Monthly Archives: May 2017

Minnesota designers fueling feminist T-shirt craze | Lifestyles … – Post-Bulletin

Posted: May 22, 2017 at 3:38 am

MINNEAPOLIS The messages are strong and sometimes funny. One is feisty, another is in French. But always, they're wearable.

"Feminism: Back by popular demand"

The feminist T-shirt is having a moment. Fueled by people who want to express their support for women's rights at marches but also at work, out for dinner, on Instagram the shirts are growing in popularity and power. Sure, luxury brand Dior is selling a $700 feminist tee, but the trend is rooted in a $30 unisex shirt from the Los Angeles shop Otherwild. "The Future Is Female," the shirt declares.

Minnesota artists and designers are creating some of the more popular designs, using the T-shirts to raise money for nonprofits focused on women's health and equality. They're also gathering around the messages, hosting printing workshops and discussions.

"I think this activism zeitgeist just overlapped with a renewed interest in graphic tees as a medium for artists and designers," said Minneapolis designer Maddy Nye. "Of course, it's only a T-shirt, but it's contributing to a larger paradigm shift in awareness and action."

Protest art and imagery hangs from the walls of Nye's sunny home studio. For her "Matriarch" shirt, Nye used a bulbous typeface that "had its heyday during the environmental and women's movements in the 1970s," she said, "but I like to use it in a contemporary context."

So with just one word, the design asks questions about what's changed since then and what hasn't. Some people have bought Nye's tees for their mothers, women who fought earlier battles.

Angie Toner is "not shy" about being a feminist. But working in the beauty industry a few years back, she had conversation after conversation with women who eschewed that label. It got her thinking about the backlash against the word, the movement. Then she came across a photograph of a woman holding a sign: "Feminism: Back by popular demand."

"I need a sign like that," she decided, if only to hang on her wall.

Toner asked local sign painter Phil Vandervaart to draw the design. "The drawing was so great," she said, "that I was like, you know what? I'd like to move this around."

So she printed it onto T-shirts and bags at Gee Teez, a screen printing shop in south Minneapolis, and put them on Etsy in 2015: "A Grassroots Feminist Fashion Action," she calls it. Orders poured in. Since then, Toner has tried to quit the project a few times, to move on to new things. "But I've kept it going because anytime I try to let it fade out, someone will reach out," she said.

The day after President Donald Trump was elected, Toner gave the shirts away on the street. Orders again filled her inbox.

Politics and protests are inspiring big retailers to print "Feminist" on cheap totes and plastic jewelry. But it's also fueling local artists and small companies' longer-standing projects. My Sister, a Minneapolis-based company that uses "sweatshop-free" clothing to help fight sex trafficking, has been around for two years, raising $93,000 in that time.

Beyond the money, the messages themselves tackle gender inequality, one of trafficking's "root causes," said Mandy Multerer, the company's co-founder and CEO. "Stop Traffick" is the benefit corporation's bestseller, she said, but in recent months, a tank is trending. "It's my body," the shirt reads on one side, outlining the shape of a breast. "It's my choice."

"I think women feel strong when they wear it," Multerer said.

While some sketched their designs long before last year's election, others were spurred by it: A peach T-shirt for sale at Mille, a stunning south Minneapolis boutique with a national online following, grew out of a postelection conversation between owner Michelle LeBlanc and designer Nye.

"After the election, we were kind of devastated," LeBlanc said. "What can we do to be more active? What can we do to give back more?"

Half the proceeds from the "Solidarit fminine" shirt, which translates to "women solidarity," goes to Planned Parenthood. Already, the shop has donated $2,000 to the health care nonprofit. Money from a second T-shirt which quotes Michelle Obama's "Go high" in bubbly typeface goes to DonorsChoose, a nonprofit that allows donors to pick projects in public schools.

