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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 2019)
SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2019 | 7A “The stories we could businesses falling into the I’ve hired people who have “small business” defini- served time before. I be- tell you,” Ann laughs. When they decided to as well. In keeping the DQ tion, according to the U.S. lieve anybody can work if you just find the right job,” start families, balancing business in the family, Mi- Department of Labor. This means women are said Ann, who still works home and work life meant chele’s son runs the Cre- employing a lot of people a shift along with her em- sometimes combining the swell location. Ann Jensen-Brad- in the nation — and here ployees. “I’m on the sched- two. “In a small town, you get ley started working at in Florence, Ann and Mi- ule like a regular employ- the Florence A&W as a chele shared what it’s like ee, but I pay someone else a sense of connection and identity. Then there’s the to do office work.” 16-year-old back in 1974. to be women in business. “I’m the other way freedom of choice,” Mi- Both Michele and Ann She made her way up to manager and eventually have owned small busi- around,” said Michele. “I’m chele said. “Or then, when became the fourth owner nesses in Florence and second consecutive for more than 20 woman to run the restau- years and have “I’ve hired high school kids, I’ve hired kids from rant in Florence, when she helped the local by the special education class, I’ve hired people who bought the A&W on Jan. 1, community donating time, have served time before. I believe anybody can 2000. “I love the business and money and food work if you just find the right job.” I love people,” she said. “I to causes of their — Ann Jensen-Bradley, didn’t want a sit-down job. choice. Owner of Florence A&W Restaurant “You have that I have to be on the move. As long as I still like going freedom to help to work, I’ll hang on to it.” with the projects Women owned 33 per- that you want,” cent of small businesses in Michele said. “I do stuff on the floor and I do my you have kids, they come the U.S. according to the for the elementary school own office work, so I hard- to work with you.” “Making your own 2015 Census. As defined kids, the library, the Boys ly ever get to leave.” As business owners, Ann schedule,” Ann said. by the Small Business and Girls Club.” “And when you can’t Ann says one of her fa- and Michele are responsi- Administration, a small business is a firm with vorite parts of running a ble for payroll, garnishing make your own schedule, fewer than 500 employ- business is the life skills paychecks for employees you just have to drag them ees. Overall, small busi- young adults learn while and doing all the paper- into your schedule,” Mi- work that accompanies chele said. “Mine came to nesses employ nearly half working for her. “I’ve hired high school that, along with setting work with me every day, of the nation’s workforce (47.5 percent), with 99 kids, I’ve hired kids from money aside for the new but I met a lot of really percent of women-owned the special education class, sick-pay law, which re- nice people because your quires Oregon employers kids never cry until it’s the with 10 or more employ- lunch rush.” “I’m dragging the grand- ees to provide full-time workers with 40 hours of kids in now,” Ann said. Being a woman in charge paid sick leave per year. They are at their restau- has presented the two with rants almost every day of challenges over the years. “I will say one thing. You the week. “I still work 40 to 50 can have a restaurant full hours a week. I feel like I of employees and yourself have to in order to keep and one 12-year old boy — and they always go to the things going,” Ann said. When anything goes boy as the owner or the In 2019 we will be celebrating the 80th anniversary wrong at their restaurants, manager,” Michele said. “It of our business in Florence. It is time to express the Ann and Michele are there doesn’t matter, it’s always appreciation and gratitude we feel, and have always felt, for the guy. They still gravitate to fix it. the friendship, trust and loyalty of those who live in this “People have stolen my towards ‘it must be a guy.’” community. It is your confi dence in us and your continued patronage that has made these 80 years such a pleasurable “Same thing happens to plumbing fixtures for our experience. Th ank you. sink and our toilet, they me daily,” Ann said. “You Johnston Motor Company steal the batteries out of know someone wants to Since 1939 our smoke detectors,” Mi- talk to the manager, and I 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence chele said. “They camp in say ‘Well, I’m the manag- (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 er.’ And they say, ‘Well, I our dumpster area.” want to talk to the owner’ and I go, ‘I’m the owner, what do you have to say?’ Then they go ‘I want cor- porate’s number’ and I say, ‘Just go online, tell Kevin hello — I know the presi- dent personally.’” “My dad was really cool to work for because sales- men or whatever would come in and they would want something. Then they would find out that you’re not the owner or that you’re a female and they would want to go to the top,” Michele said. “So, then they would go to my dad and he’d send them back. ‘If you want WIB from page 1A Curious? anything, you have to go ask her,’ he’d say. Then you have the power to get rid of them if you didn’t like them.” The two business own- ers talked about the is- sues currently facing the fast food industry, such as minimum wage increases and employee turnaround. “I think the hardest thing about hiring people now is, when they start working — even minimum wage — if they work 40 hours a week, they are taken off food stamps. They are taken off free health care,” Ann said. “I mean who would want to lose their healthcare? You can’t blame them for not wanting to work.” “Then they say ‘Well, thank you for the raise but I only want 20 hours because then I won’t get housing, food stamps or health insurance,’” Mi- chele added. Currently Oregon’s min- imum wage is $11.25 an hour. “The ones who have the best deal are the single par- ents who make their kids go out and work and con- tribute because they can make a lot of money and only spend 20 or 25 hours a week working,” Michele said. “And we are not the only ones that start at min- imum wage. Almost every single business does. And I swear some kids make more than their mothers do working at the banks.” “We are not lower class just because we are fast food. It is meant to be an entry-level job,” Ann said. “And fast food is not the one who invented min- imum wage. We aren’t the ones who perpetuate minimum wage,” Michele said. “We pay just as much as the bank, or the other places around here — if not more. My highest em- ployee is paid $18 an hour. “That’s what people don’t get; it’s not really easy work. You’re there around the clock, you don’t get 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. That’s the only downfall,” she con- tinued. “And we could afford to offer insurance if we didn’t have to pay all this extra stuff for the people who don’t really want to work anyway. Like the sick leave.” Ann said, “We trans- ferred our paid vacation program to the sick leave program. Sometimes peo- ple take advantage of the sick leave. When someone calls in sick, I say ‘Come in and if you have a fever I’ll send you home.’ It’s such a hardship when somebody doesn’t come to work and they’re not sick. That’s the hardest thing.” “Everyone just throws us in there as that ‘mini- mum wage is a dead-end job,’” Michele said. “Yeah, I’ve heard that so many times,” Ann agreed. “‘This is a dead-end job.’ I say, ‘You know what? I make a good living and this was my first job and it wasn’t dead end for me. You just have to love what you do.” Michele added, “I just wish people realized that even though we’re sup- posedly minimum wage, we contribute a ton, as all small businesses do, to the community.” “I think because it’s also a retirement community, there’s not enough people young enough,” Ann said. “There’s so many service industry jobs here but there’s not enough people to fill those positions.” For Michele, working with young employees comes with rewards that can be a real positive. “The other good thing in the community is that you can teach the young employees how to be strong enough to stand up for themselves,” she said. “That’s right,” Ann said. “That’s part of what I like — teaching people. I like teaching kids responsibil- ity and just everyday man- ners. Just teaching them about life in general.” But for all the ups and downs, the challenges of combining work and home life along with the everlasting challenges as women in the business world, Ann and Michele say they find strength, power and enjoyment in the businesses they own and run. “You can also be viewed as being large and power- ful even if you’re not,” Mi- chele said. “You just learn as you go,” Ann said. “Just like being a par- ent,” Michele said. “You learn what you don’t want your kids to be like when they grow up.” “And you learn to be thankful for what you have,” Ann said. FRAA ART CENTER 120 Maple Street Phone: 541-997-4435 Hours Open: Mon 10am-2pm, Wed-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun. 11am-5pm We’ll keep you in the know with news and features to satisfy your interests. Neighborhood News Local Sports Dining, Arts, Entertainment & Events Coupons, Shopping & Special Off ers Cars, Real Estate, Jobs & Classifi eds New Subscribers Try Us FREE for 4 Weeks! Call 541.997.3441, use online code NEW0405 or mail the completed form below to start your free trial subscription. Classes, Workshops & Events 2nd Saturday Gallery Tour Reception Saturday, August 10, 2019 3 pm - 5 pm August’s Featured Artists are Craig Shreeve (Photography Artwork) and Alyssa Lydick (Ceramics, Youth Artist, FRAA Scholarship Winner) Acrylic Pour Art w/ Pam Nedder Yes, I want to receive home delivery of Th e Siuslaw News FREE for 4 weeks! Sunday, August 11, 2019 2 pm - 4 pm Make your own acrylic pour painting. All materials provided. Pre-registration req’d at FRAA or w/ Pam, Painting with John Leasure Name: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________________________________ Saturdays 9 am - 12 pm No painting experience required. Contact: jnleasure@hotmail.com or 541-991-2754 for details and fees. 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Writers on the River - Creative Writing Workshop w/ Catherine Rourke Writers’ Summer Boot Camp: Simple Steps for Better Writing Learn tips from the Amazon pros Sat., August 24, 2019 10 am - 12 noon All writing levels and genres, Contact: CJReditor@gmail.com , 541-708-2120 Big Wave Poetry 1st Tuesday Open Mic Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at 7:00 pm Admission is free and refreshments will be available. Poetry Workshop Small group meeting of poets to enhance their written word. Last Tuesday of each month, 6:30-8:30 pm Write fraaoregon@gmail.com if you are interested in joining. Writers Workshop Writers discuss their current works and get inputs from other writers. 2nd Tuesday, Monthly, 1-4 pm Write fraaoregon@gmail.com for more details. Siuslaw News News and views that defi ne our community. In Print & Online 541.997.3441 • Th eSiuslawNews.com For more information about classes, visit fraaoregon.org. To register for these classes, please call or visit FRAA at our Art Center on Maple Street.
