On the morning of Thursday, September 19, Waffle House workers from across Georgia converged at a Waffle House location in the town of Morrow to protest widespread theft of wages.

A new survey by the Strategic Organizing Center found that 90% of Waffle House workers polled have experienced some form of wage theft in the past year. 77% reported experiencing more than one form of wage theft, and 49% reported experiencing more than two. 

75% of Waffle House workers reported that they had “been required to perform job tasks before clocking in or after clocking out,” 72% had been “not been paid for all hours worked or all tasks performed,” 58% had been paid a much lower tipped wage for work they did not receive tips on, and 21% reported that they did not always receiving overtime pay despite working over 40 hours per week.

The rally also comes after a complaint was filed by the Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW), a union seeking to organize Waffle House employees and other low wage service workers across the US South, with the US Department of Labor. According to the USSW, “Waffle House workers allege rampant wage theft in the form of the company refusing to pay tipped servers the federal minimum wage when they perform non-tipped tasks like cooking and deep cleaning.”

Wage theft steals more from working people than any other crime in the US. According to the Economic Policy Institute, wage theft robs workers of as much as USD 50 billion each year, which dwarfs the amount of money stolen via robberies, burglaries, and motor vehicle theft each year according to FBI statistics from 2019. And yet, most mainstream media, principally local media sources, dedicate little time to reporting on one of the most rampant crimes across the country, which disproportionately affects workers earning the lowest wages. Most importantly, the bosses who steal the wages are rarely held accountable, with state labor departments often ruling in favor of employers. Research by CBS News found that out of 650,000 total wage theft complaints, states ruled in favor of workers only around half of the time. And in over one third of those cases in which workers won out, those workers never recovered their stolen wages.  

Waffle House workers have been fighting back against the company, demanding not only an end to wage theft but also safety at work in light of the rampant violence at the fast food chain that has gone viral on social media. Workers feel that their employer is not doing enough to protect them from potentially violent customers, as well as natural disasters. Workers are also demanding an end to mandatory meal deductions, in which Waffle House deducts a “meal credit” of at least USD 3 per shift, whether or not workers eat the meal the company provides, as well as a living wage of USD 25 per hour. 

Waffle House workers recently won a historic raise which the company dubbed “single largest additional investment in our workforce in the entire 68-year history,” although workers claim this is a result of labor organizing, not their employer’s benevolence. Workers also say these raises are not enough compared to their demand of USD 25 per hour. The company’s tipped wage for servers can run as low as USD 3 per hour.

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