In a recent op-ed penned by Andrew Rigie, the Executive Director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, it’s suggested that the Democratic Party may be losing support from the restaurant industry due to their proposed legislation to eliminate the “tip credit”. This situation is not unique to the traditionally blue city of Boston, as even New York City is feeling the impact.
Rigie points out in his article titled “A Tip from Restaurants to Democrats” that Democrats nationwide are reflecting on the lessons from the presidential and federal elections, with one of the lessons being the Massachusetts voters rejecting the repeal of the restaurant tip credit. The proposal, known as the “Fifth Big Issue”, faced unanimous opposition from both employers and employees in the local restaurant industry.
“Some elected officials in New York are also pushing for the policy to eliminate the tip credit, causing frustration among restaurant workers and owners,” Rigie says. He further notes that lobbying groups advocating strongly for this policy have faced setbacks in Arizona and Ohio, with Maine initially passing a bill only to later overturn the decision, while Washington D.C. is starting to backtrack as well.
Rigie concludes his piece by urging the Democratic Party to listen to the voices of the working class, cleverly using wordplay to suggest that the party’s defeat in the election is the “tip” they’ve received.
In a report by the Epoch Times earlier this year, it was mentioned that the debate on the tip credit policy, which sparked discussions in the New York restaurant industry six years ago, is resurfacing. A bill proposed by Democratic New York State Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas and State Senator Robert Jackson (A1710/S5567) specifies that service industry employers cannot use the tip credit as a reason to deny paying their employees the full minimum wage.
The New York City Hospitality Alliance criticized the proposal at the time, stating that it would cost employers an additional $12,000 for every employee hired, with nearly 97% of restaurant owners surveyed expressing opposition.
Vincent Cao, the Secretary of the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association (CSWA) in New York, also voiced his opposition to the bill to the Epoch Times. He promised to monitor the situation closely and take necessary action.
Cao also criticized the lobbying organization “One Fair Wage,” which advocates for the elimination of the tip credit across the United States, alleging that they do not understand the needs of service industry workers. He stated, “Claiming to be ‘One Fair Wage’, they are actually unfair.”