I have too many friends and family who work/have worked in the service industry and too much respect for the work itself not to.
I'm not going to say anything new here but this is a view of my local labor market (having been a vendor to locally owned bars and restaurants and a volunteer with a civic organization).
I'm aware of the staffing struggles. Despite this being a college town, the formerly endless supply of student labor has dried up in recent years. Most of the people I see working in retail and the industry are *not* kids in their first jobs, making spending money, or retirees staying busy "because they want to."
It's people working or an actual living-living.
Yet many of the business owners I know, economic development and local government types, and conservative friends and family are still locked in the mindset that these traditionally low-wage positions are first and starter and "pin money" jobs. And there's also a general unwillingness to adapt to cultural shifts.
I watched a retail job at a downtown store go unfilled for months. The help wanted ad was a 600-point (hyperbole) bullet list of requirements, including a willingness to be available evenings and weekends, and as needed. But no mention of wages (which to me always implies minimum) or anything about what the employer had to offer. I know the employers and they're pretty good people but this ad read almost hostile to me.
I was hoping we were moving toward a broader cultural shift regarding the dignity of work and a living wage but, like many hopes, that one went out the window on election night.
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