HR0674 LRB096 15049 GRL 30031 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Accommodations and food services accounted for
3 450,400 jobs in Illinois in 2007, according to the Illinois
4 Department of Employment Security, Current Employment
5 Statistics; food service workers range from chefs in fine
6 restaurants to short-order cooks, waiters, and cafeteria
7 workers; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Food service workers are younger than the average
9 employee, with 37 percent below the age of 24; one-third of
10 these workers are employed part time; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Food service workers often work in small, cramped
12 kitchens with hot stoves and ovens; the workers are under
13 pressure to produce and serve food quickly while maintaining
14 quality standards; work conditions for these workers are tough,
15 requiring employees to stand for hours at a time, with slips,
16 falls, cuts, and burns as common job hazards; and
 
17     WHEREAS, In 2006, about 29 percent of cooks and 44 percent
18 of food preparation workers had part-time schedules, compared
19 to 15 percent of workers throughout the economy; work hours in
20 restaurants may include early mornings, late evenings,
21 holidays, and weekends, while the work schedules of chefs,
22 cooks, and other kitchen workers in factory and school

 

 

HR0674 - 2 - LRB096 15049 GRL 30031 r

1 cafeterias may be more regular; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Food service worker positions teach valuable
3 skills, including communication skills; the workers also learn
4 to work quickly, efficiently, and how to deal with pressure
5 situations; in addition, workers learn proper customer service
6 techniques, including how to deal with upset customers; all of
7 these skills prove invaluable to workers that move on to future
8 careers in the public or private sectors; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Food service workers provide a vital service to
10 the State of Illinois, both through their positions in the
11 restaurants and cafeterias of this State and their role in the
12 overall economic welfare of Illinois; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
15 designate the second Tuesday in October of 2009 and 2010 as
16 Food Service Workers Day in the State of Illinois in honor of
17 these workers and their immense contributions to this State.