Voting is underway in the District, and once again, voters are set to decide if tipped workers should get the same minimum wage as every other worker in the District.
It’s not the first time voters in D.C. have been asked this question: Should tipped workers be paid the same minimum wage as all other workers? Voters said yes in 2018, but the will of the voters was overturned by the D.C. Council.
Now the question is on the ballot again. If enough voters say yes to Initiative 82, it would gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers in places such as salons, parking lots and restaurants from the current $5.35 per hour to more than $16 per hour by 2027.
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Ryan O'Leary, a former restaurant worker, has been leading the effort to pass the proposal.
"You’d see the first increase next year," he said. "It's scheduled to be $3 the first year and $2 every year after that. I don't think people should be worried about price increases. It'll be so marginal and so small that they won't see any real difference."
In a statement, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington warned against increasing the minimum wage for tipped workers, stating: "Restaurants will be forced to raise menu prices, layoff staff, add service charges to checks, and potentially shut their doors."
Celebrity chef and philanthropist José Andrés is one of the restaurant owners spending thousands of dollars trying to defeat Initiative 82.
"The level of minimum wage is something I do sincerely believe needs to be addressed at the federal level, where it's mandatory all across the nation to have a livable wage," Andrés said.
In 2018, the D.C. Council voted 8 to 5 to overturn the increase. But several of the members of the Council in 2018 are no longer there today, having been replaced by members who do support one minimum wage for all workers.
Janeese Lewis George is one of those new Council members.
"There are seven states right now, including California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada, all who require full minimum wage with tips on top, and these states are faring very well. They have a higher restaurant job growth rate," she said, going on to say: "What you're seeing is states who do have a one fair wage for workers are faring better. Their restaurant industry is growing, and their employment rate is steady," she said.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, who opposed raising the minimum wage for tipped workers in 2018, recently told News4 that she’s unsure of her stand this time around, due to the impacts of the pandemic on restaurant workers.
D.C. voters can cast their ballot now by either mailing them in or dropping them off at boxes across the District.
