Bar, restaurant workers sign petition to stop smoking ban
Petition sponsor says proposed ban could hurt her livelihood
About 200 bar and restaurant workers have signed a petition opposing a movement to ban smoking in all bars and restaurants in Juneau.
Sandra Krook, a bartender at the Triangle Club downtown, said she organized the petition drive because the ban would eliminate some industry jobs, including hers.
The Juneau Clean Air Coalition wants the city to ban smoking in bars and restaurants that have bars.
About 80 percent of Krook's regular customers smoke, she said. If smoking were banned, customers would drink less, reducing revenue for the bar owner and tips to bartenders.
Krook, who's worked as a bartender for 28 years, said her job is especially vulnerable because she works the daytime shift at the Triangle on South Franklin Street. Bar owners tend to cut daytime staff and work the shifts themselves when cutbacks are necessary, she explained.
"That's our bread and butter," she said. "That's what keeps us going. I'm trying to save my job and other people's jobs."
Joan Cahill, chairwoman of the Juneau Clean Air Coalition, said the tobacco industry disseminates misleading information about the financial impacts of smoking bans. Cahill cited a December 2003 report called "Summary of Studies Assessing the Economic Impact of Smoke-Free Policies in the Hospitality Industry."
The report, by VicHealth Centre for Tobacco Control in Melbourne, Australia, said 21 studies between 1994 and 2003 have found no negative economic impact from the introduction of smoke-free policies in restaurants and bars. The findings were based on such measures as taxable sales receipts and changes in economic conditions, the report said.
Krook sent copies of the petition and signatures to the Juneau Assembly, which is expected to take up the issue in the first quarter of 2004. Some Assembly members favor a smoking ban, while others are waiting to hear a report from the Smoking Review Task Force on Jan. 8, they have said. The city's clean-indoor-air ordinance prohibits smoking in some restaurant bars.
Krook said Cahill was trying to dictate the lifestyle of bar and restaurant bar workers, but failed to ask them what they wanted. Workers don't argue the ill effects of smoking and second-hand smoke, said Krook, who smokes. They should have the right to work in a smoking environment, she said.
Cahill contends that people who work in other industries are not allowed to smoke at their workplace. Bars have been an exception due to strong lobbying efforts of the tobacco industry, she said.
The bar industry's remarks are based on fear of change, Cahill said. Other industries, including airlines, have continued to flourish after smoking was banned, she said.
"This change is just one change among a long line of changes," said Cahill, who worked as a restaurant server for 15 years. "I totally expected this kind of thing."
• Tara Sidor can be reached at tara.sidor@juneauempire.com.