forums

OT/ Central Florida

SWFLHurricane

SWFLHurricane

Recruit
Joined
Dec 12, 2014
Messages
30,484
Ranks Dead last of the Top 50 metropolitan areas in the country in Median Wages....and has for many yrs....Another reason why I'm retiring a yr or two early...For the last few yrs I've tried to no end to get my Chefs and Cooks the $$$ they've deserved, but to no avail...Really sad situation even before this Virus crap...I can't count how many times I've tried to get them the wages they deserve, only to be told No....
The restaurant/Culinary trade/s have sunk to a new low...and I've decided not to have to witness it anymore....Sad situation...
 
Advertisement
Best of luck to you in retirement. When I was a kid living in Vegas, I remember when the bottom fell out for hotel/restaurant Managment salaries too. I was waiting tables at the time. It was shortly after 9/11. I think because it’s for the most part an uneducated industry, the labor pool is endless. Doesn’t truly matter if you’re a cook or GM, you’re easily replaceable in that business. There’s always someone willing to take your job for a little less. 🤷‍♂️ The only sure fire way to get paid in that business is to be the owner. Obviously it’s the business with the highest failure rate. For what it’s worth, it’s one of the best hourly jobs around pay wise, that doesn’t require a degree. Enjoy your second life and go Canes! I think all of us have heavy hearts right now for the 13 MILLION people employed in restaurants. It’s never been worse. 😢 These are the scariest and saddest financial times for a huge portion of our nation. Ever
 
Last edited:
Boarcane said:
Best of luck to you in retirement. When I was a kid living in Vegas, I remember when the bottom fell out for hotel/restaurant Managment salaries too. I was waiting tables at the time. It was shortly after 9/11. I think because it’s for the most part an uneducated industry, the labor pool is endless. Doesn’t truly matter if you’re a cook or GM, you’re easily replaceable in that business. There’s always someone willing to take your job for a little less. 🤷‍♂️ The only sure fire way to get paid in that business is to be the owner. Obviously it’s the business with the highest failure rate. For what it’s worth, it’s one of the best hourly jobs around pay wise, that doesn’t require a degree. Enjoy your second life and go Canes! I think all of us have heavy hearts right now for the 13 MILLION people employed in restaurants. It’s never been worse. 😢 These are the scariest and saddest financial times for a huge portion of our nation. Ever
Click to expand...
Hourly wages are for the Line Cooks...Prep Cooks..etc.....Chefs on the other hand (Sous Chefs...Executive Chefs) are pretty much all on Salary, where they want you to work ridiculous hrs....(usually 50-70hr weeks)....
And don't get me started on Culinary Schools...nothing but Paper Mills, and have been for some time...When I left Culinary School in 81....The job market was Booming...and the wages were incredible....A Culinary Degree from any Culinary Institute is almost worthless today...and completely unnecessary.....A far cry from the 80s...and 90s....
 
So, I can't come up and get those free meals you were promising? Can't get a pic with us throwing up dual #1s?

Breh.

Coronavirus has gone too far.
 
Last edited:
caneinorlando said:
Ranks Dead last of the Top 50 metropolitan areas in the country in Median Wages....and has for many yrs....Another reason why I'm retiring a yr or two early...For the last few yrs I've tried to no end to get my Chefs and Cooks the $$$ they've deserved, but to no avail...Really sad situation even before this Virus crap...I can't count how many times I've tried to get them the wages they deserve, only to be told No....
The restaurant/Culinary trade/s have sunk to a new low...and I've decided not to have to witness it anymore....Sad situation...
Click to expand...

Definitely a ****** situation, but best of luck in your retirement and enjoy it. Sounds like you did all you could, and that is nothing to be ashamed of.
 
Terrible situation....My heart goes out to all of them....especially to a young (26yrs old) Sous Chef of mine, who has 2 young kids ( 5yrs and 8 months old) to the point that my GF and myself ran to Publix Sunday, and bought $150 worth of Groceries for him and his family....Kid is an Extremely Hard worker...and a Fantastic person...
 
