The Restaurant Workers of America (RWA) applauds Senator Angus King’s statement in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal regarding the COVID relief stimulus package: “If the minimum-wage provision is in the bill with the elimination of the tip credit, it would make it very hard for me to support it.”
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Elimination Of The Tip Credit Would Be Catastrophic
As we await the decision of the Senate Parliamentarian on whether changes to the minimum wage can remain in the stimulus package, we have seen several senators address their concerns about raising the wage. However, only Senator King has mentioned the threat to the tip credit, and the tip wage system.
Elimination of the tip credit would be catastrophic for our industry and its workers—especially while we attempt to recover from the past year.
Joshua Chaisson, veteran tipped worker from Maine and President of RWA, released this statement:
“It is clear that Senator King is listening to the workers who would be most intimately impacted by this law change. Our opposition in this fight are big money lobbyists like One Fair Wage, who do not work in our industry, nor do they speak for us. Thankfully, legislators like Senator King from my home state are listening to we the workers.”
Applause For Senator King
Simone Barron, a restaurant worker from Seattle, WA, released the following statement:
“I applaud Senator King for taking a stand for tipped workers across the country by not supporting the elimination of the tip credit. In Seattle, tipped workers and the industry as a whole have suffered under such policy. I thank you Senator King for actually hearing us.”
Jennifer Schellenberg, a restaurant worker from Minnesota, released the following statement:
“More Senators should be looking at what happened in Maine and Washington, DC when the tipped wage was eliminated. Both initiatives were overturned when legislators heard overwhelming feedback from restaurant workers that removing the tip credit would be a disaster. Workers want sensible reform and we hold out hope that our legislators will listen.”
