Pass the Breadsticks, And Yes I Mean That Literally

So what is up with Olive Garden, Red Lobster and other Darden restaurants saying they need to layoff workers only days after we reelect our President? I mean c’mon, the Affordable Care Act hasn’t even gone into full effect, and the most important provisions, like the exchanges, are months away. So why is Poppa John’s, The Capital Grille and Applebees’s already claiming they can’t afford it?

Let’s see, restaurants already only pay less than $3.00 per hour, making servers rely on the notoriously bad tipping public to make up the shortfall.  So what is their argument? Well, one meme out there claims Poppa John’s owner John Schnatter “lives in a 40,000 square foot castle with a 22 car garage, private golf course, and private lake with a draw bridge.”

So really “Poppa” John? Providing health care is too expensive? I’d think your private golf course would more likely be the drain on your wealth, but then again, I don’t have a private golf course so who knows?

And how about Applebee’s, Red Lobster, the Olive Garden, Yard House, Seasons, Capital Grille, Eddie V’s and Bahama Breeze? What is their excuse?

Could it be they simply don’t like our President? That their Board, CEO, management, whoever, has allowed their politics to flavor their corporate policy? Could conservative whining have actually been allowed to influence behavior? No, say it isn’t so! Not after all the conservative carping we’ve heard for years on how liberals actually run the world and are ruining it. I mean, liberals control “everything” from the intellectual “gotcha” journalists to the invisible never-existent Democratic controlled Congress.

I don’t know about you but this over the top corporate political blackmail is simply too much. I have had it. And it is not like any of these restaurants, with the exception of The Capital Grill, will be hard for us to give up. But that is not enough. Not this time, this time we have to teach them a lesson in just how dumb it is to put political pandering ahead of employee welfare.

So we are working on a couple of ideas, first, I started a page on Facebook for us to keep in touch, find us at “Fed Up With Corporate Bullying, Join Us”. Then, post your suggestions, so far we have members who have suggested a boycott, petition and email campaign. My idea is to ask everyone to go to the named restaurants, ask for a glass of water and a comment card. Write what you think of this policy, tip the server and leave.

I think that sends a powerful message if tens of thousands of us do it. And we can explain to others who are there what we are doing.

So join us. I for one am not going to allow a bunch of corporate suits to take advantage of people so they can have a private golf course.  I am sick of CEO’s making millions and the rest of getting screwed. We voted for change, now let’s make it happen. My next idea is to limit the tax deduction for corporate salaries to average employee pay. And you won’t want to miss that!