Waffle House employees across the Southeast have joined the frontlines as they strike for better wages.
The Union of Southern Service Workers has launched the campaign at multiple Waffle Houses, saying in a petition that employees are getting organized and demanding $25 an hour in response to their refusal to be exploited.
“We’re launching a powerful set of demands on Waffle House,” the petition states, “to take back what is rightfully ours: A workplace based on respect, dignity and fair pay for everyone.”
According to WSB-TV, Waffle House employee Gerald Green has worked at the food chain for about seven years. As a “Rockstar cook,” he is the highest-level cook outside management – but he doesn’t feel his hourly pay reflects that.
“Well, I am a rockstar, so at my restaurant, I am making $17.75,” Green said. “That is why employees are demanding better pay. You’re constantly having to go from one job to the next.”
Waffle House employees’ demand for better pay comes as staffers in several industries — from Hollywood actors to local baristas and delivery truck drivers — have gone on strike. Stanford News noted that the demonstrations bring issues such as equitable profit allocation and better salaries to the national limelight. And they don’t appear to be ending any time soon.
However, Waffle House maintains that relatively few individuals seen online protesting are employees, “contrary to the embellished descriptions” union officials shared and photos sent to the media, according to WSB.
“We are aware of the activities that took place [Saturday] at three of our locations in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, in which nearly all the people who protested were not Waffle House Associates,” a spokesperson said. “With that said, Waffle House remains proud of its long history of effectively and directly addressing Associate concerns. Our senior management teams continue to work alongside our Associates as they have done since our company’s inception.”
In addition to $25 an hour, employees also want Waffle House to stop taking meal deductions, regardless of whether they eat on breaks or not; for sites in Florida to close during extreme weather such as hurricanes; and for all restaurants to have 24-hour security.
“A lot of workers are hurt by customers. A lot of workers are mistreated by customers,” Green said, referencing an August incident when a former worker was shot to death outside Waffle House in Dekalb County, WSB reported.
“People say it is funny seeing people in fights all the time,” he added, “like we are not really MMA Fighters like people online say we are.”
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