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Eater
2 days ago
- Business
- Eater
Workers at Seattle's Most Prestigious Restaurant Group Have Unionized
In December 2024, the employees at the Sea Creatures restaurant group were called into a meeting. Sea Creatures, founded by acclaimed chef Renee Erickson, runs some of Seattle's most celebrated restaurants, including oyster bar the Walrus and the Carpenter, innovative steakhouse Bateau, and the Whale Wins, which earned Erickson a James Beard Award in 2016. At the meeting, ownership announced there would be changes coming. After years of accepting tips, Sea Creatures restaurants would be switching to a service charge model. Starting in January, every guest check would explain that 22 percent of the bill (about what the average customer tipped) would be added to the total. This 'is retained entirely by the house,' the checks would say. 'Revenue from this service charge is used to pay operating expenses, including labor.' At the meeting, employees learned that what this meant in practice was that about half of the service charge would be paid out to hourly workers, who, before this change, all shared in the tip pool. (Back of house employees, including dishwashers, were part of the tip pool.) The hourly rate would go up to a base rate of $25 an hour. While in theory it might appear roughly equivalent to the pre-service charge take home, workers say that in practice it spelled a sharp reduction in income from tips. It was 'a huge pay cut for all of us,' says Jeff Kelley, who was a front-of-house worker at the time. 'They said, you either hear what we're saying and decide to continue to work here, or you quit and you go somewhere else... We immediately were like, 'No, there's a third option.'' They could form a union. In the months that followed, Sea Creatures employees won union elections at the Walrus and the Carpenter and Bateau — Sea Creatures' biggest and most famous restaurants — as well as the doughnut shop chain General Porpoise. United Creatures of the Sea is an unusual union for several reasons. It's not affiliated with any larger union, doesn't collect dues from workers, and really only has one issue it's arguing with management about: the service charge. 'We needed a way to force Renee Erickson to listen to her employees,' says Ford Nickel, a former server at Sea Creatures. The union says hourly workers across the board have seen pay cuts as a result of the new service charge. Unionized employees at Walrus made a combined $140,000 less so far this year than they would have under the old tipping model, according to the union's calculations. Jeremy Price, a Sea Creatures co-owner, disputes this — some workers have made less under the new system, but some have made more, he writes in an email. 'We're seeing that back-of-house workers at less busy restaurants are generally making a little more now, including dishwashers. Servers, especially at our busier restaurants, are making a little less now.' At Walrus specifically, hourly workers make between $28.14 and $56.81 per hour, Price writes. 'We believe these wages, along with the benefits we can fund through the service charge, are among the most competitive in the industry.' United Creatures of the Sea is now negotiating a contract with Sea Creatures. The union is represented at the bargaining table by Kelley and Nickel, both of whom no longer work for the restaurant group and volunteer their time to the union. (The union also has pro bono legal counsel.) They're hoping to get management to reduce the service charge to 10 percent or lower and encourage customers to leave tips once again. To make the math work for Sea Creatures, union employees are willing to reduce their hourly rate. 'We just want to work for our tips' — Jeff kelley In part, this conflict reflects the shifting, complicated debate over tipping in American restaurants. Some in the industry feel that tipping is inherently inequitable, which has led to a shift to service charges, with some restaurants spelling out on receipts which portion of the service charge goes directly to workers. But in Seattle, several restaurant groups have been sued for not distributing this money precisely as promised; today many restaurants, including Sea Creatures, say the house retains the entirety of the service charge, which according to the Seattle Met shields them from lawsuits. This makes the whole process opaque from the customers' perspective. Ford and Nickel argue that a tip pool, where all hourly workers share in tips earned during their shift, is a more fair and transparent way of working. 'We just want to work for our tips,' is how Kelley puts it. 'I don't want restaurants to be able to operate this way. It's deceptive.' Nickel and Kelley have also been frustrated by the recently announced temporary closure of Bateau and its attached General Porpoise. Price said the steakhouse is closing so it can 'refresh and retool,' and United Creatures of the Sea doesn't believe the decision was motivated by the unionization of the restaurant. Still, the closure harms the union by cutting its membership in half. If Bateau reopens as a brand-new restaurant the union might have to hold a whole new election. Nickel and Kelley say that Sea Creatures is required by the National Labor Relations Act to negotiate with the union over the terms of the layoff, including which employees would be rehired once Bateau reopens. If they don't reach an agreement, they say they will file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. They say management's reticence to engage with them about that issue — and the slowness of the overall negotiation process — is what motivated them to reach out to local media. Price says that management has been 'emailing back and forth all the time,' adding that they had just increased the frequency of meetings and were 'bargaining in good faith' when it came to layoffs at Bateau. 