• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

CURRENT STREET EDITION

DIG 23.02 – 1/28/21

INTRODUCING ‘TERMS OF SERVICE,’ A NEW INDUSTRY COLUMN BY HALEY HAMILTON

Written by HALEY HAMILTON Posted November 17, 2016 Filed Under: COLUMNS, News, NEWS+OPINIONS

terms-illo

For a long, long time I’ve wanted to write about what a better country this might be if everyone had to spend two years in the service industry. My team at the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and DigBoston agreed, and so from this point forward this will be my space to do just that (OK, not just that, but you get the picture).

 

Now get comfy. Do you know what you would like to drink? Excellent, go get it yourself. Welcome to Terms of Service, a column about the service industry, by a bartender, for anyone who’s ever sat down for shifty—or wanted to know what that’s like. -HLH

 

ROC and a hard place

 

Sometime last month, a few weeks before the axe fell on common sense and people started mourning civil liberties, I attended an event hosted by the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) of Boston, the local branch of a national organization focused on improving working conditions and increasing earning potential for the 170,451 service industry employees in the Greater Boston area.

 

And I was fucking floored.

 

ROC was celebrating the publication of “Behind the Kitchen Door: Promise and Denial in Boston’s Growing Restaurant Industry,” a report drawing from 500 industry employee surveys, interviews with 21 employees and 20 managers or restaurant owners, and industry and government data. The goal: “to offer the most comprehensive analysis to date of working conditions in the Boston-area restaurant industry.” The report highlighted multiple pressing industry issues—wage theft, sexual harassment, and the need for living wages, for starters—yet it did so by surveying 0.3 percent of the industry population.

 

Which, my friends, reflects a problem, one that has bothered me for quite some time: People don’t understand how diverse and dynamic an industry that makes up 8.5 percent of the local economy is.

 

ROC does phenomenal work. For example, its report highlights that many women in the industry are sexually harassed on the job—by guests, coworkers, and management—and that in the most despicable of these cases a woman’s refusal to be physical or ignore comments or inappropriate behavior results in lost wages or unemployment. The report also notes that racial discrimination is alive and well in many parts of the restaurant world, and that back-of-the-house employees, those working in kitchens or as dishwashers or bussers, are often cheated out of overtime.

 

One of the key aims of the organization is to shift employees’ earnings to be tied directly to revenue, as a percentage of sales, and to eliminate the tipped-employee minimum (right now folks earning tips make $3.35 an hour while state minimum wage is an hourly $10) so that no one depends entirely on tips. On a grander scale, ROC organizers want the service industry to be seen and understood as a career, because it is. But according to its report and the problems highlighted therein, the entire industry needs a cultural overhaul—and, according to it, that has to come from the inside.

 

I understand that ROC wants to make the industry a better place to work for everyone, from the servers at IHOP to the city’s most prized sommeliers. Its approach, however, seems to suggest that the economic model of the industry is what breeds discrimination, harassment, and poverty. And I really don’t know what to do with that.

 

Because it’s true for some people, but as I stood in the back of that meeting listening to facts and figures about what awful conditions people are working in, personal accounts of sexism and discrimination from management, and how we must fight, together, to end the oppression of “restaurant workers” statewide, my head almost exploded. I then asked how many bartenders were included in the data pool.

 

Silence.

 

Finally an answer: “Probably about 20 percent.” Which I was told represents the proportion of bartenders to other industry positions in the Boston-Metro area. In other words, they didn’t really think about people like me. That’s reasonable enough—if I was looking to right the wrongs of people working full-time and still living in poverty, craft bartenders wouldn’t be first on my list either. Nevertheless, that mindset perpetuates a significant stigma —that almost everyone is working at the bottom.

 

copy-of-terms-illo

 

According to the report and the organization’s rhetoric, there is a very small (larger, I bet though, than the percentage of industry employees it polled) percentage of restaurant professionals making a decent living, and those are the celebrity-ranked chefs and bartenders, most of whom are men working in the the Hub’s fine dining establishments. By that logic, everybody else is struggling to make ends meet. Such language, this mentality—that you’re either a celebrity or a servant—is what makes Friday nights a living hell. It’s what makes people think they can talk down to the floor staff. And it’s what makes it such an exhausting endeavor to beat the idea—that working in hospitality is a respectable way to earn a living—into the public’s collective consciousness.

