A housekeeper went viral on TikTok after sharing that she’s only paid $11 an hour—despite her job marketing the position on Indeed for more.
Emma (@_smokingviolet) posted the nearly minute-long clip, where she sat in her car and cried over the pay disparity. She also questioned why her husband, who works in maintenance and housekeeping, got bumped up to $12 an hour, while she and several of her coworkers earn less.
“Another day in housekeeping. No f*cking tips. Zero tips. I make $11 an hour. $11 dollars a f*cking hour,” Emma said. “The other girls don’t make much more than me.”
@_smokingviolet another day of being exploited under capitalism #payhousekeepers #tipyourhousekeepers #housekeeping #humanrights #capitalism #housekeeper #exploitation ♬ original sound – Emma
Emma said some employees make between $13 to $17 an hour, but most are at her same rate. Her husband, meanwhile, who started at $11 an hour, was recently given a dollar increase, she said.
To make matters worse, Emma said that her company has an Indeed post that claimed it’s hiring housekeepers for $12 an hour. “But they can’t give the rest of us a f*cking raise?” Emma questioned. “What the f*ck!”
She doubled-down on her frustration in the accompanying video caption. “Another day of being exploited under capitalism,” Emma wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Emma via TikTok comment. As of Wednesday morning, her video had over 41,500 views, with a number of commenters unable to understand why Emma would want to stay at a job that doesn’t value her.
“This could be an ignorant comment, but why are you fighting for a job at such low pay? Couldn’t you find another place that pays more?” one asked.
“Start your own cleaning business, promote yourself on Facebook groups, make more and less stress,” another advised.
“Apply for new jobs,” a third person said. “Got to move jobs for better pay.”
Emma said that she didn’t receive any tips, but that seems to be the norm for housekeepers. According to the Chicago Tribune, “most” people said that they don’t tip their hotel cleaners. The Atlantic, meanwhile, questioned why it’s not common practice for people to tip their housekeepers. And in a forum post featured in the Las Vegas Advisor, one user said that only about 15% to 20% of rooms leave tips for their housekeepers.
