Most evenings, starting about 11:00 p.m., I walk a few miles about Oakville. My route varies. Once last week and once this week my wander brought me south on Telegraph Road above Baumgartner a few minutes after midnight. On both trips, at the only bus shelter on Telegraph, I passed a young man sitting on the bench, involved with his phone.
Now, this being the 21st Century, walking up and starting a conversation on an empty highway about 12:15 a.m. probably isn’t a great idea. I did note that the young man looks like someone who works front of the house at one of the nearby restaurants. Yet the earliest bus to pass that stop arrives at 4:46 a.m., meaning that guy spent five hours waiting for his ride.
Why?
Well, earlier today the August Labor Report came out, noting that overall unemployment remains at near record lows and wages keep creeping up by about 3% a year. Yet, not every worker lives under that rainbow. Buried on Table A – 8, trend data still admits than many millions of people who want to work full time can only find part-time jobs.
That’s especially true in “Leisure and Hospitality” where the average work week this August was just 25.9 hours, at an average wage of $16.62 – or, $430.46 a week. Of course, the average wage includes managers and owners. That young man sitting on the bench possibly earns just $300 a week.
So, he earns enough to kinda survive yet not enough to afford to run a car, hire a ride or live within walking distance of his job.
Ironically, he earns more at a restaurant in Oakville than he would most anywhere else in Missouri. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data from May 2018 (the freshest available for Missouri) ,restaurant wages in the state average around $9.75 an hour. On Telegraph Road the fast food outlets post signs promising $10.00 to start, and, those with even a touch of experience earn $12.00 an hour sliding burgers. The nicer restaurants, with tips, pay more.
Still, they don’t pay enough to live in Oakville. On apartments.com the cheapest one bedroom place near that bus shelter costs $635 in rent each month, with an estimated total cost with utilities of $850 a month. Most of the larger complexes require a renter to have an income of three to four times the rent amount, meaning it takes a $2,000 income to get to rent that $635 apartment.
Years ago a friend in the restaurant business explained that he doesn’t set his prices – and hence, his wages. His competitors do. He sells a premium product but buyers will only pay a bit above the average price for his wares, meaning he can pay his workers just a touch more than competitors. That vicious reality damns workers, like that young man at the bus stop, to subsistence wages. And, that makes him wait five hours for his bus.
Oh yes, at the end of the month Metro eliminates the #17 Oakville bus. A new, shorter route will serve the stop. The first bus will arrive about a half hour later than the current schedule.
Of course, life never gets easier for working people.
Glenn