When marginalized restaurant workers are abandoned by an industry ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, a local organization helped them pick up the pieces. Now, as the U.S paces itself towards recovery and the restaurants gear up for a safe reopening, they suddenly encounter a nationwide labor shortage. After surviving through a deadly pandemic, some workers are asking if it’s worth it after all, to go back to the industry that abandoned them.
When marginalized restaurant workers are abandoned by an industry ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, a local organization helped them pick up the pieces. Now, as the U.S paces itself towards recovery and the restaurants gear up for a safe reopening, they suddenly encounter a nationwide labor shortage. After surviving through a deadly pandemic, some workers are asking if it’s worth it after all, to go back to the industry that abandoned them.
Narrator: [00:00:00] Change agents.
Huy Do: This is Huy Do. And
Damita Menezes: this is Damita Menezes.
Huy Do: And it's May 2021 and we're sitting in a restaurant for the first time in a year and a half.
Damita Menezes: And it feels weird but good. For a brief second it feels like we're back to how life was before the pandemic and that Chicago's vibrant restaurant industry is quickly coming back to normal.
Huy Do: But is it really normal? Even though things look lively, for the past year the restaurant industry was disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Compared to other industries, restaurants were forced to close down for months, had to deal with little guidance, forced to pivot to takeout and delivery, before finally just getting the green light to open up again.
Damita Menezes: But sometimes I wonder about the people behind these restaurants. The people who made our food, mixed our drinks, [00:01:00] gave us quality table service, and made sure everything is clean and safe when these restaurants close every night. How have they survived throughout the pandemic? How are they doing now? And what are their plans going forward?
Huy Do: And speaking of that, I've also been hearing a lot of stories about a nationwide labor shortage for the hospitality industry, where restaurant owners are desperately trying to fill open positions to no avail. How could this happen? And why aren't restaurant workers willing to come back to the industry?
Damita Menezes: On this episode of Change Agents, the two of us set out to find the answer to these questions and examine the hidden disparities behind Chicago's restaurant industry And it all starts with one lively and energetic man.
Osvaldo Valenzuela: My name is Osvaldo Valenzuela. Social justice, it motivates me a lot. I cannot stay without help people. Doesn't matter what, I need to do something
about
it.
Huy Do: Osvaldo and his partner Alison Baker are lead organizers for the Chicago chapter of [00:02:00] Restaurant Opportunity Center (ROC).
Osvaldo Valenzuela: When I started in Chicago was in January last year. And in March, everything changed because the pandemic, but our mission is protect and provide training to the, uh, restaurant worker and provide them different tools.
And at the same time, we protect, uh, worker rights. For example, if a restaurant has an issue about tips or about salaries, we fight for that. We start a case and we're looking for a lawyer. We need to do a coalition. We do what we did and we need to send out a petition. We did. We just sent out a petition about right back to work.
Huy Do: When COVID19 took its hold on the restaurant industry, Osvaldo and Allison started helping individual workers. Especially those who lost their job with their everyday survival. They sent out checks to those who needed money. They contacted [00:03:00] restaurant owners to make sure workers are being rehired. And if that wasn't possible, they helped workers transition to a new line of work, even if it's temporary.
Damita Menezes: One such worker is Ismail Enriquez. He's a bartender, teacher and now a COVID 19 contact tracer. We met Ismail on the porch of his new apartment on an unusually warm and sunny afternoon. He was nursing an iced spirit in his hand and he led us into his kitchen where he fixed us a cocktail he called the Lemon Drop.
Ismael Enriquez: So pretty much it's vodka, sugar, uh, some lime juice. I shake it up, so I go like
Damita Menezes: When Ismail was a child growing up in Bucktown, his parents owned a family restaurant, and that's also where he learned how to mix drinks. And although his mixology is top notch, it's actually his charisma, empathy, and dedication to social justice that makes him shine.
Ismael Enriquez: I've always been a people person since I was a kid. Ha ha ha. I think my mother used to tell me that all the time. He's like, why don't you shut up already? [00:04:00] So I was introduced to ROC Chicago about seven years ago regarding, you know, um, how some of the staff or people that worked in the food and beverage industry were being mistreated as far as low, uh, stolen wages or not being paid according to the federal laws.