See the article here:

Minnesota designers fueling feminist T-shirt craze | Lifestyles ... - Post-Bulletin

Posted in Zeitgeist Movement | Comments Off on Minnesota designers fueling feminist T-shirt craze | Lifestyles … – Post-Bulletin

[ May 20, 2017 ] Taking back the backcountry News and Views – The Rocky Mountain Goat

Posted: at 3:36 am

The regional district also retains responsibility for some backcountry roads, such as the road up to the Beaver River Stockyards, but they put up signs indicating the property is not maintained. Many locals are wondering why the Province cant do the same in other instances? / EVAN MATTHEWS

by EVAN MATTHEWS

Locals are working with their politicians to keep access to the Dore River Valley as backcountry roads are threatened with closures.

Forestry companies originally installed many of the Robson Valleys Forest Service Roads (FSRs) and permit roads, but once companies log and vacate the areas, many roads are decommissioned and the Ministry of Lands, Forests and Natural Resources takes control over the areas.

The Ministry is decommissioning many of the roads, as neither the logging companies nor the Province want the responsibility and/or liability that comes along with controlling them, according to locals.

Sledders, horse riders, cross-country skiers, hikers, farmers, trappers and hunters tourists and locals, alike all use the roads until they are decommissioned.

Theres quite a lot of roads like this, and its not my thinking we need to have all of them open, says Bill Arnold, having lived in the valley and accessed its backcountry since 1958.

But there are a few that should be kept open, and it should be up to residents of the valley as to which ones, he says.

The Dore River Valley is one of the more well-known and used backcountry areas, according to Glen Stanley, who has lived in the valley for 70 years, and is a member of the Ozalenka Alpine Hiking Club.

Now the Dore River Road might be closed for good, if the Province yanks out the bridge crossing the Dore River.

University students from who come as far as Ontario to use the backcountry near McBride.

Up the Dore River Valley, a hiking trail leads to an area with some extremely rare rock formations, according to locals. The rocks are rare in that the only other place scientists have found similar formations are along the ocean floor.

Geology students from Ontario come to study the formations in the summer. In the fall, students from the University of Northern British Columbia come to study the areas receding glaciers.

There is so much opportunity here, says Arnold.

Some said they have always done the majority of their hiking in Jasper, but after seeing it here, theyve said theyll never go (to Jasper) again, he says.

As much of the valley transitions from resource-based economies to a tourism-based economy, the existing infrastructure and the opportunity to develop new infrastructure should be viewed as a positive, and as an attraction to the increasing percentage of the tourist population, according to Arnold.

Its infrastructure providing access to a recreational activity, says Arnold.

We can advertise these areas, but we dare not advertise something we dont have access to, he says.

All who accessOther examples have come forward, too.

Lester Blouin, a McBride resident who helped build many of the roads, says to remove them at this point just doesnt make sense.

Ron Westlund, who lives on Westlund Road, has a family farm and tenure up the Dore River Valley.

Westlund brings his cattle to the valley to graze, but he says if he cant access the area by road then he cant access the area at all. Hed have to find an alternative solution, if such a thing exists, he says.

Arnold and Stanley have been working together to add signs up the Dore Valley, he says, as the signs act as a tourists guide to the waterfalls and glaciers.

Its more interesting up there if you know the names and you have reference, says Stanley.

In listening to her constituents, Regional District Director for Electoral Area H and McBride resident Dannielle Alan has put forward a resolution to the North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA) on this very issue.

The North Central Local Government Association is a non-profit, non-partisan association comprised of all elected officials in North Central B.C., including Valemount and McBride.

The NCLGA is currently developing a list of resolutions on behalf of its members, so the organization can advocate for its members regarding specific issues, in this case, decommissioned roads.

Director Alan says in talking with locals, there is a definite need for access to some of these areas, and people are willing to work with government to come up with viable solutions.

Ideally, the Province would consult with communities to identify key access roads, preferably before they are decommissioned, and would work with communities, industry and stakeholder groups to put together a maintenance plan to keep these roads accessible to the degree mutually agreed upon, says Alan.

For some roads it may mean foot and ATV traffic only, for others by motor vehicle. It depends on the circumstance, she says, adding it would be up to the Province to set the parameters of the conversation.

Liability, again, makes the situation more difficult, Alan noted.

Now, in what feels like a power struggle between locals and the province, Arnold says locals are working in clarifying the record.

Were not interested in controlling the roads or the process, says Arnold.

Were just interested in keeping some of them open.

