$2.13 Is the Tipping Point -- America's Food Servers Are Grossly Underpaid

[LittleGirl]

15. I was a waitress when the minimum wage was 2.01 an hour

and I thought a bad night was making less than 10 bucks an hour in tips. Some nights, I'd get two tables and would walk out with 5 bucks in tips after 2 hrs. I hated working those nights. I had to work two jobs for a while when I was 25 and had strep throat for 5 months and couldn't shake it. My doctor told me I needed to quit one of my jobs and the waitress job was where I had health insurance. I quit that one and risked going without health care.

I had a collection of 0 paychecks because once I added all of my sales together and then taxes and insurance was taken out, there was 0 left. Some of my checks were -0 meaning that I owed the company for my health care and taxes. I only had to share my tips when we had big days like Mother's Day, New Year's Eve, Thanksgiving etc.

I just looked up my earnings statement from 1984 when I was 25 and had strep throat for months. My total earnings were
$5,795 and that was working two jobs. That wasn't net, that's what I earned according to Social Security. That was not what I took home. I made 3.35 an hr at the second job.

I was living alone, had a car payment and rent was 400 a month with utilities included. I had a tooth abscess and had to ask my Mother for the 300 dollars for the root canal.

The good ole days!