Please read this concerning a dress code at a chain restaurant!

[adarling]

This is from my mom and i think most of you would like to see....its pretty sad and pathetic that Texas Land and Cattle company restaurant is trying to do this to their employees........

Please see the email below, from my nephew's girlfriend, who is a waitstaff person at Texas Land and Cattle Restaurant in Frisco, TX. A mandatory dress code is going into effect, all black, which is fine, except the females are REQUIRED to wear 3 inch heels and black fishnet stockings and a skirt that is at least 3 inches above the knee and tight. A low cut blouse is preferable..so in other words, they want the females to dress like streetwalkers and the guys get to wear comfortable shoes, black pants and black shirts. PLEASE do not think, "well, just get another job, if you do not like it ", because you and I know it's wrong and the women working there should not be expected to dress so unsafely (ever carried huge trays of food wearing heels after being on your feet for 10 hours?) And it is also embarrassing and degrading..in 2006 , surely we as women and men can eat at a restaurant without cleavage and thigh being thrust at us..all jokes aside, she is a young girl, from Scotland, she works fervently with the Episcopalian church doing mission work, so this is very upsetting to her, and the fact that she likes her co-workers and where she works, she should not have to quit because of apolicy that is WRONG, period. And is this really how we want our American society to be portrayed? All you need to do is log a complaint. The website is included in her testimonial. If you have not eaten at Texas Land and Cattle lately or ever, no matter, voice your contempt for an outrageous demand, its the only way to get this repealed. Martin Luther King once said " Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. We will not be silent." Thanks!!
AND PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO PEOPLE YOU KNOW THAT CARE ABOUT THINGS THAT MATTER!

http:/www.texaslandandcattle.com/



go to contact us and write a complaint.

[derby378]

1. Link doesn't work (n/t)

[Captain Hilts]

2. Such is life in the Bible Belt. nt

[Oreo]

3. Here's the link

http://www.texaslandandcattle.com/

[adarling]

4. thanks oreo...must have not transferred...i will fix it now.

[Sydnie]

5. Here's what I get at that link

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mM\{Þ"

10. this link works for me

[panader0]

6. Contrast this with a post this morning about a young lady

thrown out of the Patrick Henry Mall for shorts that were deemed too short. Which is it? Cleavage OK but shorts no?

[adarling]

8. who knows what the hell people are thinking about today

i think it is just wrong, i'm not a woman but i think its wrong and just really tacky for them to change their dress code for a woman and make it a little more revealing, hell if they do it for a woman then men need to have something like their ass crack showing for cleavage then....ass cleavage :) haha

[msongs]

16. patrick henry mall - give me liberty or give me death? that guy?

"give me shorts or give me....?"

seems like anybody should be able to wear anything there if they bought it at that mall.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/howarddean2008.htm

[Sydnie]

7. That link doesn't work either

takes you here - http://www.democraticunderground.com/www.texaslandandcattle.com

[babylonsister]

9. Sydie, I got there with this link. Maybe cut and paste?

http://www.texaslandandcattle.com/

[Sydnie]

13. How odd

Your link worked. Thanks babylonsister. You are always there when we need you. :hug:

[MagickMuffin]

12. the 3rd link works n/t

[MsMagnificent]

11. Horrendous

They just got a new email, thanks for the link!

[BooScout]

14. I just sent them a nasty message

:patriot:

[babylonsister]

15. You need two slashes in front of www to correct your link, adarling nt

[Sammy Pepys]

17. Don't have any of those around here....

..but man, I wish we did.

:evilgrin: :yoiks:

[cosmik debris]

18. I'm skeptical

"3 inch heels and black fishnet stockings and a skirt that is at least 3 inches above the knee and tight"

That doesn't sound reasonable and the only time I ever ate there everyone wore black pants and a white shirt.

Do you have any further evidence of this dress code?

