After a couple of years of government coming to the aid of restaurants to help them survive the pandemic, state Sen. Lydia Edwards said it’s time for workers to share in the revival of an industry hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Edwards was one of three state lawmakers on Monday to join a Valentine’s Day conference call to help launch a national campaign aimed at eliminating subminimum wages for tipped workers — through legislation and ballot initiatives — in more than two dozen states around the country.
One Fair Wage, a national coalition organized around the movement to end subminimum wages, committed to spending $25 million to eliminate lower wages for tipped workers in 25 states by the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.
“The time has come to talk about how they treat their workers,” Edwards said, noting that restaurant owners have benefited during the pandemic from state and federal stimulus grants and allowances for new outdoor dining, delivery and to-go cocktails to expand their business models.
“I don’t think they can look anyone in the face and say they don’t have the money,” Edwards said.
The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development for the first time this year favorably recommended a bill (S 1213) filed by Sen. Patricia Jehlen that would phase out the subminimum wage for tipped workers by Jan. 1, 2027, requiring at that time that they be paid the full minimum wage with tips in addition to their hourly earnings.
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