Read the rest here:

[ May 20, 2017 ] Taking back the backcountry News and Views - The Rocky Mountain Goat

Posted in Resource Based Economy | Comments Off on [ May 20, 2017 ] Taking back the backcountry News and Views – The Rocky Mountain Goat

Basic Income Guarantee: Can it be a sustainable solution …

Posted: at 3:35 am

Will the numbers from Ontario's Basic Income pilot add up to people being able to lift themselves out of poverty?

By Erin Walters, Health Promoter and Educator at Quest CHC, St. Catharines

Across Ontarios political spectrum, support is growing for a Basic Income Guarantee. The idea isnt a new one: Mincome has roots in the policies of the Manitoba NDP in the 1970s. Now, the concept has backing from a former Canadian senator, a former Canadian bank CEO, the World Economic Forum, and now the Ontario government, which is launching a pilot project in three communities across the province.

The reasons for the growing support are many.

For each of the current provincial and federal income support programs available to Ontarians, conditions are attached, which means that many people fall through the cracks. For those who do qualify for social assistance, the amount of financial support provided makes it hard to live a dignified life. As one of many Health Promoters working in Community Health Centres across Ontario, I witness first-hand the negative effects of these challenges on peoples overall health and wellbeing.

An Ontario Works recipient receives $706 per month, which often isnt nearly enough to cover basic needs such as housing, food, clothing, medications, and transportation. People are forced to make choices about whether to pay the electricity bill or buy a bus pass, or to buy nutritious food or allow their child to attend a class fieldtrip. These are heartbreaking decisions that limit a persons ability to fully participate in life, and ultimately harm their chances of leaving poverty and its ill effects on health -- behind.

With a volatile labour market that has seen a rise in precarious employment and job losses due to automation, more people than ever are struggling to attain income security. Thats why now is the time for changes to Ontarios social assistance system. Can a Basic Income Guarantee be part of the solution?

Basic Income Pilot

Radically re-thinking the way in which social assistance is delivered to the people who need it could be an effective way not only to address shortcomings of the current system, but also might be a way to reduce stigma related to income assistance, encouraging more participation in the labour market and community life overall.

That brings us to Ontarios Basic Income pilot project.

The pilot project will replace the current Ontario Works (OW) program and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) with one that: provides an adequate amount of income every month to ensure all basic needs are covered; requires less monitoring as money is provided without conditions; and distributes income support automatically without a difficult application process. This income support, which is delivered through a negative income tax model, would be available to individuals whose income falls below a certain threshold, whether or not they are currently receiving OW or ODSP.

On April 24, the provincial government released additional information regarding the design of the pilot project based on feedback from 35,000 people. The pilot will randomly invite individuals 18-64 years of age living on a low income from Hamilton, Brantford, Brant County; Thunder Bay and the surrounding area; and Lindsay to participate in the pilot.

Participants will receive up to $16,989 per year for a single person, or $24,027 per year for a couple. People with a disability will receive an additional $6,000 per year. Importantly, people on social assistance who are chosen to participate wont lose their drug and dental benefits.

Policy Discussions and Concerns

Policy circles have been abuzz since the pilot was first announced in 2016. Countless social policy think tanks, including the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Mowat Centre, and Maytree released reports discussing important considerations about the implementation of a Basic Income program. Other organizations, including AOHC, have released official statements on the topic (AOHCs official statement can be found here in English or French.) And while it remains clear there is broad support for the idea, there are reservations about potential design elements and concerns that the pilot project may postpone other necessary poverty reduction actions, such as raising social assistance rates, increasing the minimum wage, and investing in new affordable housing. Another key question will be whether $16,989 - 75 percent of the Low Income Measure (LIM) - will be enough for individuals to lift themselves above the poverty line.

For now, proponents of poverty reduction and health equity must await the Ontario pilot projects full launch this spring and be prepared to monitor its roll out and progress carefully. Since there are AOHC member centres in Thunder Bay, Hamilton/Brantford and Lindsay, its our hope that well get to see what the benefits can be for a person when a Basic Income Guarantee is combined with the kind of wraparound, interprofessional, team-based services and programs that my colleagues and I deliver across the province every day. While those of us who work on the frontlines of community-governed primary health care know the significance of income as a determinant of health, we also know that the intersection of income and other social determinants such as education, race, gender and sexual orientation, housing or social support can have profound impacts that go well beyond what a boost to income alone can address.