 

For a long time, the service industry was a catch-all for people ranging from folks who couldn’t hold down a job anywhere else to those who’d never finished high school or those who really liked to party. But it’s not like that anymore. There are many talented people in the Boston service industry who have chosen this line of work because we like it. We hustle hard, we study up, we practice, we create, and we usually do OK for ourselves financially.

 

And we are excellent at our jobs.

 

If we want respect for the industry to grow, it is critical for people to stop boiling everyone down to the same pair of clogs and an apron. Maybe that starts on the inside, with increased wages; or perhaps the process begins on the outside, with people paying attention to how much energy and skill goes into working the floor, the line, and behind the bar.

 

If we want to talk about wages, discrimination, and harassment, if we want to continue advocating for the creativity, skill, and professionalism this industry embodies, first we need to talk about how and why such a massive percentage of the general public views industry professionals as having failed to invest in their careers. I don’t think it’s because we work for tips —I think it’s because we’re frequently misrepresented.

 

No one deserves to be disrespected, be taken advantage of, or feel the need to lower their standards to make a living. We have to fix that cycle, and ROC has indeed spurred the conversation about how to make the industry a safer and more sustainable place for everyone who works in it. Likewise, we need to protect the people starting at the bottom or who may be waiting tables because it’s the only gig that they can get right now, but none of that is possible if we ignore those who don’t fit into a particular narrative.

 

termsofservice-neon

Copyright 2016 Haley Hamilton.

Terms of Service is licensed for use by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and media outlets in its network. 

 

 

HALEY HAMILTON

Haley is an AAN Award-winning columnist for DigBoston and Mel magazine and has contributed to publications including the Boston Globe and helped found Homicide Watch Boston. She has spearheaded and led several Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism investigations including a landmark multipart series about the racialized history of liquor licensing in Massachusetts, and for three years wrote the column Terms of Service about restaurant industry issues from the perspective of workers.

More from author
  • HALEY HAMILTON
    https://digboston.com/author/haley-hamilton/
    TEACHING ESSENTIAL WORKERS HOW TO PACIFY THE UNHINGED DURING COVID
  • HALEY HAMILTON
    https://digboston.com/author/haley-hamilton/
    Restaurants offer classes
    SILVER DINING PLAYBOOK: RESTAURANTS FOSTER PHYSICAL COMMUNITY THROUGH REMOTE CLASSES
  • HALEY HAMILTON
    https://digboston.com/author/haley-hamilton/
    A PANDEMIC EMPLOYMENT SURVEY FOR GREATER BOSTON SERVICE INDUSTRY WORKERS
  • HALEY HAMILTON
    https://digboston.com/author/haley-hamilton/
    Al Fresco Boston
    SILVER DINING PLAYBOOK: DON’T FORGET TO OVER-TIP YOUR SERVER

Filed Under: COLUMNS, News, NEWS+OPINIONS Tagged With: abuse, bartenders, Behind the Kitchen Door, Boston, Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, Cambridge, harassment, racism, report, restaurant industry, Restaurant Opportunities Center, service industry, sexism, Terms of Service

WHAT’S NEW

JOHN BARROS WILL LAUNCH CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR OF BOSTON

JOHN BARROS WILL LAUNCH CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR OF BOSTON

TRUMP GUY WINS THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY TO FILL DELEO’S SEAT

TRUMP GUY WINS THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY TO FILL DELEO’S SEAT

CHECKING IN ON THE COMMONWEALTH’S COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE BILL

CHECKING IN ON THE COMMONWEALTH’S COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE BILL

YOUNG VOTERS, OLD GAME

YOUNG VOTERS, OLD GAME

CAMPBELL ORDERS INFORMATION ON OFFICER’S INVOLVEMENT IN CAPITOL ATTACK

CAMPBELL ORDERS INFORMATION ON OFFICER’S INVOLVEMENT IN CAPITOL ATTACK

Miami protestors support the “Fight for 15,” a campaign for a higher minimum wage. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

AS LABOR SECRETARY, WILL MARTY WALSH REPRESENT ALL WORKERS?

