In the Fall of 2022, the Union of Southern Service Workers announced its existence in South Carolina. The organization traces itself back to Raise Up (i.e., the Southern arm of the SEIU’s Fight for $15 initiative). Yet, of course, the USSW bills itself as a grassroots effort “built by and for low-wage workers” while it’s actually an affiliate of a deep-pocketed union.
This is not abnormal in and of itself. Starbucks Workers United is also an affiliate of SEIU. Still, when it comes to the USSW, it’s clear that the umbrella union is pumping up the newcomer as part of a long-term game even more complicated than organizing baristas.
That is to say; the SEIU has invested astronomical funding, annually since 2014 or earlier, into an attempt to organize fast food workers. In 2015, Reuters even seemed puzzled at how these resources (“tens of millions of dollars”) had led to zero fast food workers joining the SEIU, which seemed to have an “endgame unclear.”
Oh, how labor times have changed. That endgame is becoming more apparent.
Fast forward to 2023: The SEIU succeeded with a publicized campaign to raise fast-food wages to $20 per hour in the labor laboratory in California. Currently, where the cost of living is lower across the nation, USSW members have recently walked out and rallied for a $25 per hour wage for all Waffle House workers, from cooks to servers. Considering that the latter group makes around $2 per hour before tips, this request is an attention grabber and likely meant as such.
To that end, Waffle House staffers circulated a petition and gathered 13,000+ signatures “from both workers and community members” who believe that $25/hour is feasible.
Some of the other “asks” sound much more realistic: Workers want 24/7 security to protect them against the notorious Waffle House customer violence – viral videos regularly show brawls inside the restaurant that is favored by drunken customers looking for greasy food – and an end to alleged mandatory per-shift meal deductions that show up on workers’ pay stubs whether they eat the food or not.
Progressive publication Truthout recently spoke with a USSW activist who considers Waffle House to be “kind of like our white whale, I guess you could say.” Whether or not that white whale is attainable, tossing that $25 figure out there lends the impression that unions will not stop fighting for workers.
UAW President Shawn Fain would appreciate this type of “audacious” demand. And given his automotive union’s heavy focus on grad student workers, he would also approve of the USSW establishing itself as a cross-sector organization. That distinction makes it much easier for workers in high-turnover industries – including fast food, retail, hospitality, and home health care – to unionize despite job hopping. Like the NLRB’s recent Cemex ruling, this is an effort to make unionizing much faster.
With that said, the USSW has many other targets, and members are even trying to organize Panera Bread workers through social media forum postings. Yet if the USSW can succeed at organizing food service workers throughout Southern states that are also subject to Right-to-Work laws, that would be the sweet taste of victory any union would love to achieve.
So, that’s the scoop from the labor frontlines! It’s a mixed bag of delays, legal dramas, and government nudges – never a dull moment in labor relations. Stay tuned for more updates – seeing what's brewing next in this arena is always interesting!
