Ohio servers, bartenders may get raise under proposed ballot measure. Why it’s opposed
Restaurants and bars may soon have to pay their tipped workers the full minimum wage, but a major Ohio trade group says that will harm workers.
The Ohio Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance (ORHA) cited a new survey showing that 93% of servers, bartenders and other tipped employees are OK with the current tipping system, and a large majority want no change.
A total of 990 servers, bartenders and other tipped employees across Ohio responded to the multiple-choice survey commissioned by the trade organization.
ORHA president John Barker stated at a press conference Tuesday morning that this increase would force restaurant owners to eliminate the tipping system because it would place a new burden on labor costs.
“The current system works well, but this proposal would force servers and bartenders to live on an hourly wage which we know would lower their income,” Barker said.
What is the ballot measure proposing?
The Minimum Wage Increase Initiative states that by 2029, all tipped employees must be paid the full minimum wage. These employees will still be eligible to earn tips and are mandated to keep the entire amount of the gratuity. It also proposes to increase the state minimum wage to $12.75 in 2025 and incrementally move up to a $15 rate by 2028.
The current state law allows tipped employees to be paid $5.25 – or half the $10.45 minimum wage rate – as long as tips make up for the remainder. The ballot initiative mandates that tipped workers be paid half the minimum wage between 2025 and 2028 as the wage rate increases.
A new state bill also proposes a similar wage increase but without the provision to require tipped workers to be paid the full state minimum wage.
New survey results
At the Tuesday press conference, ORHA reported that 93% of servers and bartenders wanted to keep the current tipping system and 91% agreed that no change was necessary.
Additionally, it found that about 83% of the participants earned more than $20 per hour after tips.
ORHA partnered with the consulting firm CorCom to conduct this survey, which was administered by CorCom president and Carnegie Mellon professor Lloyd Corder. Nearly 1,000 respondents participated.
“This is by far one of our strongest response rates,” Corder said at the press conference. “If the tip credit is eliminated, most people think they’re going to get a pay cut.”
Testimonies from the restaurant industry
Restaurant owner Laurie Torres spoke at the press conference about how her servers are benefiting from tips. Torres owns Mallorca, a Spanish restaurant in Cleveland.
“My restaurant – my house – is where a Puerto Rican man with no formal education can work hard – earning well over $40 an hour – raise his family, buy two houses and pay for his son to become the first in his family to attend and graduate college,” Torres said.
Lindsay Odell is a bartender at Submarine House, an Ohio-based sports bar. She also spoke at the press conference, stating her fear that people are likely to tip her less if they have to pay more for their food.
“I make good money – well above $30 an hour – working at Submarine House,” Odell said. “I am the breadwinner in my family because of the restaurant industry. My husband is an engineer and I make more money than he does.”
The ballot measure requires over 400,000 signatures from Ohioans to be passed as a constitutional amendment. The deadline for these signatures is July 3.