[Coyote_Bandit]

19. I just emailed them

and told them that I hoped one of their waitresses would find a reason to sue for sexual harrassment and use their dress code as exhibit A to support the view that women were sexual objects as a matter of corporate policy.

I also asked why I didn't see male chest hair on display or some sock stuffed pants.

I hope your friend finds work elsewhere where her efforts are appreciated and she is not treated as a sexsual object at her place of employment.

[MagickMuffin]

20. I'll send off a letter

to let them know that I find this dress code unacceptable. I certainly understand the position of having different standards set for the employees, and how unfair this is to the females.

I would not want to eat at that kind of establishment, which I have never eaten there before, but now I most certainly won't ever eat at places that have women dress to please men.

there's a reason I don't wear heels, I never found them to be comfortable or practical. Have you ever thought of having to run in heels.
Especially stilettos, my god, those are only for the bedroom.:rofl:

[RebelOne]

21. My sister worked as a cocktail waitress for years

and was required to wear heels. She eventually developed heel spurs from having to be on her feet for hours in those shoes.

[porphyrian]

22. Try working at Hooters...

...especially if you're a guy on the wait staff, if you even can be.

Unless that restaraunt supports the community with its employment, I don't see why they shouldn't be able to require their employees to wear whatever uniform, within the law, that they desire. If you don't like it, don't work there and/or don't give them your patronage. Beyond the employers right to make this decision, though, I don't support that kind of bullshit, but hopefully it will hurt his or her business enough to show how stupid a decision it is.

[TexasLady]

23. Found a location in my area

and left them a comment.

I let them know that Hooters is in town as well, so why get that kind of rep?

[dusmcj]

24. personally I enjoy having cleavage and thigh thrust at me

even while I'm eating:P Will we be recommending temperance and abstinence training here next ? L'il Anal Annie's comments about excessive promiscuity reflecting latent homosexuality being taken to heart ? What an outstanding alternative to the socially repressive fascists we sling verbiage about here !

[babylonsister]

26. Come on! Have you ever tried wearing 3" heels?

I think the primary gripe is about comfort. And their food is good; why do they need to use sex to sell it?

28. It should be the woman's choice

you giant turkey.

[dusmcj]

32. we run into the question of private vs. public venues

and the rights of business to constrain employee behavior. An establishment that sells an experience like a restaurant (and make no mistake about it, going out to eat or drink is buying an experience, not comestibles; you'll have this confirmed the next time some airheaded 20something hostess seats you by the kitchen door because you and your partner aren't hip enough and furthermore visibly couldn't care less whether you are or not - going out to a public establishment is about participating in a scene which is the commodity being sold - too often at least) defines as part of its product the atmosphere in the establishment. This includes the garb and deportment of employees. Just as Hooters (which you well may find is built on a foundation of outrageous sexism, but that's another discussion) sells chicks with tight pants and shirts as a core part of their experience, this outfit has decided to sell a similar atmospheric.

At this point, you need to note that 1. this is a private, not a public venue. I.e. laws which apply to government employment do not come into play because this is a business. 2. laws against a threatening, oppressive or abusive work environment do not come into play because the private business has defined their environment this way as part of the employment agreement. At best, they can be required to renegotiate the agreement for employees who joined under conditions of employment which didn't include the new dress code. There's nothing innately discriminatory about women wearing fishnets and tight skirts (I wouldn't discriminate against them :smoke: ) so the employer isn't doing anything innately wrong. This is capitalism honey, and the simple answer is, "this is our work environment; if you don't like it, you're free to find employment elsewhere".

Of course there are questions of labor/management interaction and the degree of freedom the employer has to define new working conditions for existing employees which may be found distasteful. But of course unions have fallen into disrepute and we're all supposed to "get with the program" and understand that the tribal socioeconomic power status quo is the one sacred cow which may not be questioned. So that any such discussions would have to be argued, effectively, by the employees without a lot of help from outside. Also, get an instance of sexually abusive behavior against newly attired waitresses being ignored by the employer and the employer has just sat down in his coffin. But not until then.

