Good news, tonight at 10....

I try to stay non-political mainly because I don't like politics. I have lived my whole life in Chicago, a place of many scandals and imprisoned officials. We created a system of doing things known as machine politics, a unique style of corruption. I don't like what happens here and I don't like our current disposition in the capitol.

Anyway you cut it, food is political and increasingly so over the last many years. Corporations who manufacture food, food deserts, malnutrition, school lunch programs, charity food banks, inhuman slaughterhouse practises, factory farms, junk and fast foods, obesity rates, junk science around fad diets, culinary education, nutritional supplements, electronic exercise devices, access to health care, supplemental food programs, all boil down to economics and a dividing social structure that is eliminating the middle class. Unfortunately, food is political and often times it is unfairly distributed, wasted, horded, abused, and can often be misunderstood.

Politicians have proposed legislation to drug test supplemented food receivers, to limit 'luxury' food purchases such as steak and shrimp, and mandate sticker income verification making it harder to qualify for assistance. Hunger is always political, especially when working parents are not earning enough to adequately feed their families. Battles over raising the minimum wage are closely tied into the issue of feeding, if workers working full-time still qualify and need nutritional and housing assistance, then the minimum is no longer adequate.

Present day Chicago, we all are anticipating a teacher's strike, have seen and participated in rallies over minimum wage, police brutality, and racial profiling. It's like we are sitting on a powder keg while staring at a short fuse. I hate politics because of the inherent inequality and greed. Call me a revolutionary liberal, if you must, but no matter the label, I hate the political world around me.

Basic, the very least, everyday common human needs are required to be met, food, shelter, water, safety, and education. There should not be any debate over how we, as a society, a family, a government, make provisions for these needs. This major metropolis has a untold number of homeless people, kids that lack adequate nutrition both at home and at school, low graduation rates of our teens from high school, lack of employment opportunities for young people just entering the workforce, some of the highest taxes in the country, and several other obstacles that make living here difficult.

That's the bad news, now let's discuss the other side of the coin.  There are hundreds and thousands of our residents that are doing well, achieving, striving, and assisting others along their paths. But where is the news coverage of the awarding of diplomas and scholarships. Were are the press corp when our kids and young adults achieve despite the hardships, when they leap over the hurdles, and bust out of the barriers to success?  Who will show the world how talented, brilliant, and strong we are? What is the intent of the press to show so little of the great things that happen everyday? Are we being manipulated into believing all hope is lost?
 

Knowing your worth.

This industry, like almost any other, has not only food and food production, it has every other aspect of business activities. Every office involves sales, human resources, OSHA, inventory, purchasing, hiring and firing, communications, profit and loss, accounting, and many more.... and so does every food business except we produce food as well.

 

Being a chef is like being a chemist and a artist at the same time. We apply cooking skills i.e. applied chemistry to food products and then make them artistic. All the personnel issues that comes with dealing with a staff happens everyday in a kitchen. You are in the trenches with the same people day in and day out relying upon them to bail you out and you to do the same in return. And that is long before you even open the doors to invite in clients.

 

So, how do you know what your work is worth? How do you judge if the company is paying you fairly or not, or even if you are paying yourself enough when you are in charge of the budgets? With the new age of information and immediate access, it is a good idea to go ahead and do some research into pay scales, after all, it can be done from the smart phone in your pocket.

 

There are lots of websites that have calculators online that you can use to assess your marketability. www.payscale.com  is one of these sites that ask you about your demographics, region of work, education, and skill sets, to determine what is an average salary for the job you either are seeking or already have. If you are seeking a new job, this can be used to determine if the company in question is adequately compensating its employees or you can check to see if it is time to request a raise from your current employer. When asking for an increase, this information can be invaluable as you can confidently give evidence as to why you feel that a raise is needed.

 

Every town and city is different. As I have been working in Chicago these last 20 plus years, I can tell you that the cost of living here is quite high compared to other markets and therefore you can ask for a higher wage than average because the cost of housing and food here is higher. A company cannot keep good staff if they cannot afford to live in the area as they will move away to more affordable regions to keep from risking homelessness or cut off utilities. It's simple mathematics.

