Daniella Echeverria
Consumers may be surprised to see a big name scoring high in the latest edition of Just Dining, Madison’s own guide to “restaurant employment standards in downtown Madison.” National coffee chain Starbucks does well by its Madison employees, offering health insurance and paid sick days among other benefits.
Other local establishments that scored high points for offering good wages and benefits include Ian’s Pizza, the Shamrock, Restaurant Muramoto and the Tornado.
The fourth volume of the guide will be available Dec. 15 in English and in Spanish, as a PDF download from wrcmadison.org/WP/just-dining.
The Workers’ Rights Center of Madison and the Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin have joined forces since 2012 to survey area restaurant employees and owners to learn what benefits each establishment offers its employees. Data is collected on starting wages, benefits (health insurance, paid sick days, retirement plans and paid time off) and if the employer provides written personnel policies. Restaurants that meet the minimum requirements in these areas are given a star. There’s a field for including additional benefits an employer might offer, too, such as tuition reimbursement, affirmative action and dental insurance.
Coffeeshops and “quick serve” eateries can get up to six stars; casual and fine dining restaurants are on a scale of seven (a “tipped wage” category is operational for these).
Users of the guide, who may be looking to spend their dining-out dollars at an establishment whose values mirror their own, can count the stars. So can prospective employees.
The new edition expands the range of the restaurants surveyed, adding sites on Atwood Avenue and Monroe Street. The creators of the guide started with downtown; each year more are added as resources allow.
Patrick Hickey, director of the Workers’ Rights Center, says the impetus behind the guide is to “give credit to the good” and “shine the light in a positive way.” On the other hand, he acknowledges that a restaurant’s “discomfort” with its ratings might “lead to action.” And he has seen that happen since the guide first launched.
Hickey notes that the project stays objective, sticking with “things you can actually measure,” as opposed to subjective assessments like “it’s a fun place to work.”
This year’s survey took 2 1/2 months. So far as Hickey knows, it’s the only guide of its kind in the country. There’s a national project from the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United that focuses on chain restaurants — an early inspiration for Just Dining. Hickey says his organization has heard from Iowa City, Iowa, and a few other cities that would like to launch similar guides.
Starbucks is the high scorer in the coffee category. In quick serve, Ian’s Pizza gets six stars. In casual dining, The Wise (at Hotel Red) scores seven stars; State Street Brats and the Shamrock get six. In fine dining, Harvest, Capitol Chophouse, Restaurant Muramoto and the Tornado all have six out seven stars. Food Fight-affiliated restaurants score high overall and often have added benefits of dental insurance, paid leave, stock options and tuition reimbursement.
In addition to the full guide, Just Dining also publishes a short version distributed in hard copy free around Madison. (The full version contains more background info on restaurant work issues.)
There’s also a free Just Dining app available on iTunes that locates the restaurants on a map and lists their star rankings. “The more convenient, the better,” says Hickey.