The pendulum in the work force has shifted completely the other way. Some have said that labor had too much power and was stifling profits in the 70’s. Now it’s profit at all cost no matter what. The corporate philosophy is to do whatever is best for the shareholder no matter the morality or consequence of it. The shareholder and not the employee is what is looked out for first foremost and above all.
The problem is when you say things like this one automatically gets called a communist or anti -capitalist.
 
pacusmc said:
The pendulum in the work force has shifted completely the other way. Some have said that labor had too much power and was stifling profits in the 70’s. Now it’s profit at all cost no matter what. The corporate philosophy is to do whatever is best for the shareholder no matter the morality or consequence of it. The shareholder and not the employee is what is looked out for first foremost and above all.
The problem is when you say things like this one automatically gets called a communist or anti -capitalist.
Click to expand...
Someone will be in here any minute now to call you a socialist simply because you believe working people shouldn’t be destitute.
 
Advertisement
caneinorlando said:
Hourly wages are for the Line Cooks...Prep Cooks..etc.....Chefs on the other hand (Sous Chefs...Executive Chefs) are pretty much all on Salary, where they want you to work ridiculous hrs....(usually 50-70hr weeks)....
And don't get me started on Culinary Schools...nothing but Paper Mills, and have been for some time...When I left Culinary School in 81....The job market was Booming...and the wages were incredible....A Culinary Degree from any Culinary Institute is almost worthless today...and completely unnecessary.....A far cry from the 80s...and 90s....
Click to expand...
FL has long history of low wages in almost all fields. We have that frigging sunshine and everyone wants to be here. If I am not mistaken, we are gaining another electoral vote which breaks our tie for third with NY. We now have more people than every state besides CA and TX but precious little big industry to provide high paying jobs. Always been hard ti make good money down here.

I can't remember when tax code changed about business eating and entertainment deduction but I suspect that didn't help. Trump seems to think changing it back might help the industry. The AOC people will scream despite its potential to help lower income people because it was the left that led the fight to get that change in the never ending war against big corporations.

Me, I am a Henry Ford capitalist: "How can these people afford to buy my cars if I don't pay them enough money!" Nothing boost our economy more than higher wages from the bottom to the middle. High end people invest, everyone else spends.

The good news is, you don't have to move to FL to retire. You're already here. Good luck and stay safe.
 
DTP said:
Someone will be in here any minute now to call you a socialist simply because you believe working people shouldn’t be destitute.
Click to expand...
Remember when you could get a job in this country in a factory and get a living wage, be able to afford a house, have a decent vacation as well as a pension? All with just high school diploma and no student Lon debt?
I don’t remember that sht at all. But my parents do.
Now we have a bunch of Americans living paycheck to paycheck with worthless and overpriced degrees.
 
Unfortunately, it's like that in almost every industry now, CIO. Somewhere along the way, our country lost its moral compass. It decided that its people are widgets and that maximum profit for the owners is all that matters.

All of our manufacturing is done elsewhere now because the money guys determined that $5B in profits wasn't enough to sustain their lifestyles; they needed $10B. So off to China for everything. Now, we can't even make a fcking paper mask here to keep doctors and nurses safe. We have to wait for China and get in bidding wars for a paper mask.

We're bombarded with Walmart commercials telling the world how much they care during the pandemic. Yet, they don't even pay their employees enough to rent a cheap apartment or to take care of their health. This is the model for our country. Amazon employees peeing their pants because they can't take a break for fear of being fired.
 
pacusmc said:
Remember when you could get a job in this country in a factory and get a living wage, be able to afford a house, have a decent vacation as well as a pension? All with just high school diploma and no student Lon debt?
I don’t remember that sht at all. But my parents do.
Now we have a bunch of Americans living paycheck to paycheck with worthless and overpriced degrees.
Click to expand...
In 1978, my parents bought what would end up being the house I grew up in. At the time, my mom was pregnant with me and attending college part time while not working and my father worked a blue collar small engine mechanic job in south Miami. On his modest (for the time) salary, they were able to afford a brand new, 3/2 single family home in Pembroke Pines. It wasn't a mansion but it was a nice family home in a nice family neighborhood. "The American dream" for real. In today's world, they would never have been able to afford a brand new house. They would be struggling to pay rent in a dump apartment somewhere while taking on $50k in student debt. There's no place for the simple honest worker anymore.
 
caneinorlando said:
Ranks Dead last of the Top 50 metropolitan areas in the country in Median Wages....and has for many yrs....Another reason why I'm retiring a yr or two early...For the last few yrs I've tried to no end to get my Chefs and Cooks the $$$ they've deserved, but to no avail...Really sad situation even before this Virus crap...I can't count how many times I've tried to get them the wages they deserve, only to be told No....
The restaurant/Culinary trade/s have sunk to a new low...and I've decided not to have to witness it anymore....Sad situation...
Click to expand...
Most difficult situation ever no doubt. It's one thing to let a bad employee go but to have to let many good ones go due to no fault of their own makes it inconceivable. Hopefully, this entire situation comes to an end very soon and they all can get back to work.

