Two-Tiered Minimum Wage

Did you know that there are really two minimum wages in the US, one for tipped workers and one for non-tipped workers?

The federal minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 if a worker receives $30 or more per month in tips.

This low wage is one reason for outbreaks of food poisoning.  Workers can't afford to take time off when they are sick, so they work and spread illness.  

Listen to restaurant owner Michael McCarty discuss the low wages of kitchen workers in restaurants and the history of tipping and the service compris.  

http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/good-food/boudin-king-cake-bergamots-at-the-market-to-tip-or-not-to-tip

See also a new book coming out in February... Forked: A New Standard for American Dining by Saru Jayaraman.

http://rocunited.org/nytimes-tipped-minimum-wage/

http://rocunited.org/announcing-our-new-book-forked/

Sick of No Sick Leave

Thanks to KCRW's Good Food show today for highlighting the lack of paid sick leave for restaurant workers.

Some states require 3 days of sick leave annually but don't enforce it--and most restaurants ignore the law.

Chipotle is now required to give 9 days per year to stop its outbreaks of food poisoning.

A new book, Forked: A New Standard for American Dining by Saru Jayaraman, argues for 9 days of paid sick leave per year for all restaurant workers in the US, as well as other changes.

Hooray!  No one wants to get sick after eating out, and no one wants to exploit these workers.

A related problem: the federal minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 per hour if the worker receives $30 or more per month in tips. 

Even if a worker is allowed 3 paid sick days per year--or 9 paid sick days--some workers have a salary so low they can't afford to stay home when sick.  

Give everybody one minimum wage--to improve the lives of both workers and diners.


http://blog.oup.com/2016/01/forked-book-launch/

http://rocunited.org/announcing-our-new-book-forked/