NORTHAMPTON — A recent report detailing poor working conditions in Northampton restaurants has sparked a heated debate in the city about what it means to be a responsible business owner, and the pressures businesses face as costs continue to rise.
The study, conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Labor Center and Pioneer Valley Workers Center, found that 78 percent of the 235 workers they surveyed do not make a living wage — a wage high enough to meet a basic standard of living as a single person without children. In Northampton, this amounts $13.18 per hour, according to Living Wage Western Mass.
The study focused on Northampton because of its high density of restaurants and reputation as a “tourist hub,” said UMass professor Clare Hammonds, lead author on the study.
According to the study, restaurant work in Northampton is associated with few benefits: 94 percent reported not receiving health insurance from an employer, and 95 percent said they did not have access to paid sick time or vacation time. Among violations of working conditions, the study found that 65 percent reported never receiving overtime pay and 22 percent said they had worked off the clock, without pay, in the past year.
Employees surveyed also reported issues with scheduling and several health risks, with 94 percent stating that they did not receive health and safety training from an employer, and 55 percent reporting having been burned at work.
“There are really some terrific employers in Northampton and it’s not a totally negative picture,” Hammonds said. “These things are happening and we should talk about some solutions.”
Northampton Brewery general manager Abby Martin said she was shocked by some of the report’s findings, as her experience with restaurant work locally has been overwhelmingly positive.
Martin, 36, of Easthampton, started working at the restaurant 14 years ago as a server and bartender and has since worked her way up. She said she is proud of the way the Brewery treats its staff, noting that all full-time employees get health insurance, paid sick leave and vacation time.
The starting wage for servers at the Brewery is the minimum service rate of $3.35 an hour plus tips, while it varies in the kitchen, she said, declining to provide specific figures. She said she and the restaurant’s owner are talking about how they can pay everyone a living wage.
If restaurants moved away from a tip model, Martin said, she would worry about finding enough people to staff a busy night shift: “If you can make the same working Monday lunch, who’s going to want to work Saturday night?”
Spoleto sous chef Robert Martinez, 31, of Holyoke, said overall he’s happy with the career he’s been able to make in the restaurant industry, noting that some things, like “crazy hours,” are just part of the business.
“At certain times I feel like my hard work was overlooked, but for the most part I came a long way,” he said.
After graduating from Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in 2003, Martinez said he had hoped to continue with school but decided to start working to support his daughter instead. He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up, he said, and now makes $15 an hour. He said he often works shifts of at least 10 hours, and is paid time and a half for overtime. Martinez said he does not get health insurance through his employer but has a plan from MassHealth.
He said he recognized that restaurateurs face rising costs, and sees the business as a cycle: “We have to make the money, so he can make money, so we can make money.”
Jeremiah Micka, owner of Platform Sports Bar and the other businesses in Northampton’s Union Station building, said the perception that restaurant owners make a ton of money is false.
“I know everyone thinks we’re sitting on a pot of gold, but that’s not true,” Micka said. “Fifty percent of employees here make more than I do.”
Micka said his dishwashers make $10.50 an hour, but servers and bartenders “are making much more than that on average.” He said taxes, insurance, and debt service eat up much of his income.
“I’m surprised that Northampton restaurant owners and Northampton in general are singled out in this,” Micka said. “It’s borderline slanderous.”
Micka said that while he’s sure there are employees out there who have had it tough, he feels the restaurant owners of Northampton are under undue fire.
“It’s pretty frustrating, especially since we’re doing the right thing,” Micka said.
In the days since the report was presented in the City Council chambers, Micka said he’s been unable to locate a copy of it. “We’re the ones getting beat up over this and we can’t even get a copy,” he said.
Micka, who started out in the business by working as a dishwasher in the same building he now owns, said concerns about safety seem to him to be over the top. He said cuts and burns can happen in any kitchen, whether at home or commercial.
Micka said it’s been a tough news week, between restaurant owners getting beat up in the media and the City Council voting in increased water and sewer rates that, for his business, add up to $5,000 to $6,000 more a year.
“It’s becoming a hostile environment,” Micka said. “And without restaurants in Northampton the town falters.”
Micka said even though there may be employers in town who do not treat employees the way they should, to generalize that way is damaging both in terms of potential loss in downtown business — if customers suspect business owners in Northampton are taking advantage, they may go eat in Easthampton instead — and personally.
