by Frances Nguyen This story was originally published at Prism. Throughout the pandemic, news outlets have covered the restaurant industry’s struggle with labor shortages and rising costs. But reports of restaurant workers quitting in droves, customer complaints about slow service and limited menus, and hand-wringing over “a lack of work ethic” consistently overlook a fundamental detail: Restaurant workers, especially back-of-house (BOH) workers, are dying in outrageous numbers from this pandemic. Laboring in jobs that pay less than a living wage, they’re forced to choose between taking their chances elsewhere or remaining in jobs where the risk to their lives can’t be understated. Restaurant workers experience poverty at nearly three times the rate of workers in other industries, and workers of color experience poverty at nearly double the rate of their white peers. And now, in an industry notorious for its Jim Crow-legacy wages, BOH food preparation and kitchen staff such as bussers, dishwashers, line cooks, and chefs are being forced to accept considerable health risks to continue working. Restaurants remain one of the most dangerous environments in this pandemic, especially for those working BOH. A recent study by the University of California, San Francisco found that line cooks have had the highest risk of dying during the pandemic, surpassing even health care workers. Read more