To get a deeper understanding of what a server goes through day-in and day-out, below are a couple of blogs.

Do You Do That at Home?

F*ck my Table (NOTE:  The letter “u” was replaced with an asterisk because my mother reads my blog.)

Contrary to popular belief, not every server will become a Hollywood star.  Many of them have children and live solely on what they make at work.  Remember that they are servers and not servants.

If you spend $50 on dinner, the tip should be AT LEAST $7.50.  But let’s assume you are a good tipper and tip 20% ($10.00).  Because you are a good tipper does not give you a license to treat another person rudely.  Would you want to be treated like crap for a few extra dollars?

If you dine out during the Christmas season, please respect your server and realize how much work it takes to make your dining experience a pleasure.

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My Jobs and Economic Speech

I just finished giving a speech at the AFSCME in Huron. They were pleased to find out I wanted to bring jobs to South Dakota and America. The room got a little tense when I mentioned most of the jobs I were bringing were burger-flippers and cashiers. I think I won them over when I talked about my plan for minimum wage.

For too long, minimum wage has been a set number. It is currently at $5.15 an hour. It will soon go up to $5.75. But even that is not enough to maintain a living. My plan sets minimum wage as the total of the following: A week’s worth of rent for a one-bedroom apartment, a week’s worth of food, a week’s worth of transportation, plus a week’s worth of utilities.

We have the resources. We can make this plan happen.