“It’s a personal hit to me,” he said. “I’m asking for a fair shake, especially after I put my heart, soul and every dime I have into this.”
Jeff Igneri, who owns Local Burger, said he thinks he’s pretty fair to his staff, and said his restaurant is lucky because it’s often busy.
The burger joint, which opened seven years ago, employs 17 people in Northampton, and many have been with the restaurant for several years, he said. It pays tipped employees a base rate of $5 to $7 an hour, kitchen staff between $10 and $14 an hour, and has several salaried employees. He said the restaurant offers vacation time and sick time, and has offered health insurance but no one has taken him up on it. A 401(k) plan is also in the works, he said.
“You try to pay a good wage, you want to be competitive, you want to keep people happy,” he said.
But it’s more complicated than it seems, he said, noting that businesses have to think about the cost of unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation, as well as myriad taxes and fees — “those little things that people don’t realize.” The restaurant’s Dumpster rate, for instance, rose from $95 a month to $200 a month in the past year, he said. And they have to pay a $5 gas fee for each delivery, which he said adds up.
“People ask: How can you charge $5.99 for a burger? It’s a burger,” he said. “But if you’ve been to the grocery store recently you know how much beef is.”
And the cost of produce fluctuates weekly, he said, noting that “if there’s a bad storm somewhere your lettuce goes up, your tomatoes go up.”
Eyup Atmaca, owner of Pizza Amore, said he’s had to downsize his staff to make ends meet. The employees he does have, he said, make between $10 and $12 an hour.
“Most of the time they make more than we do,” Atmaca said, pausing to answer the phone and take a takeout order.
Atmaca said credit card fees, which he estimated cost about $17,000 per year, hit his small business especially hard.
“Nobody pays cash anymore,” he said. “That’s killing us.”
Juan Suarez, owner of Ibiza Tapas, said his employees make well over $10 an hour most of the time and that to ask more of restaurants than is asked of big corporations that employ locally seems unfair. “Restaurants are one of the ones struggling the most,” Suarez said.
Eating lunch with colleagues from the Collaborative for Educational Services at The Roost on Wednesday, Lucia Foley, 68, of South Hadley said she supports the movement away from a tip-based model to one that pays servers and kitchen staff equally, which she thinks would equate to more fair wages. “It’s so hard to know who to tip, how much and under what circumstances,” she said.
Kathy Levesque, 58, of Greenfield agreed, noting that many local service workers are students, and it’s important to ensure they have enough to support their education. She said she gets the sense that there’s significant interest throughout the Pioneer Valley in changing the payment structure.
Haymarket Cafe owner Peter Simpson announced such a move in October, eliminating tipping and increasing his starting wage to $14 for all workers.
Martha Maloney of Greenfield said she worked as a waitress through college in Boston, where she made $1 an hour plus tips, so she understands the challenges servers face. Maloney said she tries to be conscientious about where she eats, and takes notice of whether restaurant staff seem happy and whether there are enough people working a particular shift to shoulder the workload.
Ward 6 Councilor Marianne LaBarge, enjoying a slice of margherita pizza at Sam’s Pizzeria and Cafe in downtown Northampton Wednesday afternoon, said that restaurant owners are often paying very high rents to do business in Northampton and that should be factored into the conversation. And with increasing water and sewer rates, she said, rents will likely climb.
“One way or another they’re going up,” LaBarge said. “I think it’s become very difficult.”
City Council president William Dwight said he found the restaurant report “rather startling” and thinks it raises interesting questions, but noted that it was not commissioned by the City Council.
“Clearly there are people that are working in untenable situations,” he said, noting the study supports stories he has heard about issues facing vulnerable workers.
Still, he said he hopes business owners do not feel as though they’re being unfairly targeted, and is looking forward to a broader conversation that includes all stakeholders.
“I would love to hear from the businesses, knowing full well that they are experiencing pressures, too,” Dwight said. Hopefully, he said, business owners can feel comfortable sharing their experiences “without feeling like the wrath of God is going to come down on them.”
“There’s a cause and effect,” he said. “If rent or taxes or fees are too high, that translates to business owners, then in turn translates down to workers. So what can we do that might alleviate those pressures?”
As the council’s community resources committee continues its economic study, its members plan to bring in business owners, property owners, and other members of the community to weigh in.
Amanda Drane can be reached at adrane@gazettenet.com. Stephanie McFeeters can be reached at smcfeeters@gazettenet.com.