 

Once you have entered the information and gotten a salary rage and a average salary for comparable work in your region, you must honestly ask yourself if you have adequately proven yourself in the position, or in the case of seeking new employment, have you had a strong track record to successful work history. If you are armed with this knowledge but haven't put in the extra work to get at the top of your pay scale, then you aren't likely to be able to leverage it into an increase or a new position paying top dollar.

 

Every one's experience comes at a price both for you to gain it and for your employer to use that knowledge by hiring you. The total of all you have done, have been trained to do, and the length of time you have been doing your job all comes into play when assessing the fairness of your compensation. Be honest with yourself and others when discussing this topic. Knowing your worth and what the next organization can and are willing to play, can make all the difference in your favor. 

Have Skills Will Travel

I have noticed, over the many years I have toiled in the food service industry, that some workers have either a larger than average ego or not enough. This phenomenon displays itself perfectly when there is a need to renew contracts or when there is a union vote pending.

There was a time in which I worked for a large grocery store chain as a bakery department manager. There came a time when contracts were nearing the end and negotiating began. Of course, this period of time was stressful of all concerned as it was literally was going to direct both the company and it's employees economic future. As things progressed, talk had an increasingly nervous tone. When talking to co-workers a negative sentiment was repeated with some members that was in direct opposition to my feelings about the matter. I don't expect the world to agree with me always, however it took some review for me to understand their point.

I have always said that my skills and knowledge travel with me and rather than bow to the demands of the corporate overlord I am committed to being justly compensated for leasing my time, skills, and knowledge. A few of my co-workers at that time, and a few others mimic the sentiment, were literally scared witless that the negotiations would result in them being jobless if they didn't cave into the demands of management. I am not afraid to value my time and put a price on it taking into account my costs of living, my three kids, the average wage for my work in the marketplace, and my education. All of these things can be valued and the fair exchange of my time for a wage is important. I have had offers from companies that were well below my average asking wage, and while it did make me a bit nervous to say no and wait for the next offer hoping that it would come quickly enough to not put my economy in jeopardy, I did so in effort to not misstep into a situation that would be inadequate.  By accepting too low of a wage, you are lessening the option to have adequate time to find the right job.

Too many workers are too afraid to find out if the rest of the marketplace needs their skills, if there are jobs available elsewhere for similar jobs, how much other's pay for the same work, and they are afraid to value themselves adequately.  I was taught the following sentence "I was looking for a job when I found this one." This sums up my stance to workplace evaluations. Any worker can transfer their skills to another job, if in fact the skill and training has been well earned. I find it hard, too hard on oneself, to not understand who you really are in life. A bad situation, no matter where it is, bad relationship with a spouse, or a friend or relative, or job, can be very costly. You put your physical and mental health in harms way.

In this economy, hell in almost any economy, valuing your contributions to the workplace is important. Just like you asked for, interviewed for, and was offered your current position, you can do so again, no matter how long you have been at the current job. As a chef, perhaps unlike some other industries, a long tenure is not common place. There are few gold watch retirement parties given to staff who have been with the organization for 20 years or more. It's just not how things work anymore. I did work for some highly talented chefs who had long terms with one company but they were older workers and nowadays it isn't common. Most chefs who are not partners or owners, typically work for 5 or 6 years at a spot, then move on, out of need to grow and/or company's wish to keep costs low. An experienced chef can be costly, but well worth it, and some organizations would rather take on two young chefs with limited experience and train them instead of paying one prized chef well.

Do some research! This age of Internet quickly offers up information about average wages in any industry, you can even get a better idea of wages by reading the want ads. Do some soul searching. Too many people undervalue themselves both in the workplace and in their social life. This is killing you slowly like a small dose of poison not able to kill right off but building up in your flesh over time. It drains your life blood and weakens your spirit.

Equally damaging is over evaluation. Do not fluff yourself up without cause or reality. This seems to be the realm of the young more so than the old. Older folks have been knocked around by reality and have had to plainly see themselves in a good mirror, just don't focus solely upon the flaws. Youthful workers often take things off their resumes to heart and make more of them than they really are worth.

When you dream, dream big! Shooting for the moon and missing, still leaves you in the realm of the stars. Personally, my big dream of owning my own bakery has been held in my heart for many many years, and while it is not yet a reality, I have been trained by some of the best, had experiences singularly superior to most, and have learned skills I did not anticipate. Lovely.