'We believe everyone is working in good faith and with the best interest of staff and the businesses in mind.' In a statement, Erickson said, 'We have a lot of pride in the restaurants that we operate, and that starts with having great staff. The well-being of employees at every location is a real focus for us. We are supportive of our union locations and will continue to collaborate with and listen to them.' The union thinks that this listening process has been disappointingly slow. 'I was hoping that if I'm the owner of a restaurant and all my employees think that what I'm doing is wrong,' says Kelley, 'I would maybe listen.' See More:
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas task force debates use of graduation rate to gauge student success
Sen. Renee Erickson, second from left, a Wichita Republican who leads the Kansas Legislature's school finance task force, said Kansas should retain use of high school graduation statistics to measure student achievement despite criticism it was unclear earning the diploma meant students were prepared for college or the workforce. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Legislature's YouTube channel) TOPEKA — Disagreement exists on the Kansas Legislature's task force reworking the state's public school finance formula about the importance of high school graduation rate as a measure of student success. A member of the task force pointed to alleged manipulation of student records at Wichita Southeast High School as evidence of why a district's annual graduation rate shouldn't be viewed as a significant metric, while others defended graduation rates as an evaluation tool when determining whether districts prepared students for the workplace or college. Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican, said the Wichita school district had touted a 5.1 percentage point surge in its graduation rate in 2024 to 84.3%. Wichita Southeast's graduation rate climbed 12.5 percentage points in 2024 to a record-high 86.3%. Southeast's principal was replaced last week amid reports of suspected grade fixing that may have been associated with helping students meet graduation requirements. 'I wouldn't use graduation rates,' said Williams, who didn't see a meaningful correlation between graduation rate and student success. 'If we want to baby sit, that's one thing. If we want to have a safe place for them, that's one thing. But that doesn't mean you're learning anything.' Frank Harwood, a deputy commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education, said one potential incident of administrative misconduct shouldn't justify dismissal of graduation rates as a means of measuring school districts. 'When you look at any industry, including the Legislature, there are bad actors,' he said. 'It doesn't mean you should throw out that metric all together. I'm not saying graduation rate is the best indicator, but I think it is an indicator that we can't just ignore.' The Kansas State Board of Education made elevating the state's high school graduation rate a feature in its 'Kansans Can' agenda and in terms of school district accreditation. The state board's graduation-rate goal was set at 95%. Kansas' adjusted cohort graduation rate, which tracked student graduation within four years and took into account transfers, has ranged from 86% to 89% during the past decade. In 2022-2023, more than 90 of the state's 287 school districts graduated 100% of students. Twenty school districts had graduation rates below 80% during that academic year. The Wichita district's graduation rate was at 79.2% during that period, while the Kansas City, Kansas, district came in at 73.4%. Sen. Renee Erickson, a Wichita Republican serving as chairwoman of the Legislature's school-finance task force, said Kansas should continue to include graduation rate in a set of evaluation metrics. She said the state needed to develop a definition of what a high school diploma revealed about students. Erickson said employers had reported a high school diploma didn't guarantee a quality worker. University or college officials indicated high school graduates didn't necessarily have skills to succeed in higher education, she said. 'I have post-secondary folks in my office frequently and they're saying, 'They're not prepared for our level of work,'' the senator said. 'I'm not blaming. I'm just telling you, if you can't acknowledge that, we've got a problem.' Task force member Pat Pettey, a Democratic senator from Kansas City, Kansas, said it would be folly to drop the graduation rate as an indicator of a school district's ability to prepare students for the future. 'I still am a strong supporter of graduation rates because having a high school diploma is a key to opening the first door to get a job. I don't believe it is the key, but if they don't have that they're not on a trajectory to be economically successful,' Pettey said.
