The Pizza Dude: Organized Delivery

Well, it’s back to business as usual: school pizzas,
regular business hours and night-time pizza orders are flying out the
door. At this time of year, deliveries seem to increase because kids
are at home and mom and dad can’t leave the house or just don’t feel
like going out for dinner.

Well, it’s back to business as usual: school pizzas, regular business hours and night-time pizza orders are flying out the door. At this time of year, deliveries seem to increase because kids are at home and mom and dad can’t leave the house or just don’t feel like going out for dinner.

So when I heard the news that a pizza delivery driver for Domino’s Pizza in Florida started a union, I thought “How nice, another union we need to contend with.”

I can understand some of the frustrations of a pizza delivery driver, but what is a union going to accomplish? How much more do you want to get paid?

The 37-year-old guy behind the whole thing claims he delivers pizzas because he likes to sleep late, smoke on the job and listen to the radio.

You want job security, so you can deliver pizza for the rest of your life?  Great ambitions, man. Personally, I don’t think I know anyone that says, “I want to deliver pizza when I grow up.” I’m glad this is what people aim for in Florida. I’m thinking: “Maybe you should’ve gone to school, or learned a trade.”

I don’t know about the rest of the world, but here in Niagara a delivery driver makes five dollars a delivery.  That’s pretty good coin, take ten deliveries a night and it’s fifty bucks. Hustle your butt a bit more and all of a sudden, that cash-in-hand looks even better.

Now, if you’re worried about getting robbed, there are certain precautions you can take. For starters, put a red light on the back of your car that can be turned on from inside. Under the light in bold letters that can be read at night, “if light is flashing, call 911.”  Cabbies rely on these things, and so should anyone in the   business of late-night deliveries.

When you are on the road, you are always at risk, everyday, that’s why you pay car insurance. Independent pizzeria owners cannot afford to pay car insurance for delivery drivers, it’s absolutely atrocious. Something like this makes me think there might be a pizzaiolo or two looking at take-out only from now on.

Unions are not always the answer. I believe employers and employees should form a partnership to help each other grow as individuals and as a company. The last thing I want is someone who wants to skate through life on my tab simply because they have “the power of organized labour” behind them.

Nothing in life is free other than life itself and we should not take advantage of someone’s hard work. Before any big chain became big, they started with one store and worked their asses off to get to where they are today, and for that they should all be credited for their hard work, leadership and the way they helped shape the pizza industry.

Every pizzeria establishes rules of   conduct, policies and procedures. If an employee follows these things to a tee, then there really is no need for him to be worried about losing his job, and pay raises should not be an issue – because good employees will be paid well and will grow with the company. As an owner I will always look out for my employees and I’m sure the rest of you do as well.

To all the big guys out there, Boston Pizza, Domino’s, Pizza Pizza, Topper’s Pizza and all the rest of you, the Pizza Dude salutes you on a job well done. Employees do not sign the paycheques, the owners do. We should not be influenced by unions, or other parties, to control what we built from our own sweat and blood.

To all my fellow pizzaiolos, keep up the good work and Godspeed, I’m the pizza dude.•