Also fighting for better, uh, living wages, uh, sick days and vacation days, which a lot of these people did not have. Also for people that were undocumented, that were not being treated, um,
Damita Menezes: After spending more than a decade bartending across America, Ismael settled in Chicago and he became an instructor for the Bassett Certificate, teaching individuals from undeserved communities how to professionally serve alcohol.
Ismael Enriquez: It was an honor to meet so many students in the southeast side of Chicago that came from communities that were very vulnerable. So, they didn't have no ethics, no people skills. They didn't know how to engage with other people. They didn't have no idea of how the mechanism of working a glass [00:05:00] or serving a wine or just presenting yourself to other people.
So I would take them on trips to downtown. They were embarrassed to go into a hotel because they felt they were like, um, poor. So, that was very, um, to me to see how You know, comfortable. It's getting them out of their comfort zone to say, you know what, even if you come from a low income community, it's okay for you to come in to a restaurant that's a five star because at the end of the day, you are the star, you are the bartender, you're the one that's going to bring happiness to all these people that come into this, this establishment, that's a five, four star, and you are the star.
So they're like, wow, we are, you know, That, I'm like, yes you are, you're making drinks for people, you're bringing happiness to people, you're putting the music on, you're bringing a smile, you're engaging with individuals from all over the world, and you are the person that's bringing that to life.
Damita Menezes: There is no questioning that bartending, teaching and advocacy are Ismail's lifelong passions.
But when COVID 19 came into the picture, Ismail had to let [00:06:00] his passion go and transition into a new line of work in order to survive.
Ismael Enriquez: So at that point, uh, that's when I was an instructor, and the funding got off, and I was not able to teach the class anymore. Um, I had to leave my apartment because I was evicted.
Had to move in with my parents, and my other brother, and my other brother. So it was like, you know, I felt at one point that she wanted to just say, get out, get out of my house. So I guess she felt that, oh, we're running out of money. What are we gonna do next? So the frustration of, you know, not having food on the table for the next six months or what's going to happen in the next three months.
What about if one of us gets sick? What about if I get sick? What about if I die? What about if he dies? You know, so that's the other thing that brought a lot of, uh, you know, frustration in the family. I kept on just having hope and, and praying. Um, at that point I had gotten a, uh, there was a grant. for, um, COVID 19, uh, to become an agent.
So that was an avenue that opened up not only [00:07:00] financially, but I was able to become independent and then, uh, move out of my mother's house and was able to, you know, have a better quality of life, you know.
Huy Do: Leaving the hospitality industry wasn't a choice that came easily to Ismael, but it was this choice that allowed him to start rebuilding his life.
But for a large population of restaurant workers in the United States, who may not have proper documentation, this That choice to leave or to stay may not be so readily available.
Chris: I came here in 91, 1991. I was 16 and a half, uh, Came across the border.
Huy Do: That's Chris, an undocumented server who lives and works on the north side of Chicago.
Chris: Uh, back then, you know, money in Mexico is really scarce. Like there are where I come from. There are new jobs. Uh, my reason for living was to help my parents build the house, you know, help them. I wanted to go to school and I started working as, uh, at this, where my uncle was working as a, as a basketball. I started doing, uh, maintenance.
Which was [00:08:00] five days a week at night, working from ten until four in the morning. And then I slowly started going to school, slowly, and then I got, I started, uh, doing dishes, and then I started bussing tables, and then I started doing, uh, serving. And then I became like a supervisor. I got my GED after that.
Then I switched to my other job. That was in like, the spring of like, 99. And I've been, I've been there since.
Huy Do: Life in America was tough for Chris. As an undocumented person, Chris life has always been full of uncertainty. Servers after all rely primarily on tips. So some days he would finish a shift with a few hundred dollars, and other days, barely anything at all.
Everything got even more complicated when his family came into the picture. The first time he had children, they were twins that arrived prematurely, had a slim chance to live, and ultimately only one of them was able to be saved.
Damita Menezes: During that period of his life, Chris would bounce between early morning shifts at the restaurant, [00:09:00] caring for his children at the hospital, and compulsively going on long runs to work off the stress.
Chris was under so much pressure, he developed a thyroid disorder that he spent years recovering from without health insurance or benefits. All this he carried on his shoulders, never knowing if there's ever going to be a moment where he would be forced to leave the country.
Chris: When I got married back in the day, like laws have changed.