Eater
05-06-2025
- Business
- Eater
Acclaimed Steakhouse Bateau Is Closing for a ‘Planned Reimagining'
The acclaimed Sea Creatures restaurant group is navigating some choppy waters. On Thursday, June 5, the group, co-owned by famed chef Renee Erickson, announced in a press release that starting June 19, it will be temporarily shuttering the connected restaurants Boat Bar and Bateau as 'the company begins a planned reimagining of both restaurants.' The Capitol Hill location of its doughnut shop chain General Porpoise — which shares the space with those two restaurants — will close permanently, as will the Laurelhurst General Porpoise. The closure of Bateau and Boat Bar is expected to last three to six months, Sea Creatures said. 'We're incredibly proud of what Bateau and Boat Bar have brought to Seattle's dining scene,' Erickson said in the press release. 'This closure will allow us the time and space to refresh and retool these restaurants after a long 10 years, so they can evolve and continue to inspire.' Erickson is more associated with seafood than steak — her Walrus and the Carpenter is one of Seattle's most famous oyster bars — but Bateau has been a critical darling, attracting a lot of attention (and even a New York Times profile) for its use of unusual cuts of meat. In 2017, Eater national critic Bill Addison named it one of the 38 best restaurants in America. Even a temporary closure is a surprise. Co-owner Jeremy Price said in an email that part of the reason for the closure was that chef de cuisine Taylor Thornhill and general manager Jamie Irene happened to give notice at around the same time. 'After a decade of working together and becoming friends, we are happy for these folks, wish them the best of luck in their new roles, and can't wait to visit them in their new restaurant homes,' Price said. The release added that their departure created a 'natural transition point' for some 'long-considered changes.' Those changes will include the closure of the Capitol Hill General Porpoise, which was the company's first doughnut shop. 'We'll do our best to find positions to displaced General Porpoise Capitol Hill staff at our remaining cafés in the Amazon Spheres and Pioneer Square,' the press release said. The Laurelhurst cafe, near University Village, is being replaced by another tenant, and Sea Creatures said that all staff members there have positions at the other General Porpoises. Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas task force debates use of graduation rate to gauge student success
Sen. Renee Erickson, second from left, a Wichita Republican who leads the Kansas Legislature's school finance task force, said Kansas should retain use of high school graduation statistics to measure student achievement despite criticism it was unclear earning the diploma meant students were prepared for college or the workforce. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Legislature's YouTube channel) TOPEKA — Disagreement exists on the Kansas Legislature's task force reworking the state's public school finance formula about the importance of high school graduation rate as a measure of student success. A member of the task force pointed to alleged manipulation of student records at Wichita Southeast High School as evidence of why a district's annual graduation rate shouldn't be viewed as a significant metric, while others defended graduation rates as an evaluation tool when determining whether districts prepared students for the workplace or college. Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican, said the Wichita school district had touted a 5.1 percentage point surge in its graduation rate in 2024 to 84.3%. Wichita Southeast's graduation rate climbed 12.5 percentage points in 2024 to a record-high 86.3%. Southeast's principal was replaced last week amid reports of suspected grade fixing that may have been associated with helping students meet graduation requirements. 'I wouldn't use graduation rates,' said Williams, who didn't see a meaningful correlation between graduation rate and student success. 'If we want to baby sit, that's one thing. If we want to have a safe place for them, that's one thing. But that doesn't mean you're learning anything.' Frank Harwood, a deputy commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education, said one potential incident of administrative misconduct shouldn't justify dismissal of graduation rates as a means of measuring school districts. 'When you look at any industry, including the Legislature, there are bad actors,' he said. 'It doesn't mean you should throw out that metric all together. I'm not saying graduation rate is the best indicator, but I think it is an indicator that we can't just ignore.' The Kansas State Board of Education made elevating the state's high school graduation rate a feature in its 'Kansans Can' agenda and in terms of school district accreditation. The state board's graduation-rate goal was set at 95%. Kansas' adjusted cohort graduation rate, which tracked student graduation within four years and took into account transfers, has ranged from 86% to 89% during the past decade. In 2022-2023, more than 90 of the state's 287 school districts graduated 100% of students. Twenty school districts had graduation rates below 80% during that academic year. The Wichita district's graduation rate was at 79.2% during that period, while the Kansas City, Kansas, district came in at 73.4%. Sen. Renee Erickson, a Wichita Republican serving as chairwoman of the Legislature's school-finance task force, said Kansas should continue to include graduation rate in a set of evaluation metrics. She said the state needed to develop a definition of what a high school diploma revealed about students. Erickson said employers had reported a high school diploma didn't guarantee a quality worker. University or college officials indicated high school graduates didn't necessarily have skills to succeed in higher education, she said. 