‘Undervalued and misunderstood’: How service workers live in Moab

Service workers interact with visitors every day in Moab — often becoming the face of the town with an economy that relies on tourism.

Working in Moab, however, isn’t as easy as working in a bigger city.

Gianna Dallape, a service worker who’s lived in Moab for four years, opted to live in her van because of the rental market.

“It is ultimately a choice in some ways. And I do enjoy it,” Dallape said. “That being said, rent is pretty expensive here, and getting more and more expensive. [Housing] is also just hard to find. There’s not a ton of resources for long-term rentals here that are actually affordable. And if you do find them, you usually need at least two to three roommates.”

Dallape isn’t alone.

A person who works at two restaurants told The Times-Independent many service workers live out of their vans. These workers either live in their friends’ driveways, or they park on Bureau of Land Management land.

“I also pay for full coverage insurance for my van, which, if I wasn’t living in it, I probably pay less,” Dallape said. “Gas is really expensive in comparison to if I had a nice little town car.”

Dallape fills her van with gas nearly every week, every fill costing about $100. She did note that during the hotter and colder months, she’s forced to find a temporary room. This winter, however, Dallape will leave Moab to live elsewhere.

All of the service workers The Times-Independent spoke with work at least two jobs — with one working up to four — just to make ends meet. All of them get paid $2.13 an hour, with one earning $10 an hour during bartending shifts, forcing them to rely heavily on tips.

Struggles service workers face

None of the four employees receive benefits from their employers. All of their healthcare is through the Affordable Care Act — which is set to expire by the end of the year. Many of the service workers rely on the Moab Free Health Clinic.

“We are all like, ‘Shoot, I don’t know if we’re gonna have health insurance anymore.’ That’s gonna have a huge impact on us,” one employee said. “… They all just go to the Free Health Clinic. If the Free Health Clinic doesn’t offer it, then they’re not going to go.”

About 54% of the Moab Free Health Clinic’s patient population works in the hospitality industry. If the clinic didn’t exist, then 67% of patients said they would either go to the emergency room, or they wouldn’t receive care at all.

Health insurance isn’t the only obstacle service workers face. During the off season in Moab, many restaurants close. For winter, restaurants can close for up to four months.

Heather Daigle, a worker at two restaurants, had two unexpected car expenses leading up to the off season.

“Now I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, what am I gonna do?’” Daigle said. “… I have enough savings to get me through rent. It would be my preference to not use it for that.”

Daigle added she feels she’s in “this weird place where the past handful of months have been such a grind that, for my well being, I need to work less.”

Despite Daigle feeling burned out, she floated the idea of a third job to get through the winter season.

Some service workers, however, are offered unemployment during the off season — but that depends on whether the restaurant owners give the final approval.

“If you even call off one day, they’ll deny your unemployment through the off season,” Dallape said. “I’ve heard of employers being extremely vindictive here with unemployment through the off season, and at that point, I think that’s just cruel.”

One employee noted the restaurants who don’t close during the off seasons are the ones “not super keen” on unemployment. “That’s a good way to spot it throughout the winter,” the employee said.

Tipping culture

Because servers are typically paid $2.13, most of their income relies on customers tips. These tips are usually split between the servers, hostesses and kitchen staff.

“You deal with the days where it’s ‘oh, I didn’t make that much money today, and I feel stressed,’ and you never really know what your income is going to be,” said Leanna Usher, who works up to four jobs. “It’s hard to really plan long term, but then you can make more money than people who have those consistent jobs. It’s definitely a gamble.”

During a time when consumer sentiment is down, one employee said they’ve noticed customers “worry” more about how much they’re spending. Despite economic uncertainty with tipping culture, the employee added they will pick up extra shifts to offset bad tip days.

Usher has also noticed customers are more cost cognizant.

“I got a $5 [tip] on 45 dollars the other day, and most of the time people tip 20 [percent] plus,” Usher said. “But there’s definitely times when they don’t, and it definitely feels hard, because it feels like my labor is being undervalued and misunderstood.”

Usher added she has “compassion for people” but noted the tips help pay her bills. “The tipping industry [expletive delted] sucks … but also the way that you stick it to the law is not by stiffing your server,” Usher said.

One employee wishes they weren’t paid $2.13 because of the “nasty mindset towards tipping culture” forcing customers, especially European tourists, to not tip.

The employee also wishes there was more workforce housing available.

“I do feel like we are the workforce,” the employee said. “Especially with housing. A lot of people live in their vehicles. Housing is so hard here in Moab, and there’s not a lot of housing to house the workforce. It’s pretty crazy.”

The city that doesn’t support them

The workers told The Times-Independent they don’t feel supported by city or county officials.

Dallape, who’s only worked at tourist destinations, has not felt job security or support from the community she lives in. Daigle feels the same way.

“Because of the transient nature of Moab and because of the way that the city has prioritized the tourism industry, what feels to me [is] I just feel pretty disposable,” Daigle said. “I’m just so replaceable even though I’ve been in the service industry for 10-plus years. I’m in my mid-30s … I feel because of how many workers are available … I almost feel silenced.”

Dallape added other cities will have industry nights to give back to service workers. Service workers are given discounts on drinks, such as a, “I scratch your back, you scratch my back kind of a vibe,” she said.

“That is not really the vibe here,” Dallape said. “In some of the restaurants I’ve worked at with management, I’m like, ‘You very clearly do not have my best interests in mind, and do not look at this like you’re in charge of people, I am just a number to you.’”

Note to readers • Lizzie Ramirez is a Report for America corps member covering local government and tourism in Grand County for The Times-Independent. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.

This story was first published by The Times-Independent.