THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701100057
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LaRHESA WILLIAMS, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 48 lines
THE CUSTOMER is always right. Our first priority is to our customers.
Most businesses uphold these creeds, but what about the rights of the employee? Everyone takes some flak on the job, but do minimum wage workers have it even worse?
Seventeen-year-old Adrienne Johnson thinks they do.
``I feel like I'm treated like less of a person because I work for minimum wage,'' said Adrienne who has worked at Dairy Queen and Hardee's fast-food restaurants.
``I haven't had any exceptionally good or bad experiences, it's just that some people try to act like they're better than you or look down their noses at you.''
Teen-agers make up a bulk of the minimum-wage labor force and while they seem to resent the holier-than-thou treatment of customers, and are often reminded of their dispensability (``Remember, you are not irreplaceable!''), they feel caught.
Fast food and other $4.75-an-hour jobs are typically the only ones available to young workers with little to no experience and they offer flexible hours that can be worked after school and on the weekends.
Some concerns about working minimum-wage jobs are financial, rather than about feelings of dehumanization.
``I think minimum wage is not enough because some people who make that much have bills to pay and they don't always have enough money for all that they need,'' said Jason Edwards, a student at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake.
``When I was 14, I had a job through my school and I was getting 40 hours a week. Back then, the checks were looking nice. Since I've been working at McDonald's that hasn't happened.''
Others have had good experiences with their blue-collar exploits.
``(The pay) doesn't bother me as long as the money is coming in,'' said Sean Rench, 17. ``I work at the Triple S car wash so customers don't have any reason to be mean to me because I'm serving them.''
Sabrina Gadson, 26, worked at a Kmart department store and the housekeeping department at a local hospital before becoming a stay-at-home wife and mother.
She believes that people who make the lowest wages get the least amount of respect.
``People who work for minimum wage are always worked the most, paid the least, and treated the worst,'' Gadson said.
``It's terrible - you're never paid enough for all that you do.'' MEMO: LaRhesa Williams is a senior at Granby High School in Norfolk.