Seth Brammer

Shift Dallas · 2020

Shift Dallas

When the dining rooms closed, the conversation stayed open.

The Late Shift with Amanda Vanhoozier · April 13, 2020 · Graphics: Wax on Paper.

Work

As dining rooms closed, hospitality workers needed answers about income, food, insurance, and housing. I co-founded Shift Dallas to help. I built the website and worker survey, then produced and hosted broadcasts where people could find resources and talk with one another.

Scope
Co-founder; website, worker survey, communications, broadcast production and hosting
With
Wax on Paper — donated graphic design and artwork. Core collaborators included Alexie Estrada and Leslie Brenner, alongside Molly Hagler and research director Brenda Ogershok. The wider group of hospitality professionals and broadcast guests is credited below
Project
2020 · Community initiative and broadcasts

First, understand the need

Shift Dallas began by asking workers what they needed. A survey and website helped the team gather information and connect people with resources during the restaurant shutdowns.

What workers told us

581

survey responses

70%

selected “laid off” or “furloughed”

59%

answered “No” to having health insurance

Employment status
  • Laid off213 · 37%
  • Furloughed194 · 33%
  • Other responses174 · 30%
Health insurance
  • No341 · 59%
  • Yes181 · 31%
  • Other responses59 · 10%

DFW Service Industry: Job & Wage Loss Survey · March 17–July 21, 2020. Counts reflect 581 submitted responses, including 407 selecting laid off or furloughed and 341 reporting no health insurance. Percentages are rounded. This was a voluntary survey, not a representative sample of all DFW workers.

“Other responses” includes all remaining answers, including write-ins. Categories use the original selections without interpreting individual comments.

Serving the service industry

We launched Shift with a website and worker survey.

Serving the service industry · March 2020. Shift graphics: Wax on Paper.
Introducing Shift in a March 2020 Instagram story.

A collective effort

Alexie Estrada and Leslie Brenner were core collaborators. Contemporary coverage also names Molly Hagler in the leadership team, Brenda Ogershok as research director, and Julien Eelsen and Jeff Bednar among the early participants. The team changed over time; the broadcast guests listed below contributed to the conversations rather than all holding organizing roles.

The Late Shift broadcasts

I hosted interviews and discussions about available resources on The Late Shift With Seth. In March 2020, D Magazine reported a nightly 8 p.m. Facebook Live schedule.

Broadcast guests

Restaurant owners, growers, service organizations, and hospitality workers joined the broadcasts. The affiliations below reflect their roles at the time.

Amanda Vanhoozier — Bishop Hill Farm Flowers and Slow Food DFW. Graphics: Wax on Paper.
George Kaiho — Ka-Tip and Jettison. Graphics: Wax on Paper.

Keeping a roof overhead

Attorney Mark Melton joined the conversation on evictions. Ian Reilly covered assistance programs and the path forward for bartenders.

Getting food to people

Elias Pope of Everybody Eats and Nick Dean of Furlough Kitchen brought perspectives on feeding the community.

Finding support

Guests included Lucy Huang of WiNGS, Will Salisbury of Heard That Foundation, and Jon Voss of the Machinists Union.

The Late Shift promotional video, Topic: insurance options for service-industry workers. Graphics: Wax on Paper.
Ian Reilly’s Bartender’s Roadmap: assistance programs and the path forward · May 11, 2020.
Guests and participating organizations
  • Steve DeShazoEl Centro Community College
  • Jones LongHost, lesbnb
  • Amanda VanhoozierBishop Hill Farm Flowers / Chair of Slow Food DFW
  • Jon VossRepresentative, IAMAW (Machinists Union)
  • Tim KahleCommunion Cooperative / 400 for 500
  • Lucy HuangWiNGS
  • Elias Pope80/20 Concepts / Everybody Eats
  • George KaihoKa-Tip / Jettison
  • Benj PoctaGuest
  • Julien EelsenWhisk Crepes Cafe — name as shown in recording
  • Will SalisburyHeard That Foundation
  • Erasmo CasianoCreate Cooking School
  • Ravinder SinghWeekly News Roundup
  • Ricky ClevaWeekly News Roundup
  • Nick DeanFurlough Kitchen
  • Mark MeltonHolland & Knight / Dallas Evictions

Behind the broadcast

The home setup for The Late Shift: lights, backdrop, monitors, and a live panel. April 2020.

An identity for the broadcast

Brittany Gardner of Wax on Paper, a friend of Alexie Estrada’s, donated her time and artwork to Shift. She designed the Shift identity and broadcast announcements in landscape and vertical formats. I later hired Brittany to collaborate with me on Lenore’s and other projects.

Original landscape promotion for The Late Shift with Seth. Graphics: Wax on Paper.
Shift Dallas social identity mark. Graphics: Wax on Paper.
Vertical promotion for The Late Shift with Seth. Graphics: Wax on Paper.

Service is…

Donated graphic design and artwork by Wax on Paper.

A message for that moment

A dated public-information graphic from May 14, 2020, preserved here as part of the campaign archive. Artwork: Wax on Paper.

Press

Press · Community Impact · Gavin Pugh · March 18, 2020

Dallas-area service industry workers form support network, resource hub for businesses affected by coronavirus ↗

Press · D Magazine · March 27, 2020

The Dallas Restaurant Industry May Never Be the Same Again ↗
Related projectSlow Food Lunch Break