Memphis hourly workers are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The rock is giving up unemployment, where they are making more than they would on the job. The hard place is going back to work and risking their health.
The Memphis Business Journal recently spoke to three hourly workers. All three work — or did work — for area restaurants. One asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their job. The other two talked about their different experiences.
These are their stories.
Brennan Wilbanks
Brennan Wilbanks has worked as a valet at Folk's Folly for four years. Nowadays, he's doing deliveries for the restaurant.
"Everything's been good," he said. "We've taken precautions. Everybody's been safe, wearing masks, gloves, and all that."
Wilbanks is part of a lucky circle of hourly workers. Huey's and Folk's Folly are operated by the same family. Huey's announced early on that they would not lay off any employees. The same goes for Folk's Folly.
But, how the job will go forward remains a question mark for Wilbanks.
"I'm not really sure how I feel about everything opening back up right now," he said. "But, I guess for me, specifically, I'm not sure how it will affect me as a valet driver."
Consider all the things that are touched during a valet service, Wilbanks said. It's the car, the keys. Cash is exchanged.
He said restaurants and customers need to — and will — adjust.
"It's going to be weird," he said. "People go to restaurants to get out and escape and relax. So, if you go to a restaurant and everyone's still wearing gloves and masks and the bars are closed, it'll be a different feeling to what people are used to."
"Marie"
Marie is not her real name. She fears speaking out will cost her her job. She works at a popular restaurant in Overton Square.
She said she was contacted via a group text from a manager, telling workers that they were rehiring. What he didn't say until later, she said, was if they didn't return the restaurant would have to report them.
"None of us were jumping to go back to work because we're not at full capacity," she said. "[There's talk] about a second wave. We all have kids. We really don't feel safe enough to come back to work and risk it. And, how are we going to make any money if we're not at full capacity? We're getting paid more to stay at home [on unemployment] and be safe."
Marie has a problem with the word "essential." In any case, she doesn't think restaurant dining is essential.
"We're not essential — I hate that word," she said "But we do not have to be open for people to come out to eat, sit in a bar, and get an alcoholic beverage."
She sees risk everywhere. "We've got to be touching food and plates people are eating and drinking off of, whether I've got gloves on or not," she noted. "Our clothes are touching plates and cups and silverware. People are eating and slobbering, eventually getting all over my clothes — I bring that home."
Marie said she was assured by the manager that they would safely proceed. The business would provide them with gloves and masks, both paper and cloth.
Marie is planning to go back to work, but not without fear.
"I don't want to go back to work," she said. "It's not safe."
Scott Briggs worked as a bartender at BarWare Downtown. He noted he's worked in hospitality his whole life, but he's not planning on returning any time soon.
In fact, he formed a new business, Laid Off Lawn Care. It's doing pretty well, he said.
Briggs initially assumed folks stuck at home would want to take care of their own lawns, but, apparently the drudgery of mowing one's lawn extends to a pandemic.
"That was one of our worries at first with all these laid-off people. Are people going to want to pay somebody?," Briggs said. "Now, that is not a concern at all anymore."
Briggs said he filed for unemployment but did not get it. He's not sure what went wrong, but he found the whole thing confounding.
But, it doesn't make sense to return to a workplace operating at half capacity, he said. There's no money to be made.
"Risking getting the virus on top of a pay cut is not too appetizing," he said.
Briggs does say he'll miss the restaurant work. He likes the gathering of people, the conversations.
"I plan on [being] out for the rest of the year and reevaluating what I want to do next year," he said.