Community

All unemployment forms sent, check.  Looking for work has been no easy feat...yet I am still on the path.

A day ago, two former co-workers of mine had separate talks with me.  One of them brought up that here I was posting and blogging, respectfully so, however the decision of me being laid off with no regard was one man's decision.  What about the 39 other people who work there that care about me?  That here I was protesting against the name of a company that represents each of them.  I have thought about this for a little while and this is what I think:

I am a firm believer in non-violent protests.  I am not into self-immolation nor am I famous like John Lennon and Yoko Ono where a bed-in would suffice in a media driven protest.  I am but one person who has been mistreated and in protest I am saying that what occurred is NOT OK.  It may have been one man, the General Manager who made the decision.  Yet he is not the owner of the company and he certainly did not hire himself.  I can still respect my former co-workers though they choose to work for a company that chooses to operate unfairly, the same way I think that most respect what I am doing and have shown me the utmost graciousness.  

I do not know all the stories of others...this is not a smear campaign to take VinTabla down.  I am not the first who has been let go and they do have an extraordinarily high employee turnover rate...especially for a company that has only been open for two years.  However, this is a discourse of how to run a business successfully in a small town.  Succeeding in a restaurant business in this town takes a certain kind of finesse.  What you do will be known and scrutinized because this is a community of people who believe, I hope, in better business practices.  One of the reasons why Tucson still has so many independent small businesses or larger locally owned companies are because of the people who live here.

Off to find work.  Day 7.

Out in the world..or in bed.

Needless to say, I've been sleeping a bit more.  Sheer exhaustion of thinking through the day what may happen next.  Still, on some level I do feel hopeful and ardent.  One leg at a time right?  Yesterday I began filling out forms for unemployment online.  Unfortunately, the website was down so I went in a circle to find a printer.  Filling for unemployment takes time and I wonder who feels the way I do where in the mean time, how do I pay for anything?  One cookie at a time right?

Thank goodness yesterday I had one successful mini interview at an upscale bar/restaurant.  Today, I am going in for a second interview.  Wish me luck.

Thank you.

To those who have given me advice on where to apply.  To those who have allowed me to use their computers and have gone out of their way to print out unemployment papers for me.  To those who have been buying baked goods as I walk through the evening.  To those who helped design things and given me temp work.  Thank you and Bless you.

Cleaning house. Oh wait, thats not my house!

On Saturday I had the chance to have a conversation with Daniel Scordato, the owner of Vivace, an upscale north-side establishment,  about employee-employer relations.  One of the things he brought up was what an employer can do to not exploit an employee.  He specifically spoke about cleaning and maintenance of a restaurant.  A mandatory deep-cleaning day for servers and bartenders to come in on their day-off is, in his opinion, cutting the wrong corners.  Instead of hiring cleaners, Vintabla had a mandatory cleaning day of the employees on Sunday, October 19th.  The hourly wage of a server or bartender in Tucson ranges approx. between $3.00-$7.00/hr.  Cleaners, in general, get paid ALOT more.  No amount of penne pasta or a beer here and there makes up for requiring servers and bartenders to be on their hands and knees scrubbing floors.  We are not paid salaries.  We are not professional cleaners.

Looking at the bigger picture, yes, there is a problem with next to nothing wages that tip-based employees receive in the state of Arizona.  In the state of California, employers are required by law to pay their employees the state minimum wage of $8.00/hr with few exceptions.  Having worked in both states and in the service industry since the late 1990s, I've been most impressed by the business practices of In-N-Out burger (check it out: www.in-n-out.com/employment), a company that strives to take care of their employees.  

It is sad when companies of any kind decide to engage in wrongful, albeit not illegal, treatment of employees.   Now more than ever we should question our rights in this country and what changes we want.

If you see a girl with a basket...

buy a cookie!

yumyum.

Harshing my mellow.

A friend had asked me whether I'm really that bitter. After the things that have happened, I have found myself with next to no income. After visiting the better business bureau and searching the web, I found, as many of you already know, how little to no advocacy there are for employees. At the very least, we should have a forum. So here we are...a little forum.

Today, instead of my usual cup of fresh brewed espresso at Time Market, I went to a Chinese market and picked up cans of Mr. Boss "premium" cappuccino, cutting my coffee expense by half. Those cans are surprisingly tasty. There is a little message on the side of can telling consumers not to be alarmed if the milk fats solidify.

I have applied for new work but with no luck yet. Monday will be my very first visit to the unemployment office. I have yet to find out whether I qualify...I'm almost certain the experience will be interesting.

I remember being told by the GM that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. One of the things we can learn and take away from the current status of the economy is the hope that seeking only the interest of ourselves will not prevail. It does not take much to show grace and compassion towards each other. Even just a little bit goes a long way.

Sacked and canned

I drove from downtown Tucson to the Foothills, believing I was going to work. Instead, I was given a termination due to economic reasons...downsizing if you will even though VinTabla is in the works to open a sister restaurant at Dove Mountain next month. I have always given my employers at least two weeks notice of me leaving. In this case I was given no notice, and told that it would not be necessary for me to come in at all this week. This was October 23rd...about 6pm. I sat there looking at the GM and floor manager in disbelief that as an independent company, they would choose to treat employees in this manner. Realizing that it may be a while for me to have a proper drink or money to pay for food, I rose from the chair in the cramped office, told them I was no longer going to speak to them, and told them they would be footing the bill for drinks tonight. I have been a bartender at Vin Tabla for almost eight months. Not the easiest feat since there is next to no support staff. Disappointing since I actually believed in this establishment. Here I was, fired, jobless and drinking an Anselmet Syrah along with a few tears.

Some people get mad, others get even...I decided to get creative.