As a Health Promoter, Im optimistic and I look forward to the coming years because I see a Basic Income Guarantee as an incredible opportunity to go from the constant uphill battle of trying to help people beat the odds to attain the best possible health and wellbeing, to permanently changing the odds for all people affected by poverty.

Read more here:

Basic Income Guarantee: Can it be a sustainable solution ...

Posted in Basic Income Guarantee | Comments Off on Basic Income Guarantee: Can it be a sustainable solution …

Greens to unveil plans for universal basic income in manifesto launch – The Guardian

Posted: at 3:35 am

The Greens are seen as trying to outflank Labour on the left with a number of their policies. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

People could get a universal basic income and a shorter working week under plans proposed by the Green party on Monday.

Launching the manifesto, Caroline Lucas, the partys co-leader, said the proposals were big, bold ideas to create a confident and caring country we can all be proud of.

The partys flagship pledges, called their green guarantee, would reverse the privatisation of the NHS and fill the funding gap in the health service, paid for partly by scrapping the UKs Trident nuclear deterrent.

It would also promise another referendum when Britain strikes its Brexit deal and guarantee EU citizens rights.

But its most radical proposals are a promise to work towards the introduction of a universal basic income - a flat rate paid to everyone whether or not they are in work.

A universal basic income is regarded by some on the left as a response to the robotisation of the workforce, which it is feared could replace lower-skilled jobs and exacerbate inequality

The Greens said the proposal would initially take the form of a government-sponsored pilot scheme and the phasing in a of a shorter working week.

Their programme amounts to an attempt to outflank Labour on the left, promising policies that have been explored by Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell that did not end up in their manifesto.

McDonnell has expressed an interest in a universal basic income but it was not contained in Labours manifesto. Corbyn is also opposed to renewing Trident but the party is officially committed to the nuclear deterrent.

And with Labour having promised to scrap university tuition fees if elected, the Greens last week went one step further, with a pledge to write off all existing student loan debts, at a cost of more than 14bn over the next parliament.

Lucas, who is seeking re-election in Brighton Pavilion as the UKs only Green MP, said the manifest was about protecting our environment for our children and grandchildren [and] saving our NHS from crisis and ridding it of private sector profiteering.

She added: It means giving people a proper say on the Brexit deal, not shutting them out of the process. And it means exploring changes to our economy to make it fairer and fit for the future.

Jonathan Bartley, who shares the leadership with Lucas, added: By voting Green on 8 June, people can elect MPs who will always fight their corner, and push for the major changes we need to make this country a world leader, rather than the little Britain envisioned by the Tories.

We are unapologetic in fighting to remain close to Europe, and in defending free movement as a wonderful gift to my generation that is being robbed from the next. We will always defend our public services, stand up for our NHS and push for bold changes so our economy delivers on fairness and on pioneering new technology.

Go here to read the rest:

Greens to unveil plans for universal basic income in manifesto launch - The Guardian

Posted in Basic Income Guarantee | Comments Off on Greens to unveil plans for universal basic income in manifesto launch – The Guardian

Income guarantee program must include First Nations: Report – The North Bay Nugget

Posted: at 3:35 am

PostMedia

A new report from the Northern Policy Institute warns that implementation of a basic income guarantee program for Ontario may have unforeseen negative consequences for First Nations communities without pilot-testing, sustained government commitment, and significant engagement with First Nations.

As the province moves ahead with its BIG pilot, NPI has released the first report in its BIG series, Basic Income Guarantee and First Nations: Cautions for Implementation, by Gayle Broad and Jessica Nadjiwon-Smith, who have identified several key areas of concern.

According to Broad and Nadjiwon-Smith, First Nations communities differ substantially from non-Indigenous municipalities, with exceedingly diverse histories, cultures, and contexts including vastly differing geographies, and remote access to urban centres and services. The report adds that Indigenous peoples in Ontario face different challenges in addressing social, economic and health indicators.

