A Few Steps in Mary's Shoes

4/1/2009 A Few Steps in Mary’s Shoes Rose Harris

What are some of the difficulties of working at an entry-level job as a life-time occupation with the problems of parenthood and family needs that depend upon your low-salaried, no-benefit, non-secure job and what gender problems arise and how are they dealt with when customer satisfaction is a large part of your work, also can a woman work at one of these jobs and raise children on the income and with the demands of a entry-level job?
Mary Somebody works as a waitress, an entry-level job, in Norman, Oklahoma. She has worked in this field of employment “nearly all my life.” She started working at the tender age of fourteen as a waitress in a small restaurant in Norman and has remained for nearly 35 years in this entry-level work, because Mary has only and 8th grade education. Mary may have only an 8th grade education, but she has a master’s understanding of how to deal with the demands and needs of her customers. She states “I have raised two children and now raising two grandchildren as a waitress and it has not been easy.”
As a waitress Mary makes less than $3/hr, making her salaried income less that $5,500/yr., before taxes. The minimum wage for wait staff in Oklahoma is $2.85/hr. This is not close to subsistence wage in today’s economy, but the government apparently thinks that wait staff make-up the shortage of their salaries with tips, the sad truth is that they barely make enough to pay their bills. Most don’t make enough they fill in the gaps with food-stamps and assistance from other family members when that is possible. Other wise they simple do the best they can and frequently have to do without water, gas, or electricity, because they can not pay the bills.
This inability to pay over time only increases the bills to unbelievable amounts.
Mary has to pay a % of every order she fills in taxes. She pays taxes on her “tickets” whether she received tips on them or not. Mary stated that her salary check giver her “enough money to buy gas for my car, so I can come back to work.” Then she laughs and says that her tips in her real pay. Making it necessary for Mary to please each and every customer, it does not matter if the customer is demanding and unreasonable, it is her job to please the customer no matter what.
Waitress work is very hard and demanding work. It is not a difficult job and requires no special skills that can not be easily learned. There is also the problem of being crowed-out of their jobs by younger women who are working to supplement their incomes; example: college students, because waitressing is one of the entry-level jobs that are easy to get because they require little training and have a large turn-over. What make it difficult are the long hours on your feet, the heavy trays of food, the unpleasant customers, the competition for customers, and the totally not sufficient salaries. The lack of respect for waitress is frequently apparent and can be just shy of being degrading. Most long term waitresses are not doing this job as a fill in to another income, but this is the main income, the only income, upon which her family depends.
According to the Living Wage Campaign, Let Justice Roll; the fight for equal pay; at
http://2.ljworld.com/news/feb25/coalition_takes_pay_pay_battle_local/
“…the federal minimum wage (increased) from $5.85 an hour …to $7.25 and hour in 2009” but is increase does not include wait staff. Waitresses salaries will not increase will remain at less than $3.00 per hour plus tips. The problem is tips, there is an illusion that tips bring in more than minimum wage in pay to worker. This may be true in a high priced restaurant where tips are usually large, but in most average restaurants they get low tips usually less than 10% or none at all, because people do not realize that waitresses do not receive minimum wage or they simply don’t care that she is working to support her family.
With all these problems and difficulties, Mary a most amazing woman, has managed not only to raise her children, but to raise grandchildren as well. Without a high school education, without a husband, without much family support, Mary provided for her children and found spiritual support within her church and her belief that God would provide. She has my respect and admiration, because I know that I would not have been able to do what she has done without losing my sanity. I will always be sure to leave an adequate tip for the services provided to me by waitress.
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