Choosing a Career in the Restaurant Industry

 Beal, Eileen. Choosing a Career in the Restaurant Industry. Part of the World of Work series. 1999. 64p. ISBN 0-8239-3002-5. Available at 647.96 BEA on the library shelves.

Working in a restaurant can be a very rewarding career, and it is one of the few where someone can begin working with no experience and make it to the top. It is possible to go to school to acquire managing or culinary experience. There are three categories of positions within a restaurant: the front of the house, the back of the house, and the top of the house. Front the house positions include servers, busboys, host, and other more exotic positions. Back of the house positions include chefs, cooks, and dishwashers. Top of the house include managers, accountants, and purchasers. 

One of the dreams of people going into the restaurant business is to own their own restaurant, but this is a very demanding job that requires work 7 days a week. Dedicated owners can make is a success, but they need to put in the work and control all aspects of their business. Ways to find out more about the business are also explained. Food lovers and people who think they may be interested in working in a restaurant will appreciate the thoroughness of the information presented here.

Choosing a Career in Hotels, Motels, and Resorts

 Rue, Nancy N. Choosing a Career in Hotels, Motels, and Resorts. Part of The World of Work series. 1999. 64p. ISBN 0-8239-2999-X. Available at 647.94 RUE on the library shelves.

Vacations are always fun. You get to stay somewhere else, and experience a new place. Most often than not, people end up sleeping at hotels or motels. What goes into making a hotel run? There are many career opportunities available in the hospitality industry, from front line workers like the valets who park your vehicle, the bellhop who helps you with your luggage, the concierge who provides you with advice and services, the front desk employees who welcome you and process your stay, the maids who clean the room, the food service employees who prepare and deliver the meals, and the maintenance workers who keep the whole structure humming along nicely.

Hotels are dynamic places to work, with the possibility of quick advancement and many roles to fill. Those who enjoy working with the public will find a home in the front office. Those who enjoy number or working behind the scene can staff the back office, where accountants, human resources, security, conventions, and marketing make the business run efficiently.

Finally there are those folks who are more interested in opening their own lodgings, or purchasing an existing business. Challenges exist here too, from the daily contact with the customers to having to work every day, but the work always being different. Ultimately, the hotel business is fast paced, and is continually adapting to trends. It's a good career for individuals who enjoy the public and who are looking for a fast-paced setting.

The Jungle

 Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. 335p. 797 mins. ISBN 978-1-8843-6530-0. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Jurgis Rudkus is Lithuanian. Born in poverty in his country, he meets a beautiful girl named Ona Lukoszaite. Looking to escape their condition and seeking opportunity in the land of plenty, they along with others from their village pool the little money they have and immigrate to the United States. Traveling to Chicago, they quickly find work in the meatpacking industry. 

Packing Town, as the area they settle in is known, is very poor. It is drab, lonely, polluted, and one of the harsher environment they have ever been in. Jurgis is strong and dedicated, so they are convinced they will escape the fate that afflict many around them. They purchase a house, to avoid paying rent. They are confused when the people around them bitterly complain about the bosses who drive them ever further towards exhaustion. Don't they just need to work harder?

Jurgis and the rest of his group do not realize that the deck has been stacked against them. Their house is poorly isolated. The two-mile walk to work in the winter is hell. The factories are either too cold, too hot, or too wet. It is dangerous work where people get hurt or killed all the time. Women are exploited and abused. Jurgis and Ona disenchant very quickly about their new lives, but they have no more money and must continue to work.

Layoffs and accidents take a toll on the family friends. When Jurgis discovers that Ona has been forced to have an extramarital affair with her boss, he goes into a rage and attacks the man. This lands him in jail, and with the absence of their breadwinner, the family loses their house and their investment. Jurgis spirals towards the depth of despair. Ona dies in the childbirth of their 2nd son. Their first son dies in an accident. The group breaks up and goes their own way. 

Jurgis travels away in the summer, but returns to Chicago for the winter. He joins a political machine, and for a while his star rises. But an encounter with the same man who abused his wife Ona once again lands him in jail, and this time it is even harder to rebound. In the depth of despair, Jurgis discovers socialism, and after living through workers' hell for two years, he now understands what is attractive about socialism.

First published in 1905 as a serial then in a heavily censored book, The Jungle nevertheless forced changes at the federal level. Laws were passed to control the quality of food, work conditions, and the more blatant abuses that happened in the slaughter houses. An indictment of crude capitalism, The Jungle remains relevant today for the lessons that it provide about workers' right and economic abuse by the rich.

The Pullman Strike of 1894

Burgan, Michael. The Pullman Strike of 1894. 2008. 48p. ISBN 978-0-7565-3348-9. Available at 331.892 BUR on the library shelves.

The industrial revolution forever changed the way people in the United States lived and worked. The expansion of the railroad suddenly allowed travel and shipping across vast distances over a short period of time, making the country suddenly accessible to most. Many train travelers of the time enjoyed the luxurious Pullman car, with its fancy woodwork and comfortable seating and sleeping arrangements.

Build in Chicago by the Pullman Palace Car Company, the Pullman car at first took the country by storm and provided for better traveling conditions. Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company were comparatively well paid and had access to company housing in Pullman’s own town. George Pullman, owner and founder of the company, wanted to provide the best possible working environment for his workers.

But as the economic conditions deteriorated during the 1893 recession, the number of travellers declined, train companies stopped purchasing cars for their trains, and Pullman suddenly found himself having to cut costs. He laid off 1,500 workers and significantly cut the remaining workers’ pay. At the same time, however, he refused to lower the rents he was charging for living in company housing. This led to a volatile situation where workers were no longer making enough to pay for their rent. Some workers received paychecks worth pennies after their rent and utilities were deducted.

The workers decided to fight back, and organized a union which called for a strike in 1894. Eventually, the strikers were repressed by federal soldiers, and many were killed or imprisoned. The labor movement continued, however, and eventually led to better working conditions across the United States.

This short book effectively tells this story of workers rising against the capitalists who controlled the means of production, and the changes that occurred during and after the strike. Fans of history will enjoy the description of this conflict. Click on this link for more information about the Pullman Strike of 1894.