Due to complexities facing First Nations, the face of poverty in these communities differs substantially from that in other municipalities and rural communities in Ontario, Broad said in a statement. Because of this, it is unclear whether First Nations will gain the same benefits from a BIG as other communities in the province might.

Beyond unique challenges related to poverty, the report identifies social assistance administration and First Nations autonomy as other factors for consideration, arguing the elimination of local administration could lead to a loss of culturally appropriate service provision and limit the range of services available for First Nations community members.

The report also cautions that Canadian governments historically have underfunded and sometimes undermined programs in First Nations, and questions what evidence supports the likelihood that the implementation of a BIG would be any different.

Broad and Nadjiwon-Smith conclude these concerns may only be definitively answered through pilot-site testing, with a comprehensive evaluation component attached, and proper discussion and engagement with First Nations, cautioning such a commitment should not be extended and then withdrawn.

Implementing a basic income guarantee in communities that differ so much from other Ontario municipalities requires thoughtful consideration and a great deal of insight that can only be provided through meaningful engagement with First Nations communities themselves, Broad said.

The paper is the first of a series that will explore the various topics presented at NPIs Basic Income Guarantee conference in October 2016. Report topics include food security issues, potential models for a BIG pilot, tax implications, and the potential impact on social innovators.

To view presentations from the NPIs BIG conference and explore comments and feedback from participants, visit http://www.northernpolicy.ca/big.

Go here to see the original:

Income guarantee program must include First Nations: Report - The North Bay Nugget

Posted in Basic Income Guarantee | Comments Off on Income guarantee program must include First Nations: Report – The North Bay Nugget

Retail Automation: Nearly Half of all Retail Jobs Could Be Lost … – Fortune

Posted: at 3:35 am

Between 6 million and 7.5 million retail industry jobs are vulnerable to automation within ten years, according to an exhaustive study released this week.

The report, by Cornerstone Capital Group, concluded that the jobs of as many as 47% of the 16 million Americans currently working in retail could be made redundant by highly-automated e-commerce and other innovations. In-store roles most vulnerable to automation include cashiers and order clerks while salespeople and freight handlers are slightly less exposed.

Jobs that require a personal touch like store greeters would also be insulated from direct replacement by robots or apps. But increasing competitive pressure could still make such jobs too expensive for stores to justify.

Get Data Sheet , Fortunes technology newsletter.

Cornerstones study points out that while sales roles are just as likely to be filled by women as men, 73% of retail cashiers are womenand that job is considered one of the most easily automatable in the entire economy. Amazon , for instance, is developing a convenience store format called Amazon Go that has no cashiers. The plan is for sensors and intelligent vision to automatically detect what customers have in their carts and then bill them when they walk out the door.

But details are still being kept under wraps, and in March, Amazon delayed the store's opening while it hones the technology.

Cornerstone lays out two strategies retailers can take in dealing with the shifting landscapewhat could be termed as the low road and the high road. Lower-end retailers can use technology to increase convenience and volume, while high-end shops should focus on technology that enhances the customer experience. If more retailers ultimately focus on using technology to support highly skilled workers and enhance service, it may mean fewer layoffs and even higher pay for staffers.

For more about Walmart , watch :

Thats essentially the split that strategy expert Howard Yu laid out in a recent piece for Fortune , citing the Apple Stores amazing customer service and mobile card-swipe machines as an example of the high-end approach most likely to preserve jobs. But the recent struggles of department stores like Macys, which have long focused on customer experience and good service, calls into question just how broadly applicable that model might be.

Meanwhile, stores at the lower end of the market are more likely to use technology to eliminate workers, with serious consequences for smaller U.S. cities. Wal-Mart , for instance, has a 25% share of the retail market in U.S. cities with populations under 500,000, suggesting major consequences if it automated a high proportion of jobs.

And of course, predictions about retail automation have fallen short before. Grocery stores began aggressively pursuing self-checkout in the early 2000s, but the technology proved unwieldy and frustrating for customers. Fifteen years later, self-checkout takes up a few lanes at most in any store.

