Talk of a labor shortage has clogged the airwaves in Washington. But 12 businesses shared the decidedly non-radical way they got around the issue: offering workers better pay.
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On a typical week in pre-pandemic times, about 15 people would walk into one of Patrick Whalen’s casual elegant restaurants seeking a job in the kitchen.
From Jan. 1 to April 15 of this year, a total of 15 people sought back-of-the-house positions at Tempest, Whalen’s highly acclaimed Charleston, South Carolina, seafood restaurant that landed “Best New Restaurant” accolades in USA Today.
“It wasn’t a shortage, it was a drought,” said Whalen, owner and chief executive officer of North Carolina-based 5th Street Group, which operates a handful of restaurants in the Southeast.
Tales of worker scarcity in the food and hospitality business havegrowninvolume in recent weeks as restrictions are loosening and an increasing number of restless, vaccinated patrons are opting to dine out instead of DoorDashing-in.
Restaurant workers say industry is facing a wage shortage, not a labor shortage cnn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Austin 360
Dorothy Garbe sat in her South Austin home in 2019 watching the New Orleans Mardi Gras parade online with her toddler, thinking of all of her friends and family who were joyfully caught up in the annual celebration. The Fear of Missing Out on her favorite time of the year took over.
She jumped online; found the algorithm mystically working in her favor; bought an airline ticket for the price of a decent bottle of wine; and within a few hours, she was standing alongside the parade route that she’d just been watching from 500 miles away.
A native of Mobile, Alabama, the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the United States, Garbe in years past has celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans with her family, who’ve operated a restaurant in the French Quarter for nearly 200 years.
Taylor Rickard of the Law Office of Kent Gipson, for their work in freeing a wrongfully convicted man whose case was championed by WNBA star Maya Moore.
Athena Dickson of Siro Smith Dickson, who won a significant jury verdict for a wrongfully terminated shopping district manager.
Natasha Scruggs of The Scruggs Law Firm, whose work to improve society ranges from an annual law camp to advocating for the voting rights of formerly incarcerated people.
Sarah Bardol of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, who took part in a food distribution program to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.