'A wake-up call': Miami hotel workers resist going back to low-wage normal

'A wake-up call': Miami hotel workers resist going back to low-wage normal
South Beach visitors make their way down Ocean Drive near the Clevelander in Miami Beach, Florida during the start of Memorial Day weekend on Friday, May 28, 2021. - MATIAS J. OCNER/TNS
Miami Herald
June 22, 2021

For 10 years, Norlando Saavedra left his house in Kendall, Fla., at 4 a.m. to arrive at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach by 5 a.m. The 58-year-old worked for eight hours making omelets, bacon, waffles and pancakes for hotel guests. Then, he got back into his car and drove to the Hilton Double Tree Hotel in Doral, where he worked from 2 until 10 p.m. making tacos, hamburgers, pizzas and churrascos. Most days, he arrived home at 11 p.m. Two jobs. Sixteen hour days. Six days a week. It took both jobs for Saavedra to earn close to the $31.41 per hour that, according to MIT’s calculator, con...

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