See the original post here:

Retail Automation: Nearly Half of all Retail Jobs Could Be Lost ... - Fortune

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on Retail Automation: Nearly Half of all Retail Jobs Could Be Lost … – Fortune

Automation actually improves the economy, tech insider says – New York Post

Posted: at 3:35 am

Robots really mean skyrocketing economic growth and higher-paid jobs, a new think-tank report reveals.

In a slap in the face to conventional wisdom, Robert Atkinson, president of the DC nonprofit Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), and lead author of False Alarmism: Technological Disruption and the US Labor Market, 1850-2015, told The Post the US economy could dig itself out of economic malaise and quintuple US growth from the present anemic 1 percent or so.

And, he added, it could wipe out the almost $20 trillion in staggering federal debt at the same time.

The answer is in the steely embrace of anonymous robots and advanced automation, Atkinson said, explaining, Technology is the big fix.

Just how big? Every 1 percent increase in US productivity brings $50 billion extra to the federal treasury, according to Atkinsons calculations. By that measure, a 10 percent jump in productivity translates into a half-trillion dollars annually.

I agree with President Trump productivity growth is an important component of controlling our debt, Atkinson said. Yes, we are going to have to raise taxes; yes, we are going to have deal with entitlements. But it is an easier nut to swallow if you raise productivity through technology.

Tech-driven innovations have sadly eliminated major categories of jobs and disrupted societies throughout history, Atkinson said. In the 1960s, for example, the US economy lost 40 percent of its telephone operators. However, technology ultimately created many more jobs elsewhere at higher wages, thanks to streamlined activities and more goods and services at lower prices, the ITIF says.

In a doomsday study, the Bank of England estimates that 47 percent of all US jobs may well be replaced by technology in the coming 15 years, eliminating 80 million positions.

Contrary to the doomsayers, Atkinson said tech disruption has abruptly slowed, asserting that it is dismantling fewer jobs today than in any decade since World War II. People see Uber disrupting the taxi market, robots assembling cars and artificial intelligence reviewing legal documents, and they assume no occupation is safe, Atkinson said. But when you look, you find we are actually in a period of relative tranquility.

Read this article:

Automation actually improves the economy, tech insider says - New York Post

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on Automation actually improves the economy, tech insider says – New York Post

Goodbye, Card Sound Road toll booths. Automation is on the way – Miami Herald

Posted: at 3:35 am


Miami Herald
Goodbye, Card Sound Road toll booths. Automation is on the way
Miami Herald
A $2 million project to convert the Card Sound Road toll booths in North Key Largo into an automated system could break ground Aug. 1. The Monroe County Commission last week approved a $1.79 million construction contract, along with an $263,700 ...

Excerpt from:

Goodbye, Card Sound Road toll booths. Automation is on the way - Miami Herald

Posted in Automation | Comments Off on Goodbye, Card Sound Road toll booths. Automation is on the way – Miami Herald

No tip for you: restaurants move toward hospitality-included menus – The Guardian

Posted: at 3:34 am

The tipping point: Getting rid of gratuities has proved tough in US restaurants Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Hmmm, was the considered opinion of a member of the wait staff at Manhattans Union Square Cafe last week when asked about working for a set wage, not tips. Its good to know how much is coming in, the staff member later reconsidered. Not so good if you need to make cash fast.

A little over 18 months ago, restaurateur Danny Meyer announced that the famed cafe as well as other full-service restaurants in Meyers Union Square Hospitality Group would phase out tipping, ending a practice that Meyer said has roots in slavery. The news sparked a national discussion on tipping in a country where gratuities have embedded themselves in the national culture.

To date, seven of Meyers 14 restaurants have made the transition to hospitality-included. But in the restaurant business at large, the change has yet to be widely adopted, challenging, as it does, restaurant economics and deeply entrenched conventions of hospitality and service in the US.

Others describe hospitality-included as a well-meaning effort to address longstanding inequalities, including wage disparities between kitchen staff and servers but say it adds a level of bureaucracy and bookkeeping to businesses already struggling under increasing real estate and wage costs.

Efforts to rid the industry of its tipping habit have been further complicated by the impending raises in minimum wage in many states, including New York, following a campaign fueled primarily by service industry workers such as food servers. Many restaurants are waiting to see how that plays out on the industrys stressed economics.

