How do you quantify dignified, essential work? For food retail and hospitality workers in the age of Covid-19 and rising food prices, this descriptor does not translate into better wages. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute and The Shift Project of Harvard University details the low wages at dozens of firms throughout the industry and skewers the notion that profit-driven price inflation is due to workers’ wage demands.
Low wages are the norm in the service sector. The industry accounts for 20% of the U.S. workforce, including 7 out of 10 of the lowest paid jobs. This includes food, drug, discount and mass market retail, food service and hospitality and logistics/delivery. The EPI/Shift project data is based on extensive surveys of almost 21,000 hourly service-sector workers at 66 firms across the U.S. At least 100 respondents from each firm were surveyed, for an average of 317 per firm.
Over 56% of total service sector workers made less than $15 an hour, a data point underscored by the decades long but still incomplete Fight For $15 campaign, which has yet to translate into national policy despite some recent victories in cities across the country. Over 25% of service sector workers made less than $12 an hour across over 60 large companies. At the bottom of the heap is hospitality and fast food, with 73% of workers making less than $15 an hour.
According to the survey, over 60% of retail workers made under $15 an hour, represented by some of the largest private sector employers, including Walmart. Almost 5% of retail workers made less than $10 an hour, led by workers at deep discounters such as Dollar General at 22% and conventional chains such as Food Lion at 15%.
There are a few standouts that defy these norms. Only 1% of Whole…
