Hey all!
Sorry I haven't posted anything yet - to be honest I've been waiting for something 'exciting' to happen around here that would seem worth blogging about - but I'm learning that the excitement of actions is one thing, but the real work of organizing is in the day to day grind and forming relationships with the community.
The bulk of my work this summer has been conducting interviews with restaurant employers in the area as part of a pretty intense research project for ROC-Maine. I've been hitting the rainy streets and meeting Portland's owners and managers, trying to coax an hour of their time for an interview. If you're ever in the area, I've can give you a run down of just about any type of dining we've got here!
It's been really interesting to see both the worker and employer side of workplace concerns. I've had the opportunity to conduct a few focus groups with ROC members about their experiences in the workplace and it's been fascinating to see how their frustrations over wages, healthcare, sick days, health and safety violations, etc - are echoed by employers. There are certainly employers out there who are taking advantage of their workers, but there are also a lot of great employers who are affected by the economics of the industry and feel they can't create a just workplace and keep their doors open. What's so cool about this research is that we're able to identify 'high road' employers - those who are both just employers and successful business owners. We can lift these employers up as a model to the rest of the restaurant community and help pressure low road employers to treat workers well.
I can't believe we only have three weeks left! For these last few weeks, I'll be finishing up some interviews and planning an interfaith breakfast with Mackenzie. She and I are working with different organizations (but our desks are right next to each other in the same office) and we're collaborating to join her interfaith committee with my ROC members and new employer friends in the area. We hope to create an event where we can bring all these different circles together to facilitate some open dialogue and help create networks that will positively impact the Portland faith and restaurant communities. I think it will be a great way to sum up our time here this summer and kick start ROC's work for the fall!
Our offices in downtown Portland!
A little ROC motivation. We love restaurant workers!
My supervisors Tracy and Genet, and I in our classroom where we do new member orientations, bar tending and fine dining training, and ESL courses.
I can't wait to see you all in just a few weeks and hear about the great work you've been up to!
No comments:
Post a Comment