Uh, I try and People assume that because you're married to a citizen, you can fix your status, and that wasn't the case with my kids mom. We tried. We couldn't. Back then, it was, would have been really hard on their mom and them if I had, because I was going to probably be sent back to Mexico for maybe a few months, maybe 10 years, maybe, who knows.
So I never took a chance that has made it harder for me and I want to travel. I want to do things. I want to go to school and I want to get some kind of benefits and, you know, and we don't [00:10:00] have it over the pandemic has been very challenging. Again, there are millions, millions of people in my position that had no aid or a little bit of assistance from the ROC from ROC or non profit organizations who help grant with grants.
to help people like me and
Huy Do: many. To further understand the challenges restaurant workers have to confront on a grander scale, we spoke to Dr. Naila Hoffman from DePaul University, who collaborated with ROC Chicago to produce a study called Oral Histories of Restaurant Workers During COVID 19. According to Dr.
Hoffman, there exists a hierarchy between managers, Customers and restaurant workers that often leads to workers facing abuse on many fronts. This power struggle and workplace abuse have only been made worse by the constraints of COVID 19.
Damita Menezes: In addition, the study also found that some restaurants simply lack diversity by not employing people of color.
This hiring discrimination, coupled with other issues such as sexual harassment, made [00:11:00] it difficult for marginalized workers to advance into higher positions or feel comfortable and safe at work. Unfortunately, over the pandemic, discrimination also played a huge role in who got to keep their jobs and who had to be furloughed.
Dr. Naila Hoffman: Disparity and disparity between documented folks and undocumented folks was that, you know, for some people being laid off was an opportunity to rewind, rewind themselves, find themselves, do something different, get out of the rat race of the restaurant business. Well, for other people, it was like they couldn't make ends meet.
They started to get evicted. They, they were not able to put food on the table for their families, let alone send money back home. Home being somewhere outside of the United States, which was the whole communities and whole families and people would count on that money. So there were all kinds of repercussions, like a rippling effect that would occur.
But another thing to keep in mind, that is also, this [00:12:00] disparity is also along racial lines. Because what you have in the United States is that you have the white people working in sort of the front of the house, and then you have people of color working in the back of the house. Now not all people in the front of the house are making good money because hostesses.
Usually make a little one, okay, servers make most and actually bartenders make, uh, and bartenders tend to be, guess what, typically white men.
Damita Menezes: These issues existed prior to the pandemic. As the two of us record this episode, the US is rapidly vaccinating its population and the restaurant industry is preparing itself for a full reopening.
But for the restaurant workers who were abandoned by this industry, coming back isn't so simple. Ismail, for example, plans to continue doing contact tracing and remote teaching. Mm hmm.
Ismael Enriquez: I really miss it a lot. I miss making drinks. I miss talking to people. I, uh, miss, uh, engaging with people. So I do want to do it.
Um, I just got extended another year for the contract, but I [00:13:00] do want to continue teaching the class. Um, so ROC Chicago and I are working on a contract to teach the class either virtually or, um, you know, face to face. We're working on that. So that's something that I'm looking forward to work with ROC Chicago to continue To teach the class and also advocate for, um, for people of color, for women, uh, and for everyone that works in the industry as far as, um, better wages, sick pay, and social justice.
Huy Do: As for Chris, because of his undocumented status, things are a lot more complicated.
Chris: If I leave, I don't know what I'm going to do with it, if I have this, you know, this job, it's not bad because it's, you know, it's in the daytime, we close at 2. 30 every day, open early, so I can actually practice what I like and, you know, see my kids, or, you know.
Just do other things if I wanted to. Going full time music, I, I don't, I don't think it's possible right now. But I, I also think that I need to do something [00:14:00] else other than serving, you know, for just Sometimes I think that I'm almost 48, and it's hard, you know, walking all day and weekends. Again, I have evenings free, but then I know that I have to be up early the next day.
I can't just go party all night and then On the weekends, because I have to work and it's hard too. So I'm thinking for the future, I want to do something different that I can make a living. But for now, this is it.
Huy Do: During our conversation, Chris told us that he has two children, one of which is about to head to college.
We asked Chris if he would ever want his children to work in the restaurant industry, and he says,
Chris: No, I do not.
But also, I don't think it's a bad job. There are up and downs. There are some that you make a lot of money, but you don't, you don't get any benefits, so you have to be smart and put money away.
