Behind the Bar with Caitlin Lee
This interview was conducted in 2023 for our zine Service, Please!
Tell us about yourself
Caitlin: My name is Caitlin Lee, I’m originally from Ayrshire but I moved to Glasgow to study and have been here for 9 years. I originally worked in hospitality, then I became a hospitality organiser for Unite, and now I am a trade union organiser for Unison.
Helen: How did you get involved with unions?
Caitlin: I had always been a member of Unite since I started working in hospitality because I was a stereotypical lefty student that wanted to be in a union.
I didn’t actually get active in Unite until the pandemic when my employer – IHG – decided to stop using the JRS (job retention scheme) and make the majority of my hotel redundant. I very quickly began organising with my colleagues to prevent the redundancies. Our redundancy notification meet was identical to the scene in Succession when Tom fires all of the workers...
I was elected a workplace redundancy rep and fought our employer as best as we collectively could. I really think this was the awakening for me about how callous employers in hospitality could be and the importance of collectively standing together and forcing a rebalance of power. The largest hotel chain in the world taking the decision to make over 60% of staff redundant 3 months into a global pandemic and potentially leave so many of my friends and colleagues destitute really lit a flame in me and since June 1st 2020 I’ve been actively organising and involved in the trade union movement.
Photo Credit: Debbie Boyd
Helen: Why do you think people want to work in hospitality?
Caitlin: Working in hospitality is the most rewarding job ever. Every single day is completely different and with that you bring and learn so many skills. The rush of a busy Saturday night service in December used to give me such a buzz after work because I always felt like I had achieved something after a shift in hospitality. I don’t think many other jobs have that sense of achievement.
You get so many new experiences, like learning about different coffees, designing cocktail menus, launching a new à la carte menu... you are consistently learning, experiencing new tastes and being creative.
But I think the people really are the best part, and they are so important to your job. A lot of the people that are drawn to hospitality are very social people, so many of the bonds you make really stick, and I think that is what makes the industry so special. Two of my bridesmaid’s and best friends are people I met while working in a hotel!
These are jobs that are incredibly physically and emotionally exhausting, and yet because the majority of the workforce are on low wages they are not regarded as “good” jobs.
Helen: Why do you think it's not a career taken seriously by people outside of it, or even inside of it?
I really find this question interesting and difficult to nail down an exact issue I do think it is a combination of factors that makes people disregard the industry so much.
Firstly the low pay, wrongly most of society and our economy regard low pay to mean low skilled, and it is in fact the opposite. Hospitality workers, carers and agricultural workers are the lowest paid in the economy, and yet they are some of the hardest working. These are jobs that are incredibly physically and emotionally exhausting, and yet because the majority of the workforce are on low wages they are not regarded as “good” jobs.
Profit driven, all hospitality businesses are driven by profit. Of course businesses need to make money, but the problem is when that drive for profit by management or owners suppresses workers worth. This is an issue that is incredibly prevalent in hospitality.
There is a belief that in order to keep profits high the morale, and general regard for the workers creating that profit, must be low.
Gordon Ramsay, this is a personal gripe but I believe the media narrative– particularly in television and film, of normalising the abuse of workers in shows like Gordon Ramsey’s, either by customers or other staff has really damaged the image for the workers in an already low regarded industry. Perpetuating the idea that these workplace practices are acceptable.
Caitlin’s work on the Get Me Home Safely campaign has been instrumental for hospitality workers in Glasgow and around the UK. Find out more about the Get Me Home Safely campaign here
Helen: Why should people join a union?
Caitlin: Firstly trade union access (obviously) and an increased density in workplaces. On average a recognised workplace makes 17% more in salary than a non-unionised one. I believe if we were able to build up trade union density in the industry we could achieve better health and safety in the workplace, better wages, and a healthier, more sustainable working environment.
An end to sexual harassment we all know the hospitality industry is rife with issues around sexual harassment in the workplace and from customers. No person comes to their work to be harassed and the normalisation of it in hospitality is unacceptable.
Helen: What changes would you like to see in the industry?
Caitlin: Higher wages to ensure hospitality can be a sustainable career for people. To ensure you can rebalance the power dynamic in a workplace. Collectively demanding better working conditions for you and your colleagues together through forming a union ensures that balance is shifted to where it belongs – on the bar/restaurant floor.
Most people that work in hospitality love working in the industry but don’t love the treatment, or the issues that come with working inhospitality. If we unionised the sector we would make it better for all of our colleagues and improve the sector as a whole.
Helen: Where are you favourite places to eat and drink in Glasgow?
Caitlin: For cocktails I would say Porter and Rye, anything made by my friend Dan Docherty who was nominated for the Scottish Licensing Trade Bartender of the Year. For dinner and drinks I love the Mharsanta Scottish Cuisine in Merchant City. The haggis lasagne is my favourite! And for pints the Old Toll Booth bar.
Service, Please! was made for hospitality workers, by hospitality workers, and was distributed by a mix of trade unionists, breweries and cideries through the means of bars, cafes and restaurants.
If you would like to help distribute Service, Please! to hospitality workers around the UK, please get in touch with Helen and we’ll talk you through our pricing options and how you can help.