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • SPECIAL FEATURE ON THE MASS STATE POLICE: TROOPER WILSON’S WAR by CHRIS FARAONE
  • [UPDATE: WE GOT IT!] WHERE IS THE CONTRACT FOR MASSACHUSETTS’ VACCINE APPOINTMENT SOFTWARE? by POLINA WHITEHOUSE
  • BOSTON LATIN ACADEMY GRADS FIGHT FOR REPRESENTATION IN ALUMNI GROUP by CHRIS FARAONE
  • MASS KEEPS TRYING TO BUILD A NEW WOMEN’S PRISON OUTSIDE OF PUBLIC VIEW by DAN ATKINSON
  • WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH MASSACHUSETTS POLITICS AND VACCINATIONS? by ZACK HUFFMAN

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG 23.02 – 1/28/21

Footer

digbos

digbos
Can a veteran of the Wisconsin Uprising and former Can a veteran of the Wisconsin Uprising and former Mass union leader rescue the IAFF? https://digboston.com/a-firefighter-election/ #labor #firefighter #union #election #opinion #WisconsinUprising #Massachusetts #national
New #report shows 1/6 of women in Mass prisons sen New #report shows 1/6 of women in Mass prisons sentenced to life without parole. https://digboston.com/commonwealth-committed-to-other-death-penalty/ #prison #prisoner #humanrights #criticism #Massachusetts
“The gratuitous militarization of police forces “The gratuitous militarization of police forces across the United States facilitated by this program has helped to turn these agencies into brutal weapons of repression.” https://digboston.com/inbox-group-calls-for-biden-to-abolish-police-militarization-program/ #police #reform #criticism #Massachusetts
It’s the second time in less than a year that pr It’s the second time in less than a year that progressives have been dealt a bitter defeat in a crowded primary race. https://digboston.com/trump-guy-wins-the-democratic-primary-to-fill-deleos-seat/ #politics #election #Democrats #primary #legislature #Winthrop #Revere  #Massachusetts #MAGA #herp #derp
As lawmakers consider Baker’s amendments to clim As lawmakers consider Baker’s amendments to climate bill, the fight for environmental justice continues. https://digboston.com/checking-in-on-the-commonwealths-comprehensive-climate-bill/ #politics #legislature #environment #activism #globalwarming #Massachusetts
AS LABOR SECRETARY, WILL MARTY WALSH REPRESENT ALL AS LABOR SECRETARY, WILL MARTY WALSH REPRESENT ALL WORKERS? Or just unionized construction workers… and the corporations that fund the Democrats. The latest from DigBoston's @jasonpramas. https://digboston.com/as-labor-secretary-will-marty-walsh-represent-all-workers/ #politics #labor #union #work #national #analysis #Boston #Massachusetts
Includes Gang Green, The Freeze, SIEGE, TREE, and Includes Gang Green, The Freeze, SIEGE, TREE, and many more. https://digboston.com/iconic-lineup-comes-through-to-support-nantasket-venue-through-pandemic/ #music #digital #benefit #Hull #Massachusetts
Our interview with Avi Loeb, author of “Extrater Our interview with Avi Loeb, author of “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.” https://buff.ly/2O3nlUd #interview #book #alien #technology #astronomy #controversy #debate #science #Boston #Massachusetts
LGBTQ+ prisoners in Mass stand up to a violent sys LGBTQ+ prisoners in Mass stand up to a violent system that targets and dehumanizes vulnerable populations. https://digboston.com/special-feature-the-cruel-and-usual-violence-against-lgbtq-people-in-mass-prisons/ #prison #prisoner #humanrights #LGBT #politics #Massachusetts
Nominations now open! Vote for your favorite busin Nominations now open! Vote for your favorite businesses today. 

Are you a business? Are you the best at what you do? Encourage your fans to cast their votes! DM us to get our social media materials to promote your business and ensure your win. #bostontops #digboston
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]