Well, didn't I stir up a real hornets' nest with my post concerning the discrepancy between buying local produce and hiring illegal labor? I must be doing something right! Here is a response to that post, from the chef at the cafe in question, that I got in a facebook message. All names have been deleted to protect the innocent, and the guilty. The favor that is referred to was a loan of a quart of olives, which was returned five times over in the form of 5 pounds of fresh mozzarella cheese, the next week.
"so in response to the most recent favor I've done for you, I'm rewarded by you recommending no one patronize ****'s for lunch or brunch, potentially affecting the livelihood I and my family depend on.For this I say FUCK YOU. Once again your information is pulled from your ass and inaccurate, I chose not to comment at the blog site to keep it clean,as no one else has yet to comment, or perhaps even read the damn thing. You continue to be as self-serving and immature as you are, you'll continue to be unemployable and thrown out of bands. NEVER contact me again, stay away from my family and myself, and once again FUCK YOU."
After receiving this message, I was stunned. Firstly, I never mentioned the name or location of the cafe/ bakery, and secondly, I left a proverbial "trail of bread crumbs" (pun totally intended) for people to follow to find out which cafe/ bakery to which I was referring. Really, who is going to play "DaVinci Code" to find out which local bakery has the most undocumented workers? If you do have that kind of time, get a life!
I then posted the blog to my facebook page, in an effort to get some feedback on whether or not I was right or wrong in my assessment of the situation. Here are some of the responses I got on my facebook page:
-
in my opinion, yes,you are right!! and i voted for you too!
i think it sounds great .
there is nothing wrong with it
How could anyone even question it? If I have to pay taxes, every asshole out there should, too. Whether they are from this country or not!
I think it was a good article that raised some really good points - especially the one about the bounced paychecks while the illegals are getting paid cash. And really Dave, who in their right mind would leave a nasty comment to someone who can put that many beer caps on his head?
You were right on the money.-
Right on!
After receiving so much support from friends and readers, I thought it was only right to attempt to mend fences, after all, I did consider the chef to be a friend, and to clarify my position on the matter. So, I wrote several letters to the cafe in question, all addressed to the various legal employees that I knew were still working there. Here is a copy of the letter:
I’m sure you’ve all heard from **** about my blog post, but here is the letter I sent him regarding my position on this issue.
****,
I know you told me not to contact you again, but I am writing you to clarify a couple of things, and in the hope that you will reconsider our friendship. I am still willing to go to any length for you, barring legal ramifications. You have always treated me with equity and respect, which is more than I can say for your employers. You may not think so, but I am on your side. Previous blog posts were references to **** and ***** though, admittedly, more veiled than my current post.
I believe that your hostility is misdirected. I never mentioned the name or exact location of the business, and you certainly didn’t respond this way to previous blog posts in which I did “name names” in an effort to shine a light on the sociopathic behaviors that you and I have both endured as employees in the restaurant business.
Surely, ****’s practice of hiring illegal labor, paying under the table, bouncing paychecks, and shirking his/ her duty as an American business owner to pay taxes presents a greater threat to your livelihood than anything I may print on my blog. Every time someone is let go or quits, there is always the issue of them being angry enough to call the ICE, the IRS, or both, and that is a dark cloud to live and work under. There are certainly more former ****’s employees with an axe to grind than there are people reading my blog, which you pointed out. I was that angry three years ago, but when I considered your livelihood, and the livelihoods of the other “above the table” employees, I decided not to report the many illegal and ill- advised things I saw there, and I don’t plan on ever reporting them the agencies in question. So, it’s really not me you need to worry about. I think you know that this is not a personal thing. I also think you know that ****'s reputation among former and current employees is less than stellar in regards to getting paid, unless you get paid in cash. These are the real threats to your livelihood.
As far as my information being inaccurate, has **** stopped hiring illegal aliens and paying them in cash? Has s/he stopped bouncing the paychecks of taxpaying citizens? Has s/he treated you, ****, *****, *****, *****, and **** with the respect, equity, and pay you deserve for being a reliable and talented group of people? Moreover, have any of these things actually occurred to him/ her as problems s/he should be addressing? **** has also made his/ her business unsalable, due to the hidden monies and payroll costs. I don’t know of any lawyer, accountant, or real estate agent that will not see the bookkeeping discrepancies at ****’s during the process of due diligence for a potential buyer. So, if s/he ever decides to sell the place, it can only be to you, or someone else that is aware of the hidden costs that are not on the books. I would gladly swallow my pride and print a retraction if you could demonstrate that these morale and economy destroying practices have ceased, but I doubt that they have stopped. Maybe your time would be better spent trying to educate **** and ***** in the error of their ways, rather than ranting about a vague, not widely read, albeit accurate, assessment of the situation. But then again, in your own words, you’ve been, “… teaching them the same lessons…” for the last ten years. It must be exhausting.
In regards to me being self- serving and immature, making the public aware of lousy and dangerous business practices is probably the least self serving thing a person can do. As a matter of fact, Ralph Nader has made a career of it. Why shouldn’t I warn people not to spend their hard earned money at a place where a large percentage of that money may possibly be shipped directly out of the country and the economy? Isn’t tax evasion for personal profit the most self serving thing one can do? Immature? My thoughts have matured to the point that I realize that the aforementioned less than legal, and less than charitable, practices are not sustainable, and it is really only a matter of time before some disgruntled employee “drops a dime.”
Referring to me as unemployable is a cheap shot, and I’ve never been thrown out of a band. I was the guy who cleaned the walk in coolers, the dry storage area, spent hours chipping the carbon from the panini grill, and cleaned and organized just about any other area that needed it, without anyone asking. I contributed many excellent recipes for soup and other things (like the tofu marinades that you still use today), reconceived the calzones which decreased cost and prevented waste, and many of my ideas made it into seasonal menu redesigns. So, if being an employee willing to do whatever it takes, wanting to get paid a fair wage in a timely fashion, expecting to be treated with fairness and respect, and being talented enough for my ideas to be on the menu makes me unemployable, I guess I am.
I hope that someday you can educate **** and ***** on how they, and many other small business owners, are destroying the country. I think you’d have better luck teaching your dog to play the cello. Maybe this missive can be used to open their eyes. As a matter of fact, I’ll send a copy to ****, *****, *****, *****, ****, *****, and *****. I wish you and the guys nothing but the best, but in my opinion, that happens to be getting as far away from ****, *****, and their egos, as possible, before the karma wheel comes around. I’m sorry to have lost a reader. Be forewarned! Without some type of acknowledgement or response, this all becomes blog fodder. After all, I am now a writer/journalist. My email is **************.
In respect and admiration,
David A. Fisher
I mailed those letters last Thursday. I still haven't gotten a response, or a subpoena, so I guess I'm in the clear. I really am sorry to have lost a friend over this. A friend who is a stand up, shirt off of his back, kind of guy. He's terribly intelligent and personable, and I will miss him............but I am right!
Love, Peace, and Bacon grease!