Best of luck in retirement.
 
DTP said:
In 1978, my parents bought what would end up being the house I grew up in. At the time, my mom was pregnant with me and attending college part time while not working and my father worked a blue collar small engine mechanic job in south Miami. On his modest (for the time) salary, they were able to afford a brand new, 3/2 single family home in Pembroke Pines. It wasn't a mansion but it was a nice family home in a nice family neighborhood. "The American dream" for real. In today's world, they would never have been able to afford a brand new house. They would be struggling to pay rent in a dump apartment somewhere while taking on $50k in student debt. There's no place for the simple honest worker anymore.
Click to expand...
My sister is a nurse. In 94 she bought a house in west Kendall as a single mom with 2 daughters. 1800 sqft of brand new constructuring. That house right now is worth 400k. No new nurse is able to afford a new home as a single mom with 2 kids here in sofla especially with the ridiculous school prices and loans. And whoever says well other countries are way worse then your part of the problem. America is the standard we live up to not the other way around.
 
caneinorlando said:
Terrible situation....My heart goes out to all of them....especially to a young (26yrs old) Sous Chef of mine, who has 2 young kids ( 5yrs and 8 months old) to the point that my GF and myself ran to Publix Sunday, and bought $150 worth of Groceries for him and his family....Kid is an Extremely Hard worker...and a Fantastic person...
Click to expand...

Good for you brother, good news is your Sous Chef should have gotten his Between $2200-$3400 dollars today courtesy of uncle Sam.

You may want to suggest he look into investing into his own food truck. I few of them may be out of business so he could pick up a 2nd hand truck on the cheap.

Go Canes
 
Advertisement
You know what they say in Florida they pay you with sunshine, least that's what I heard as a kid - busting hump in manual labor jobs like laying sod in the dog days of summer.

CaneinOlando, does that Worse-than-the-Cartels-Rat, Disney factor in? They do a lot of internships for their chefs in training, but they supposedly have good benifits.

I'm a late in life teacher, teach culinary and I tell the kids, its a **** tough business that takes a lot of years and talent to get to good money. Too many friends had great restaurants for years that eventually went under. The trend has been towards take-out with all the driving services, this will accelerate that. But lots of restaurants are closing down putting a lot of America's workforce unemployed.

Hope the unintended consequences aren't like NAFTA that took away manufacturing in the rust belt and the textile industry down south - that got replaced with meth labs, grow houses and opioid addiction.
 
Silver King said:
You know what they say in Florida they pay you with sunshine, least that's what I heard as a kid - busting hump in manual labor jobs like laying sod in the dog days of summer.

CaneinOlando, does that Worse-than-the-Cartels-Rat, Disney factor in? They do a lot of internships for their chefs in training, but they supposedly have good benifits.

I'm a late in life teacher, teach culinary and I tell the kids, its a **** tough business that takes a lot of years and talent to get to good money. Too many friends had great restaurants for years that eventually went under. The trend has been towards take-out with all the driving services, this will accelerate that. But lots of restaurants are closing down putting a lot of America's workforce unemployed.

Hope the unintended consequences aren't like NAFTA that took away manufacturing in the rust belt and the textile industry down south - that got replaced with meth labs, grow houses and opioid addiction.
Click to expand...
Not sure about Disney....Never have been a Fan of them....Back in the day...Chefs were payed pretty well there....
 
The Franchise said:
Unfortunately, it's like that in almost every industry now, CIO. Somewhere along the way, our country lost its moral compass. It decided that its people are widgets and that maximum profit for the owners is all that matters.

All of our manufacturing is done elsewhere now because the money guys determined that $5B in profits wasn't enough to sustain their lifestyles; they needed $10B. So off to China for everything. Now, we can't even make a fcking paper mask here to keep doctors and nurses safe. We have to wait for China and get in bidding wars for a paper mask.

We're bombarded with Walmart commercials telling the world how much they care during the pandemic. Yet, they don't even pay their employees enough to rent a cheap apartment or to take care of their health. This is the model for our country. Amazon employees peeing their pants because they can't take a break for fear of being fired.
Click to expand...

This should be in your Hall of Fame of posts. In a sea full of one liners and destructions of posters that you surely are proud of...this is one of your best.
 
Back
Top