A dozen servers at a Bangor steakhouse were relieved when the Maine legislature reversed plans to impose a high employer-paid wage on tipped workers. “I don’t need to be ‘saved,’ and I’ll be damned if small groups of uninformed people are voting on my livelihood,” said one. “James Dill, a college professor and the Democratic state senator from Maine’s 5th District, received hundreds of emails and phone calls from unhappy servers, he said. He initially voted for the ballot referendum because he supports a higher minimum wage. After the outcry, he signed onto a Republican measure to lower the tipped wage down again.” [Caitlin Dewey, Washington Post “Wonkblog”]
4 Comments
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
and there are millions of miles of paved roads…
Proof that the SEIU (Service Workers International) doesn’t have the mojo in Maine that it possesses in NY and Seattle.
SEIU wants a high minimum for wait staff because wait staff currently receive much of their money directly in cash tips…difficult for SEIU to be sure that it is getting its rake-off (dues) before the employee gets paid.
Various unions also frequently complain that the minimum wage for wait staff is lower than the regular minimum wage.
This of course ignores that fact that the law requires that if regular wages + tips comes in below the regular minimum wage, the employer is required to make up the difference.