'I have post-secondary folks in my office frequently and they're saying, 'They're not prepared for our level of work,'' the senator said. 'I'm not blaming. I'm just telling you, if you can't acknowledge that, we've got a problem.' Task force member Pat Pettey, a Democratic senator from Kansas City, Kansas, said it would be folly to drop the graduation rate as an indicator of a school district's ability to prepare students for the future. 'I still am a strong supporter of graduation rates because having a high school diploma is a key to opening the first door to get a job. I don't believe it is the key, but if they don't have that they're not on a trajectory to be economically successful,' Pettey said.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why Kansas Reflector filed a complaint about stonewalling by the Senate efficiency panel
Sen. Renee Erickson listens at a hearing on March 31, 2025, at the Kansas Statehouse. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) The Kansas Open Records Act makes clear demands of state and local government. This vital law requires timely release of public records within three business days of receiving a request. If officials can't fulfill that timeline, they're required to explain why, in detail. The Kansas Senate Committee on Government Efficiency claims to be working for the good of all by ferreting out waste and bloat in state government. Perhaps it should start with itself, or at least with chairwoman Renee Erickson, R-Wichita. She led the effort to stonewall news media requests for public recommendations submitted to COGE through its online portal. Kansas Reflector requested the records from her on Feb. 25. They weren't released until April 9 — more than six weeks later. By that time, our reporter Anna Kaminski had already examined a leaked copy of public feedback. That batch of public comments suggested why Erickson pushed the public release until after the legislative session ended. Kansans blasted the committee with messages calling for Medicaid expansion, legalized cannabis and tolerance for LGBTQ+ youths. They show, in short, how anti-government narratives miss the mark in Kansas, where right-wing ideologues have poisoned the well of state government for years. On Wednesday, Kansas Reflector editor in chief Sherman Smith submitted a complaint to the state Attorney General's Office about this delay. Erickson's committee did not respond to our request in a timely manner, and the broader public suffered because crucial information was hidden from them. COGE members could access the messages in mid-March, but their constituents could not. We believe that government officials should be held responsible for delay and obfuscation. We heard attempts to justify the delays at a COGE meeting May 13. There were just so many messages. We had to screen them all. We didn't delete anything. Gordon Self, a legislative staff member, opined: 'Once the KORA requests were received and a response was made, there was a review of the records, all 2,000, to determine if any of the records did contain information. After a thorough review, there were some identified that did have some sensitive information in them.' Erickson harumphed: 'At the end of the day, there are none that have been deleted, there are none that are not available for review. But as was said, we wanted to make sure that we were not including information that was not appropriate for such a situation.' Forgive me for rolling my eyes. These self-satisfied excuses don't add up. None of the messages reviewed by Kansas Reflector staff appear to include sensitive information that the government had to shield from prying eyes. As noted earlier, a tranche of unredacted submissions was leaked to us in late March. We have compared the two versions. There's no there there. In one message, for instance, Statehouse staff omitted a profane phrase. That didn't protect anyone's personal or private information. In another case, the same suggestion was apparently submitted in two categories. The messages mention Senate President Ty Masterson's lucrative side hustle at Wichita Stare University, where he earns more than $150,000 a year as 'director of GoCreate, a Koch Collaborative.' In one of them, Masterson's name has been redacted, along with that of the author. In the other, neither Masterson nor the author has been redacted. Only a few dozen of the thousand-plus messages saw any redactions at all. Perhaps Statehouse staff don't have the slightest idea what they're doing. Perhaps they made a few random edits to the messages to justify the month-plus delay. Neither option should fill Kansans with confidence in their legislators or the work of COGE. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he COGE web portal includes the warning that 'Portal submissions are public records that are subject to the Kansas Open Records Act.' Those sending in feedback have to check a box next to that warning. Why even bother to do that if you're going to screen the material afterward? Like other public records conflicts, this runs the risk of sounding petty. So what, I can hear some readers ask. You got the information anyway. Why fuss? My answer remains the same as when I wrote about Emporia Stare University's unconscionable response in turning over information to Kansas Reflector. This information belongs to everyone. Lawmakers don't get to pass a law and then arbitrarily decide whether to follow it. If they expect town and county governments to follow KORA, if they expect other state agencies to follow KORA, they can damn well follow it themselves. That's what justice and fair play demands. That's what their fellow Kansans deserve. And it's what we're going to do, no matter Erickson's sanctimonious claptrap. COGE kora complaint Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
