Hospitality expert and social servant John deBary discusses his extraordinary and (unfortunately) unique not-for-profit The Restaurant Worker's Community Organization. (Unfortunate because there should be organizations like this everywhere). This is a very important interview where we discuss less about developing your own mindful savviness and more about developing awareness about the greater structural issues of the hospitality industry. All of this true:Equal opportunity and quality of life are such bigger issues in the restaurant industry than you think they are. Workers don't know their rights and employees don't even know what rights they are unwittingly denying their workers.It's strange how people care more the treatment of the animals they are about to eat (i.e. was it grass-fed, free range, generally raised humanely, etc.) and less about the treatment of the human beings involved in providing them with a service.Good service in restaurants means most of the nitty-gritty of what's involved is invisible to those experiencing it (i.e. they hardly notice their plates being cleared and definitely don't see who's washing it nor do they need to concern themselves with the quality of life of those washing it). I wonder how much conditioning I have around the importance of maintaining this veneer and what we need to do about the disconnect between those receiving a service and all the struggle (and often: human exploitation) that actually goes into it. The tipping system in restaurants is a legacy of American slavery and to this day continues to drain the employees of their power and perceived value. Its effect on wage structure has untold impact on how companies treat their employees. (Obviously don't stop tipping or the people serving you don't get paid - but think about any other situation where you can decide how much someone serving you gets paid based on how the experience tickled your whimsy.)John and RWCF are doing extraordinary things to help shift restaurants in NYC and the whole country to caring organizations with the capacity to improve the lives of its workers. Listen to the full episode to hear about this inspiring work and see how you can get involved and raise the bar in your community.All Roads That Lead To (and from) John DeBary:The Restaurant Worker's Community OrganizationThe Restaurant Worker's Community Organization (Instagram)Proteau Proteau (Instagram)John deBary (Instagram)John deBary (Twitter)Go Deeper Into The Mindful Service Movement:
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