We found that tipping stood in the way of being able to reward our backhouse staff and our managers, says Union Squares chief restaurant officer, Sabato Sagaria. If we eliminate tipping we can compensate all our workers.

To accommodate the transition, the group immediately put up prices by 25%, a shock that restaurants less well-supported by the expense account trade. Sagaria says hospitality-included costs brings the restaurant business into line with other, tip-dependent businesses that been transformed.

People have seen the convenience with the all-inclusive pricing model of Uber and some of the food-delivery services, Sagaria says. Plus customers dont have to dust off their high school math.

In addition, says Sagaria, restaurants and wait staff no longer need to read the appreciation of their performance through tips the group invites diners to direct their comments directly on a card provided with the check.

Last week, customers said they did not object to hospitality-included since it took the mathematical guesswork out of paying the check but, as veterans of waiting tables, recalled the disappointment of being tipped badly.

Tori Campbell, a publishing executive who previously worked as a waitress, said it was shameful that the restaurant jobs often pay barely enough for workers to survive in a city such as New York. But wait staff, she said, are often doing it as a means to and end, while the lower paid kitchen staff are often learning a career trade, so the inequalities are in some senses justifiable. Its the system that works but unless youve been in it, its hard to understand, she said.

Rival managers say that while everyone would like to pay their staff more, killing the tip doesnt work under the current model.

Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin told the Daily Meal last year that the vast majority of my employees prefer tipping and therefore I will not change the policy. The tipping policy is beneficial to everyone in my opinion, including waiters, customers, and owners. Only the government benefits from no tipping.

Other well-known chefs have experimented with hospitality-included, including New York stars Gabriel Stulman at Fedora and Tom Colicchio at Craft, only to reverse course. Stulman explained to Eater New York hed have to raise prices or cut wages, neither of which he felt comfortable doing.

Sagaria concedes that the transition from a tipping to no-tip model can be fraught.

There are a lot of subtle nuances that come into play. It requires a big shift, new learning and musculature to operate. But we see the benefits in the long term for our employees, guests and stakeholders. Even the timing makes a difference.

In addition to a set hourly wage, the Union Square group brought in a revenue-share program thats distributed to the team according to their position and hours worked. In the past, only the wait staff was incentivised by sales. This way, everyone is ... one team, one goal, and everyone working together to achieve that.

Another restaurant that has been successful with hospitality included is Dirt Candy on New Yorks Lower East Side.

Its tough to go against the flow this way, but its the only way to pay my staff a fair wage, says chef and owner Amanda Cohen, who says she decided to get rid of tipping because she needed to pay her back of house higher wages to keep them.

Theres a real staffing crisis in New York with kitchen positions, and I wanted to make sure as many people as possible moved with me and stuck around for a long time so I wanted to pay a better wage.

Last week, Cohen described tipping as a scam that New York restaurant owners have developed over the years to hide their actual costs by tacking on this surcharge to their customers and making it seem voluntary but, lets face it, whos the jerk who doesnt tip when they eat out?

At Dirt Candy, pay for front of house staff starts at $25/hour, and back of house at $15/hour. Cohen concedes that her servers will never have the excitement of getting a $400 tip from a drunk customer again but nor will they have the disappointment of leaving with $50 during a snowstorm when few customers came in.

In terms of how its working out, I think everyone who actually is affected by it is doing great. My staff loves it, and I have much less turnover than most restaurants my size. And my customers like knowing that the people serving them and making their food are being paid a living wage.

At the same time, Cohen has received an education in how emotive the tipping debate can be. Shes experienced staff who dont want to interview because they view it as a scam and customers who view it through the lens of religious intolerance.

Cohen says shes received an extraordinary quantity of hate email and fake reviews trashing us because of what they perceive as abuse of my staff because I eliminated tipping. Its been eye-opening to see how much of this hatred been antisemitic.

The issues around tipping and service may not be resolved anytime soon, but Dirt Candy hostess Jackie Carson-Aponte says she is grateful for a regular wage. Its a different pace. It may be less exciting because its more like a salary but ultimately it helps to create stability.