I'm not a lawyer, but I've had 15 years to observe the mentality and habits of corporate America. And while I enjoy women in and out of bed and attired in a variety of ways, freedom means above all not having to interact with people you don't want to interact with. That includes employers.

Gobble, gobble. (no pun intended ;) )

[ceile]

25. Sent an email.

It's not my favorite place to go in town, but I really hope this just a single location doing this.

[NotGivingUp]

27. I just wrote to them to vent my disgust and to let them know

that I will never eat at their restaurant and that I will tell everyone I can about their disgusting rules. I am so fricking sick of this bullshit...I am sick of the slut image that has become so prevalent today...like women are around just waiting for one thing and that we're only good for one thing. Look at any channel on tv and that's the way we're usually portrayed.

[Frank Cannon]

29. I, for one, am skeptical about this

Have you ever been to a Texas Land and Cattle restaurant? There are peanut shells all over the floor. One of their novelty offerings is that the patronage can snack on shelled peanuts while waiting for their food. I can't imagine how walking around in 3" heels on a peanut-shell covered floor would seem like a good idea to anyone.

This just seems like an invitation to so many lawsuits that I can't fathom restaurant management endorsing something like this. But then, we do live in the United States, which is not known to have a surplus of smart people.

[seriousstan]

31. I smell total B.S.. An email from me mom about an email about by niece....

YEA RIGHT, let me connect you to some Nigerian friends of mine....

[cosmik debris]

36. It has all the hallmarks of an urban legend. n/t

[Scout1071]

38. I agree.

Smells fishy.

[adarling]

41. no its not, its from my mom, i can send the original e-mail if you would

like ;) I thought i would post it here because I love DU and the people here and thought they would be just as outraged as i was.

[blonndee]

33. Are you sure you don't mean Santa Fe Cattle Company

restaurants?

[Frank Cannon]

39. Nope. TX Land and Cattle.

I went with a friend to the Albuquerque location when I visited there. They don't have SFCC in Albuquerque, which is kind of ironic being that Albuquerque is only about 45 minutes south of Santa Fe.

[theboss]

30. On another note, I went to Hooters yesterday

Their wings are not as good as they used to be.

[ProfessorGAC]

37. Yeah, Right! You Went There For The Wings!

Suuuurrrreee you did! :evilgrin:
The Professor

[libnnc]

34. They're opening one of these here in Winston-Salem

Like we need ANOTHER chain steak house to clog up traffic on Hanes Mall Blvd. :mad:

[One_Life_To_Give]

35. Most comfortable shoes ever had 2in heels

I wore those things just about everywhere, marched in many a parade wearing them as well. Wish I could find a pair these days.

[Emit]

40. This is weird, but Michael Ledeen has stock in this company

He is the Director of Loan Star Steakhouse and Saloon, which apparently owns "20 Texas Land & Cattle Co. (“Texas Land & Cattle”) restaurants"

See:
Michael A. Ledeen Director October 24, 2005

Along with Tommy Lasorda

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:t25smGFkT54J:www.lonestarsteakhouse.com/SECDocs/8K%2520102605.pdf+Texas+Land+and+Cattle+Restaurant+Michael+Ledeen&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2

Don't ask me how I know this -- it's just a weird thing I happened upon once when looking into Ledeen and I recalled the name and location of this chain.

[adarling]

42. thanks everyone who wrote a letter

my cousin's girlfriend should not have to put through that at her job and the problem with finding other work is that there isn't that much to choose out there. Dallas is still having a hard time after the telecom bust so all the little jobs that people took for granted are taken and the point is that SHE SHOULDN"T HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER JOB!

[Emit]

43. Maybe we should address our letters personally to Michael Ledeen.

See post above, only because it was such a weird coincidence, I wanted to point it out.

[adarling]

44. agreed and thanks for pointing that out.