Maine is known for its vibrant restaurant industry. Now an advocacy group wants to spotlight the people who keep that industry going, and challenge the conditions they work under. Restaurant Opportunities Center of Maine has released what it calls a first-of-its-kind survey of 525 restaurant workers in several Maine counties. It shows that their yearly earnings average about $14,200, including tips.

"While there are a few good jobs in Maine in the restaurant industry, most of the jobs are low-wage with a median hourly earnings of $8.92," says Steve Emmons, a coordinator for the advocacy group, speaking in South Portland at a meeting that included labor leaders, academics and restaurant owners and workers.

The group also found that 90 percent of the restaurant workers surveyed lack health insurance, while a quarter said they experienced overtime violations. "That's significant because a lot of the time folks in the restaurant industry work more than 40 hours a week, but they're not getting paid more for that," Emmons says. "By law if you work more than 40 hours, you have to get time-and-a-half. It doesn't matter if you're in the front or the back, if you're a server or a buser, if you're in the kitchen, if you work more than 40 hours you have to get time-and-a-half."

In the last month, Emmons and his group have been making waves for helping workers at The Front Room, a popular restaurant in Portland, bring a lawsuit against the owner, alleging wage and overtime violations. The group is part of the national Restaurant Opportunities Center, which has a presence in much larger cities such as Detroit and New Orleans where similar reports are also being issued.

Critics in the restaurant industry say such reports are part of a plan to build support for unionizing restaurant workers. "They're setting the stage, collecting the data, setting up employees, who really don't know what is happening perhaps, for the labor organizers to come right behind them," says Dick Grotton, executive director of the Maine Restaurant Association, which has about 800 members.

Grotton questions the survey itself. For instance, he says based on his knowledge of the industry, Maine workers make about $10 more an hour than what is reported in the survey. He did acknowledge that survey's results showing some employers violate overtime rules may happen -- but not often, and not on purpose, he says.

"Most restaurateurs that I know would rather sleep at night. They don't need that kind of aggravation," Grotton says. "So if something like that's happening, they misunderstand what the law is, that kind of thing happens. But that can be easily corrected. Somebody makes a complaint, they go to the boss, and if they say, 'Well, no, we don't pay you overtime,' and that doesn't sound right, call the Department of Labor, call us here at the association."

But restaurant workers say that they feel intimidated to report employers and jeopardize their jobs because they need the money, even when safety and health laws are being violated.

Warren Hyman, a 34-year-old cook, says he's seen people come into work sick as dogs, as he puts it. He's seen others injured in the kitchen. "OK, you're cut, but if you want to go to the emergency room, that's after your shift," he says.

Hyman says of his 20 years in the business, he's never worked anywhere that provides paid sick days -- a measure that the Restaurant Opportunities Center strongly advocates.

The group says that some restaurants do take care of their workers -- but Hyman says in his experience, it's hard to find those jobs.
"The high-ends, they pay good. Benefits. But there's not many out there that are willing to do it," he says. "They're just looking at bringing in the money and keeping the money in. Don't care about the workers."

Hyman, a native of Cape Verdes, says that workers of color face the additional burden of discrimination. In the survey, minorities reported higher rates of employment law violations and lower wages in back-of-the-house jobs, like dishwashing.

Grotton, of the Restaurant Association, maintains that the industry pays people based on what marketable skill levels they have, and that with training, workers can move up the pay scale.

On the heels of this survey, Restaurant Opportunities says it next plans to organize a roundtable that would bring restaurant workers and employers together to talk about improving the industry.