Waiter! There’s a phlegm in my soup! And it’s yours! 63% of restaurant workers in a new survey said they had cooked and served food while sick, putting consumers at risk, and also being just gross.
90% of them also said they don’t get insurance through their employers, and 87% said they didn’t get paid sick days.
The report, ommissioned by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a labor coalition for restaurant workers, contains stories like this one:
I could not call in sick because no work meant no money and I couldn’t afford it at that time. My kids were very young… Halfway through the day, the sneezing, coughing and runny nose got worse. I asked the manager, “I am really sick and need to go because I could make others sick…” She laughed and told me, “Try not to cough, then.”
Yeeks.
Serving While Sick: Report Reveals Need for Paid Sick Days & Health Insurance in the Restaurant Industry [Restaurant Opportunities Centers United]
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Picking food off the floor then serving it, spitting on food for personal revenge, roaches in the kitchen, using outdated/detiorating food, under cooking food, not washing dishes and flatware properly, using the same dirty wipe rag to clean a table in between customers- what else is new?
For the other survey, 63% Of Restaurant Workers Admit that they’ll be fired if they call in sick.
Remember this when you see how successful McDonalds is and when you read that many of today’s millionaires own fast food restaurants. Could those entities afford to pay sick days and/or health insurance? Of course. Sure, it may cause the businesses that are on the verge of failing to fail but the successful businesses would just take up the slack.
As an ex-fast food employee I remember working while sick plenty of times. Sometimes because I needed the money. Other times because I knew that calling in sick would look bad and could jeopardize my chances at getting a $0.05 raise in the coming months. For those who were already looking at slim raises the penalty could be even worse.
There is a dilemma. Many of those workers would take advantage of any situation like this. In my opinion the solution is better management and better wages. Do not hire and employ those workers in the first place. Only greed could confuse someone into believing that they are actually making more money by choosing to employ that stature of worker.
Since I do not work in that industry any longer I honestly do not care as much about the rights of the workers themselves as much as I do about the spread of illnesses. Even for those who do not eat out the illnesses will spread- through schools, workplaces, etc.
Of course, there’s always a second side to every coin. Illnesses spreading may help our immune systems. Personally, I’d like to see every sick person at home on their couch until they get better, regardless of where they work.
And no thanks to meth heads & lazy drug case investigators if you forget your drivers license to buy something at the local drug store so you at least can control your symptoms and save 100 bucks the customers/public will be contaminated and the meth head will simply steal their otc drugs to perpetuate their criminal behavior.
I’ve worked while sick many times. Calling in is frowned upon, shifts must be made up within two weeks (which, if someone gets something like swine flu that knocks them out for a week, means working double hours or facing the possibility of being fired), and a doctor’s note is required on certain dates (major football games, some holidays, and after more than three sick calls IN A YEAR).
I remember one day when I was scheduled to be plating up desserts. I was coming down with a very bad cold, and I asked my supervisor if I could be moved to a cleaning shift so I wouldn’t be in contact with the food. Her response? “It’ll be fine, just try to change your gloves a bit more often.”
One of the worst days of my life was due to food poisoning. I complained to the city health department, and wouldn’t you know it, they paid the restaurant a visit the next day and caught a dude (from a country south of us known for their frequent intestinal viruses) handling the salad greens with his bare hands.
Now that I have kids, it’s pretty rare that we eat out because, like it or not, you may be putting your and your children’s lives into the hands of unsanitary and desperate people. Cook at home and stay healthier on many levels!
The sad part is, what everyone is saying is pretty much true. The foodservice industry in America is typically looked upon as a “lower-end” employer, meaning teenagers and low-income adults. For the most part, they can’t afford to take the time off, they can’t afford to see a doctor that many places require or lose their jobs, so they come to work sick and suffer through it. The management has seen too many people who “call in sick” just so they don’t have to go to work, so they have been jaded against the suffering of those legitimately ill. Also, most times foodservice place work on a shoestring labor budget, so if one or more people is missing from the roster due to illness, it really puts strain and stress on the operations, so managers are hesitant to go without anyone. If foodservice industries would start offering paid sick days and/or paid visits to the dr.s to verify said illnesses, I think we’d see less occurances of sick employees trying to work.
this is the tip of a very big, very ugly iceberg. having worked in the restaurant scene for 10+ years when putting myself through school, oh gosh, I really can’t believe I have the cast iron GI system necessary to STiLL force myself to eat in restaurants. Nasty nasty nasty ….
I’ve been working in restaurants for about three years, and I haven’t been sick very often. I figure I’m being exposed to a lot of sick people on a daily basis, and my immune system has toughened up as a response. I also obsessively wash my hands, which doesn’t hurt.