Read more:

No tip for you: restaurants move toward hospitality-included menus - The Guardian

Posted in Wage Slavery | Comments Off on No tip for you: restaurants move toward hospitality-included menus – The Guardian

Good Luck, Mr. President? – Sunshine State News

Posted: at 3:34 am

So the pope, the president, a Muslim and a Jew walk into a bar ...

Surely, I'm not the only one to tighten the frame around President Trump's wildly ironic and ambitious foreign odyssey to promote "tolerance." Which, let's face it, would seem to be the joke. The most candidly intolerant president in history set out Friday on a Napoleonic expedition not to conquer the world but to advance a cause he apparently embraced yesterday.

Meanwhile, the many possible outcomes -- from monstrous, Earth-tilting gaffes to World Peace In Our Time (and lots in between) -- are riveting to consider. And, all hinges on the performance of the most unpredictable, unlikely emissary ever to cross the threshold of Air Force One.

That's my inner cynic speaking. My inner Pollyanna has a different take: Maybe he has had a Damascus moment and fallen from his high horse. He had a brutal week, to be sure. Maybe he has received grace, discovered humility, found the key to his cloistered empathy and is embarking upon a historic pilgrimage of repentance and reconciliation.

While these two forces wage war in my head and the media take bets on Trump's first faux pas, I'll give the president's advisers this: brilliant idea. During his nine-day trip, Trump is touching base with three of the world's largest religions, visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel and Vatican City. He's also scheduled to attend a NATO meeting in Brussels and a G-7 conference in Sicily. His itinerary is almost too large to grasp, but grandiosity demands grand plans. And, really, what could possibly go wrong?

The president's mission includes advancing religious unity and beseeching other nations to join the United States in ending religious persecution and human trafficking, as well as putting an end to the Islamic State. The agenda is complicated by more than a few confounding factors. Trump meets with NATO after having questioned its legitimacy. And Saudi Arabia, ostensibly our ally, is a chief funding source and exporter of Wahhabism, Islam's most virulent and fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. Speaking around such inconsistencies is tough turf even for the most experienced diplomats.

Most fascinating and compelling, to me at least, is the slated May 24 meeting between Trump and Pope Francis, the figureheads of the secular and spiritual worlds. The two men have been exchanging potshots since before Trump's election, with Francis criticizing Trump's immigration policy, his attempted travel ban and The Wall. He also suggested that Trump isn't very Christian, which prompted Trump to fire back that no one should question another's religious belief.

With their meeting on the horizon, Francis has said he always tries to find "doors that are at least a little bit open." Maybe if Trump sticks to script, he'll be on solid ground with the topics he intends to discuss.

The U.S. has long recognized that where religious freedom is restricted, terrorism and extremism flourish and minorities suffer. And Francis has made human trafficking, which he has called "a plague on the body of contemporary humanity," one of his key issues. There are today more people living in slavery than at any other time in history, with estimates as high as 27 million.

Trump can make the case that not only is slavery evil in its own right but human trafficking is intricately interwoven with terrorism and religious persecution. This overlap can be seen in the persecution of religious minorities in the Middle East, such as the Islamic State's Palm Sunday slaughter of more than 40 Coptic Christians in Egypt during worship services. Other intersections are seen in the theology of rape practiced by members of the Islamic State, who, in between prayers, have sexually assaulted women and young girls from the Yazidi community as religious ritual.

In other examples of slavery, just from Myanmar: Ethnic Rakhine civilians have been forced by the army to dig graves, porter guns and perform other manual labor. Child soldiers are drafted in to military and forced labor. Ethnic Kachin women are trafficked to China, where they're forced into marriage or work.

One needn't be aligned with Catholic theology to recognize the inherent evil of such practices. One only needs to be human. Out of respect for the purposes of Trump's trip, we should only wish the president godspeed and, if you believe in a higher power, lend him your prayers.

And may your cynic and your Pollyanna make peace.

Kathleen Parker's email address iskathleenparker@washpost.com.

(c) 2017, Washington Post Writers Group

Link:

Good Luck, Mr. President? - Sunshine State News

Posted in Wage Slavery | Comments Off on Good Luck, Mr. President? – Sunshine State News