>Waitresses got tips (which got under-reported to the IRS if reported at
>all). We busboys got sub-minium (yes, under Reagan there was a sub-minium
>wage by law) wages.
i worked in a hojos during reagan too. unreported yes, but never failed to report. a law kicked in that said 1. you had to report that you made at least minimum wage and later, 2. you had to report a certain percentage of your sales.
>We busboys also got accused of stealing tips.
we waitresses tipped out the busboys that made minimum wage (3..35 then). we paid them 15% of our tips. wait staff min. wage was $2.30 then. we tipped out the bartenders who made $6.00, also--10%. i've worked at about 25 restaurants. they were all the same in this regard: you tipped out the busboys, dishwashers, and bartenders. i'm guessing that this was a big race/ethnicity issue in your area. Ns of 1s are fun.... :)
>After one such, accusation I started to bus tips and throw them in the
>trash like food scraps. How is that for revolutionary transgression
>against the economic order? I estimate I threw away at least 5000 dollars
>over 2 years. It's in a landfill near my parents' home awaiting future
>extraction and yielding more return than the stuff parked on the Dow.
>Charles Jannuzi
you're being facetious, yes? you'll enjoy Greta Foff Paules _Dishing it Out_ and Gary Fine's _Kitchens_. excellent stuff about waitresses and resistance to the boss, same in Kitchens, but more on tensions between cooks and wait staff.