NHLRA MEMBER OP-ED
We Like Our Tips By Patrick Foy, Copper Door Restaurant In the foodservice industry, we’re usually in a hurry. Despite the calm in the dining room, there’s an excited energy in the kitchen. It doesn’t leave much time for chit chat but my coworkers and I try to find moments to catch up
when
we
can.
Lately,
one
topic
of
conversation has been front and center — Congress’ proposed elimination of the tip
We also understand that our earnings are
credit and how that will impact our income.
protected under the tip credit. If a tipped employee’s hourly rate plus tips doesn’t
The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on
meet the standard minimum wage, their
everyone, but the restaurant industry has
employer is legally obligated to make up the
been decimated. One-in-six restaurants have
difference so that we’re never paid less than
shuttered and more than two million workers
minimum wage. This safety net is rarely used
have
and
because the U.S. has a pro-tipping culture.
mentally
With our hourly wage plus tips, most servers
lost
jobs.
uncertainty
is
The
financial
emotionally
strain
and
crippling.
make between $19 and $25 an hour, far
At Copper Door Restaurant, we’re like a family. Management is doing all it can to keep the
employees
utilizing
PPP
afloat: loans,
adjusting making
hours,
sacrifices
themselves to ensure we have enough to get by. Those of us lucky enough to be working now have a new battle to fight. As part of the Raise the Wage Act, Congress wants to eliminate the tip credit and enact a $15 minimum wage. As tipped employees, we are fully aware that right now there is a lower minimum wage in most states and a tip credit for tipped workers like waitstaff and bartenders.
above
the
proposed
minimum
wage.
Elimination of the tip credit puts our wages at significant risk as it would inevitably lead to a drastic decrease in a tipped employees’ earning potential. Not only would elimination of the tip credit hurt the employees it’s meant to help, but it would also further devastate restaurants. Most operate on a thin 3% to 5% pre-tax profit margin. A $15 minimum wage for tipped employees would mean a triple-digit increase in tipped labor costs. Such an increase will force price increases of as much as
20%
to
consumers
and
still
require
benefit and staff cuts. .
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