Last week, The Harris-Walz campaign officially added tip credit elimination to its platform last week, after weeks of pressure from activist organizations like One Fair Wage, which claim that doing so will end inequality and discrimination against women and minorities in the industry.
This week, U.S. House Education and Workforce subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing titled “Examining the Biden-Harris Attacks on Tipped Workers.” Seattle-based server Simone Barron testified at the hearing, explaining how tip credit elimination policies in her home state have negatively impacted tipped restaurant employees like herself and local restaurants.
Watch her full testimony here:
Simone Barron again before the Education and Workforce Committee regarding the impacts of raising the minimum wage without allowing a tip credit on tipped workers and the service industry.@EdWorkforceCmte @WAhospitality @bkheywood @KevinKileyCA @realDonaldTrump @JimWalshLD19 pic.twitter.com/rVbM7Irdus
— Full Service Workers Alliance (@FullServiceWkrs) September 20, 2024
Another witness, New Hampshire restaurant owner Tom Boucher mentioned a brand new EPI study that dropped this week in his testimony, which shows that eliminating the tip credit will actually increase wage gaps for minorities and will not have an effect on diminishing the wage gaps for women.
Anti-tip credit activist Saru Jayaraman also testified in support of eliminating the tip credit, touting debunked claims that tipping leads to harassment of restaurant workers and tipping has not suffered in states that have gone to a no-tip-credit system. Her organization, One Fair Wage, has tried and failed to export the misguided tip credit elimination policy across the country this year, an experiment already plaguing Washington, D.C.
Contrary to Ms. Jayaraman’s testimony and concurring with Ms. Barron’s, surveys show that 90% of tipped workers nationwide have said they want to preserve the current tip credit system, with 87% saying they believe their earnings will plummet if the tip credit is eliminated.
Committee chair Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) said in his opening statement to the hearing:
“This Committee is dedicated to supporting workers, small businesses, and the customers who rely on them. The tip credit system benefits all three. It provides flexibility for businesses, ensures tipped workers earn more, and helps maintain a thriving service industry.”
Watch the full hearing and read the full written testimonies of all four hearing witnesses here.