Waffle House Workers: “We’re fed TF up!”
In between the cravings for biscuits and gravy, the nostalgic lore, and the traditional late-night and early-morning adventures associated with Waffle House, there is an even greater and more important story of Southern worker power.
In 2022, the Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW) launched to work alongside low-wage food, retail, and care workers across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama with a mission to:
win immediate improvements on the job through organizing workplace campaigns;
reform the system of Southern labor relations so that all workers, including the most excluded, can achieve dignity;
transform Southern society to serve the interests of the working class rather than big corporations.
Community supporters gather outside Waffle House to support striking workers, May 15-19, 2025.
“We’re ready to fight and win better conditions.”
Many Waffle House workers across the southeast have joined USSW, organizing strikes, rallies, and uniting around the key demands for a $25 minimum wage (most tipped workers earn about $3 an hour), an end to mandatory paycheck deductions for shift meals that many workers don’t eat, and a seat at the table to shape the policies they want to see in the workplace.
The southern United States presents unique opportunities and challenges to workplace organizing. Policymakers repeatedly threaten collective bargaining rights, and corporations use tax loopholes and economic exploitation to harm already disproportionately marginalized communities and their workers. Yet, a resurgence of strategic labor organizing and worker-led victories in the region is inspiring a new wave of southern labor leaders.
Atlanta Jobs with Justice organizer Anastancia Cuna leads the picket line in a chant.
Smothered & Covered in Solidarity
Last month, workers at the Windy Hill Waffle House in Marietta, GA went on strike. The strike kicked off with a worker-led march on Waffle House corporate HQ outside of Atlanta. Workers delivered a strike notice and a letter demanding the same safe working conditions afforded to employees on Waffle House’s corporate campus. In the following days after the march, the community rallied behind workers in front of the Windy Hill restaurant, including Atlanta Jobs With Justice.
Worker after worker shared testimony about life-threatening safety issues, the trauma of low wages, and more. Atlanta Jobs with Justice organizer Anastancia Cuna reflects on the moment, “I heard one worker share their testimony about struggling to make ends meet despite working full-time. Their courage to speak out in public was a powerful reminder of the human cost of low wages and why this fight matters.”
Also in attendance was Advancing Black Strategist Initiative (ABSI) Fellow, Summer Gobern. As an ABSI Fellow, Summer receives direct campaign experience from USSW and supports organizing workers like those at Waffle House. Summer describes the strike as a beautiful moment of labor and community solidarity. “At one point, a worker sprinted outside, filled with joy, and was welcomed with cheers from supporters once he had delivered the demand letter. You can feel the reclamation of self in doing an act like that, especially on behalf of a unified union. It was beautiful. We were united, committed to having each other's back.” Anastancia adds, “One thing remained constant: our presence sent a clear message that these workers are not alone. We’ll keep showing up. We’ll keep building power. Because when Waffle House workers win, all workers in the south win!”
Striking workers returned to work on May 19, refueled and ready to continue their fight for justice. Support Waffle House workers and their demands here. And follow Atlanta Jobs with Justice for more opportunities to show up in solidarity.