Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

COLUMN: Good salaries and hot pizza for all
By Mike Faulk
The Crimson White (U. Alabama)
10/13/2006

(U-WIRE) TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — They say 2006 is the Year of the Dog in China, but I'll have to hand this one to the American delivery driver.

Yes, Tuscaloosa, I know that's a surprise. It's hard to say delivery drivers are having things go their way in this city when they work their butts off for shameful tips while rich kids who mock them sign a name on daddy's credit card receipt. I'm sure their bosses also treat them like animals, miniscule elements between the product and the profit.

But now there's hope; delivery drivers aren't going quietly into the night with their insulated pizza packs and distinguished, glowing "kick me" signs on top of their cars. Thanks to the employees at Domino's Pizza in Pensacola, Fla., the country has its first pizza delivery drivers union.

The whole thing started when the restaurant denied its drivers the minimum wage by declaring them tipped employees, so one of the drivers, Jim Pohle, filed a petition to the National Labor Relations Board to get recognition. And holy pepperoni, it worked.

"We do not believe it is necessary in our industry," said Tim McIntyre, a spokesman for the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Domino's Pizza Inc. and someone who does not rely on hourly pay, about the American Union of Pizza Delivery Drivers in a prepared statement.

So then who should have a union? If we were talking about a union for helper monkeys, I might understand this kind of company stance on workers turning their legal representation over to a labor organization. But the delivery job is for people, most of whom haven't gone to college or are struggling to pay for it, and they need help to get every scrap they can.

Scraps have always been hard to find in a world of hungry, plate-cleaning CEOs, but what's new in the American labor rights debate is that the jobs from the producing industry have gone overseas, and now more people from all generations are taking work in consumer industry jobs such as restaurants and retailers. They're the same workers just getting screwed in a different line of work.

"As these people move into those jobs, they have higher expectations," said Mark Damron, a spokesman for Industrial Workers of the World, when he spoke to The Associated Press. "You are going to see more agitation and expectations among middle-aged men who have been downsized and are now working as baristas or short-order cooks."

People with families and even the elderly are stepping into the mix of delivery drivers. National companies and franchises are offering better benefits, but many people still only get to pay for their most important expenses with the lousy wage they're slapped with and the tips they have to put on a show for and beg to get.

There's no coverage for the damage all the driving does to their car, and insufficient amounts are offered up to cover gas prices. Some drivers even lose money during shifts because of gas expenses. What's worse is that delivery drivers can easily get robbed while few, if any, companies offer compensation for that money.

What people don't get about delivery drivers is that the service they offer is a luxury. They're here so people don't have to get off their asses to eat, and the tip you pay is for the service you choose to receive.

With a pizza delivery drivers union starting, maybe this workforce that people have been welcoming with smarmy looks and slamming front door goodbyes will get a little recognition.

Delivery drivers love, work and bleed, too, you know. They eat pizza just like the rest of us, so share the table.

Mike Faulk is the managing editor: news of The Crimson White. His column runs Fridays.

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