Nemo

I work in a restaurant, high-end, multiple locations across the US. We are in Chicago, specifically. We have corporate in for the week as we launch a new menu with training for the whole team every day. Yesterday, second day, right before the end of the day, they sprung on us that they are changing our pay structure.

I have minor concerns but some of my coworkers have major ones. We met beforehand today to get united in our talking points. We raised them at the meeting with the corpos and though the bosses were clearly pressured and made (verbal) concessions, they would not acknowledge our concerns.

We had another off-premises meeting just now where we agreed to all skip the (technically optional) training meeting tomorrow while each sending the same written message through the official, and public, communication channel. We will still show up for our actual scheduled shifts.

Where I feel we're strong:

• We're asking to keep the status quo rather than make a change. All we want is income stability.

• All but four of us were at the organizing meeting, and of the four missing, two said in advance they'll do what the group decides and one of the others spoke up verbally during the meeting today in support.

• The bosses have already offered us concessions, some we asked for (after initially refusing) and some we didn't ask for (greater leeway in comping [giving away] menu items, which may or may not improve tips).

• Most of us don't need this specific job, and can find a new one in less than a week. If it comes to an actual walkout, they will have to close the restaurant.

• Management has already been trying to hire more staff for months, and cannot find worthwhile candidates; of the few they've hired, half don't make it through training. We are not easily replaced.

Where I feel we're weak:

• Some servers have said they can't afford to strike if it means lost income or losing a job.

• The management we're talking with may not have the authority to roll back this decision.

• The company already made these changes at one other restaurant in the chain already, and we can't count on other locations to support us.

Any advice is appreciated. None of us has done anything like this before.

Edited to fix typos and add location.

How do we feel about this? Article makes it sound like there will be a greater emphasis on deëscalation and oversight, but is that enough of a change?

Now I tell Yo-Yo Ma jokes, which are much classier.

Often I end up closing the list and immediately turning to self-soothing. And because there's no way to know in advance if a task on the list will give me anxiety, this often results in my list being not just unusable but unreadable, preventing me from doing or even remembering the non-anxiety tasks on the same list.

I'm not from California, so I don't know much about her; but this genuinely surprised me, especially how vicious and vitriolic the comments were. What's going on there?

I can't remember how I first came across this song: My wife says I played it for her, but I remember her playing it for me. The important thing is that we both love it, which believe you me, is not all that common.

I love it because it's rollicking and high-energy and earnest. I eventually looked up the lyrics (which are in Catalan) and it's a pretty normal love song with some nice sentiments, but the passion and desire come across in the vocal tone, even through a language barrier.

If you like Yo La Tengo or The Magnetic Fields, this song will probably hit the spot for you.

And if anyone has more music that sounds like this, send it my way. I'm always expanding my library.

Years ago in a thrift store, I found the perfect pants. The formal look of slacks but without the obnoxious vertical slit pockets. The stiffer fabric and sensible pockets of jeans but with a more genteel cut. I now know these were golf pants, and I wear them every day for work.

I have an upcoming wedding, semiformal, indoors. I'm not in the bridal party, nor am I escorting anybody in the bridal party. Can I wear golf pants to this event, or do I need to go buy slacks, or even a full suit? I'm not opposed to buying a suit, I just want to know what my options are.

Edit: The specific pants I wear to work are these but I might buy something a little nicer for the event.