Chipotle’s Sweatshop!

Last week the Chipotle location in State College, PA (home of Penn State University) posted this sign on the door:

“Borderline sweatshop conditions”.

Have you ever gone into a Chipotle restaurant?  You pretty much see most of the kitchen.  There is a little prep area hidden from view, and it looks much like everything else you can see.  Stainless steel, well lighted, air conditioning and ventilation. Chipotle’s food safety is right on par with most major chains, they take it very seriously, the worst thing that can happen to a chain is the bad publicity of a food related illness.

“Borderline sweatshop conditions”.

The hours of this specific location are from 11am to 10pm, Monday through Sunday.  Workers probably get in around 10am, or so, to prep. A manager might have to be in earlier for deliveries and such.  My guess is they’re out each night around 11pm.  Each location will have 3 to 4 managers to cover those hours.  There are two times per day that a Chipotle restaurant is busy, 11:30am to around 1:30pm, and 6pm to around 8pm.  It can be very busy and hectic during those ‘rush’ eating times.

“Borderline sweatshop conditions”.

I would love to send these former Chipotle workers to a real sweatshop.  To a place where they weren’t getting paid $10 plus per hour with free meals, training, safety equipment and potential to move up. To a place where they actually didn’t have the choice to lock up millions of dollars in facilities, equipment and food, and just walk away for the day.  To a place that was actually a sweatshop.

This is why ISIS hates us.

9 thoughts on “Chipotle’s Sweatshop!

  1. Well no. You get there at 8 am but most do before that and start work while off the clock. If you are lucky you will get food before you open but if there isn’t a lot of staff you will go your whole shift without eating. Or taking much of a drink. It’s really not that air conditioned and you never have time to take a drink. You’ll usually work your whole shift, without much of anything, then clock out, and if you stay in the building after you clocked out then you can get a free meal. If you close you’re scheduled to leave at 11:30 but usually stay till 12-12:30 doing work. They pay is barely above minimum wage. I’m not lazy, I’ve worked two jobs, 14 hour days, and one day off a month. But those jobs gave me a real mid shift break and I could keep a water bottle the whole time I worked and you can actually drink it. At chipotle you get a free drink while you work but you won’t ever get time to drink it because it’s so busy ALL day. My city has 3 colleges and only two chipotles and only one of those was on the side of the town with the colleges so all day every day is non stop busy. Working at chipotle means getting severely dehydrated, physically drained, hungry, and suffering from low blood sugar.

  2. Here is my typical day at my job. my chipotle location opens at 10, I am scheduled to arrive at 8 am so I can make salsa. I actually arrive at 745 so I have that extra 15 minutes of working off the clock, I am also not the only one that does this.

    From 8 to 930, I am expected to make about 3 hot salsas
    6 medium salsas
    12 sour creams
    15 mild salsas
    20 corn
    I am also expected to wash all my dishes
    Stock the front
    Set up the line(spoons and food and stuff)
    Set up the actual physical line (the line to keep the line in order)

    I absolutely need to be done by 929 because I need to take my 30 minute break before we open.
    We have a deployment chart that estimates how long it takes me to do all this. It says I will be done at 1015, so after my break I will be ready to work at 1045. But nope, my managers still expect me to be finished by 929, so yeah it’s sweatshop labor for the pay we recieve. At least in comparison to my previous food industry job, where I made $1 more for a much easier job.

  3. This is one of the things that the youth of today need to understand…hard work equals decent pay. Kids today get out of college and think they are automatically going to get six figure salaries…not gonna happen. Even a Ph.D. starts somewhere, and it ain’t at six figures. Rarely does it start there. A person has to prove themselves. A college degree means you stuck it out. It doesn’t explain your work ethic or your dedication to a job well done, only experience does that. This is ridiculous and may the Owner of this franchise fire all his employees and find those that really want an income and want to work for it.

  4. Brats! They should try working in REAL food service, like my daughter who is working her way through college as a server – where you are at the mercy of grumpy customers who can choose whether or not you get paid to bring them food. Try ending a 6 hour shift with $20 in your pocket and THEN tell us how much your job sucks! She prays for a busier than usual shift, because the hustle pays her bills. These Chipotle kids are spoiled rotten, afraid to work hard and earn their keep – let them walk out and be replaced by more appreciative workers! I bet the service will improve dramatically.

  5. Ridiculous! And this is why people have a poor opinion of gen Y and Z workers. Work is work. If it wasn’t work, you wouldn’t get paid to do it.

  6. Excellent! Just like the Walmart employees protesting. Being aware of Walmart salaries – they are more than competitive with the rest of the businesses in the company. They take basically unskilled workers, train them, and then give them jobs with very low responsibility and not much hard work. However, if you want to advance, the opportunities are incredible. But enough, this was about Chipotle, which works hard to structure the work hours of the many students who work their with the students’ schedules and personal lives.
    If you don’t like the job – go work someplace else. No one is forcing you to work at Chipotle.

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