Where I am, it's not so bad, but it's not enough. Especially when you have a family, when you have to provide for your kids at least.
Damita Menezes: [00:15:00] Ismail and Chris's experiences are examples of a bigger shift taking place in the hospitality industry. As we mentioned earlier, we are hearing a lot of talk about restaurant owners being desperate to find workers willing to come in.
Huy Do: And among these stories, we're hearing a common narrative that restaurant workers are lazy, unmotivated, and willing to sit at home collecting unemployment checks. But the truth is, restaurant work is often difficult and thankless. And after surviving through a deadly pandemic, it's no wonder some workers are asking if it's worth it after all.
To truly understand the nuances behind this issue, we spoke with Jennifer Kim, who is a former chef and restaurant owner, and currently a facilitator working in food.
Jennifer Kim: So A, there is no shortage of folks wanting to work. There is a call for better pay, better treatment, you know, better production of workers.
And if we're not getting that from our employers, then we are finding alternative ways to make money by either working for ourselves or completely [00:16:00] leaving the service industry altogether to pursue other career options instead. Do, you know, offer better protection for us. And there's like this really wrongful societal idea that, you know, service jobs are not quote unquote, not by choice jobs.
There's a stigma that it's fulfilled by people who couldn't really cut their teeth in other industries, or this is, you know, really the only job that they could find, which is. Completely wrong. And the people who work at this industry are extremely skilled at what they do. Um, you know, it requires a level of dexterity, um, social and emotional intelligence, quick problem solving, uh, de escalation skills.
And this is all in conjunction with doing the primary functions of your job, which is, you know, either cooking or serving or running or washing.
Huy Do: At the end of our conversation, Chef Jennifer Kim assured us that we're all witnessing a major hospitality movement led by a worker [00:17:00] collective full of black, brown, and undocumented people.
And supporting these workers on the front lines of this movement are organizations like ROC Chicago. So we asked Osvaldo and his partner Allison what their priorities for the future are, and they said,
Allison Baker: I want people to be able to return to work, but I want them to return to work safely. And I don't want them to have to work for, like, really bad, crappy working conditions where they're being sexually harassed and having to put up with jerks who don't want to put on masks.
Um, so I think having a job with dignity is one of my main priorities for the fall and making sure that restaurant owners are taking responsibility and keeping the restaurant workers safe and paid.
Osvaldo Valenzuela: One of the priority for me now is how we can get benefit for the worker. Number two, provide education. I think education is the most important thing, because when you are not educated, it's the best ally to the discrimination, [00:18:00] because you don't know your rights.
And that's the one thing we start to do, teach the people about their rights, you know, uh, and some laws, some, some federal law is there to protect, uh, so the state law is there for, to protect. If we don't have law, we need to fight for, create new law, but you need to speak up, uh, to, to address the issue.
Damita Menezes: Neither ROC Chicago nor the workers they are supporting are struggling at this alone. As consumers and participants in this industry, all of us have the choice and the ability to get involved. As a final note, here's what Chef Jennifer Kim has to say about how we can all be conscientious consumers.
Jennifer Kim: So that can even be something as small as like understanding where are you putting your money, right?
Like how is that company treating their workers? How are they treating their communities? How are they actually like what are their actionable items? Um to stand behind these like really vague Like big social statements that they're putting out [00:19:00] Um, do they have a tipping model? Do they do away with that because the tipping model is You know, it's completely racist.
Um, do they have full transparency of pay and benefits from owners to managers to hourly workers? Uh, are they trying to get rid of like trivial hierarchy systems? Like, what is their accountability policy? What is their transformative justice policy? You know, like we have to stop being blind consumers, right?
And that, Like we're all consumers, like we can be workers, we can be consumers, like we can be both. But really just understanding that like, we have the collective power to demand accountability and demand change from companies, like that's huge.
Damita Menezes: Thank you for listening to this episode of the Change Agents Podcast.
I'm Damita Menezes.
Narrator: Thank you for joining Change Agents, produced by Juneteenth Productions, funding support from the Chicago [00:20:00] Community Trust and the Field Foundation. Please subscribe to our series on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Google. Spotify or wherever you find podcasts. Do you have a story to share? Join us in the ongoing conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our website, changeagentsthepodcast.com.