Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Earlier this week, the Senate unanimously passed is There No
Tax on Tips Act, while advocates are warning that most
tip workers will not even see relief.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
One Fair Wage, the National Campaign to End the sub
minimum Wage and raise standards for All Service Workers, is
one of those advocates One Fair Wage President saru Ja O.
Rahman joins us now in the koa Common Spirit Health
hotline with more sru Thanks for coming on Colorado's Warning News.
What's your reaction to that bill being passed? When it
comes to no tax on Tips?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
It's a red herring the look. No doubt that tipped
workers across the country needs more money in their pockets.
They need help in a really bad economy in which
there's an affordability crisis. But what they really need is
a raise. Two thirds of tipped workers don't earn enough
across the country to be eligible to pay federal income tax.
(00:48):
So yeah, sure you can give a little bit of
tax relief to some tipped workers, but what almost all
tipped workers across the country need, including in Colorado, is
a full livable wage tips on top, they need a raise.
In Colorado, tipped workers earn less than the minimum wage
because supposedly tips bring them to that full minimum wage.
(01:08):
In neighboring states like California, Nevada, put people get a
full minimum wage with tips on top, and tips are stronger,
and so that's what people need. In the same moment
that they're giving this no tax on tips kind of giveaway,
they're taking away Medicaid and food stamps for millions of
tipped workers. In fact, more tipped workers will lude benefits
(01:28):
through this bill then will gain tax benefits through no
tax on tips.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Through In a statement, one fair Wage said that this
bill is a distraction from the real fight. So do
you believe that this is least a start at least
to get the ball rolling on raising wages or do
you feel like raising the minimum wage won't be addressed
if this no tax on tips is enacted.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I do not think Donald Trump or Republicans plan to
raise the minimum wage in Congress, but I do think
at the state level, at the local level, there are
plenty of opportunities to return to respond to no tax
on tips by raising wages for all workers, including tipped workers. Unfortunately,
in Colorado, state Democrats have voted for a bill in
(02:10):
the Assembly that would cut tipped workers' wages in Denver
by four dollars an hour, an outrage. Fortunately, that outrage
is building a lot of momentum towards a statewide ballot
measure that would raise the overall minimum wage, including for
tipped workers. So I do think in Colorado and around
the country there's a ton of momentum to raise the
wage at the state level, not so much in Congress.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
So the pushback we always hear is that for those
that receive tips, especially in the restaurant industry, that it
is going to crush business, make it more expensive for
them to serve food and operate because of that. Your
reaction to that is, do you have data to prove
that's the case or not the case?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Absolutely. There are seven states, again most of them surrounding Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Minnesota, Montana,
and Alaska that all require a full minimum wage with
tips on top. It's sixteen fifty for all workers in
California with tips on top. Similar wages in other states,
and those states have the same or higher restaurant sales,
(03:12):
small business growth rates, tipping averages, and overall industry growth
rates as Colorado. In fact, California has the largest and
fastest growing restaurant industry in the country with a full
minimum wage with tips on top. Look, even Florida has
a higher minimum wage for tipped workers than Colorado at
this point because voters voted for it. That's the thing.
(03:32):
When you ask voters in Colorado or anywhere else, they say,
of course, everybody deserves to be paid a full minimum
wage by their employer enough to survive with tips on top.
Even Trump voters believe that it's really the elected officials
who seem to want to take money away from workers
and give it to billionaires.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Now this may be slightly off topic, but does one
fair wage have a stance on if we should just
eliminate tips entirely and just make sure everyone has a fair,
livable minimum wage.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Look, if we were talking about much higher numbers of
minimum wage where people could actually live, maybe, But at
this point, the cost of living I was just looking
for Colorado. The cost of living, according to the MIT
living wage calculator for a single person with no children,
is close to thirty dollars an hour. With no children.
(04:23):
With kids, it's closer to forty or fifty dollars. Now
that's just food, transportation, housing, survival. So right now, as
long as you're talking about wages of eleven or twelve
or fifteen, tips are absolutely essential on top of wages
to get people closer to that survival wage, you know,
So until we're talking about much higher numbers, we need
(04:46):
to ensure workers get a full livable wage with tips
on top.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
So I may be conflating issues here, but I don't
know if you or somebody within the organization tried to
start a restaurant at two and both sailed, do you
trip it that to maybe the cost of doing business?
And you all with the business model you're trying to
push forward.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
So we actually started a training restaurant, a space for
people to actually get trained on how to learn to
be servers and bartenders. And over time, fabulous restaurant owners,
including several in Colorado, said, you know, we can host
that training, we can provide it, and that's the reason
we passed it off to them. So, no, there are
(05:26):
incredible restaurant owners in Colorado. We actually just honored several
of them in Denver last week that are paying a
full livable wage with tips on top or higher and
surviving and thriving so I think the proof is in
the pudding. There are great restaurants in Colorado and millions
of restaurants in seven states that are already doing this
and doing really well profitably.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
President of One fair Way to Saru, Jay Rahman Taru,
thank you so much for your time this morning.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Thank you,
Earlier this week, the Senate unanimously passed is There No
Tax on Tips Act, while advocates are warning that most
tip workers will not even see relief.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
One Fair Wage, the National Campaign to End the sub
minimum Wage and raise standards for All Service Workers, is
one of those advocates One Fair Wage President saru Ja O.
Rahman joins us now in the koa Common Spirit Health
hotline with more sru Thanks for coming on Colorado's Warning News.
What's your reaction to that bill being passed? When it
comes to no tax on Tips?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
It's a red herring the look. No doubt that tipped
workers across the country needs more money in their pockets.
They need help in a really bad economy in which
there's an affordability crisis. But what they really need is
a raise. Two thirds of tipped workers don't earn enough
across the country to be eligible to pay federal income tax.
(00:48):
So yeah, sure you can give a little bit of
tax relief to some tipped workers, but what almost all
tipped workers across the country need, including in Colorado, is
a full livable wage tips on top, they need a raise.
In Colorado, tipped workers earn less than the minimum wage
because supposedly tips bring them to that full minimum wage.
(01:08):
In neighboring states like California, Nevada, put people get a
full minimum wage with tips on top, and tips are stronger,
and so that's what people need. In the same moment
that they're giving this no tax on tips kind of giveaway,
they're taking away Medicaid and food stamps for millions of
tipped workers. In fact, more tipped workers will lude benefits
(01:28):
through this bill then will gain tax benefits through no
tax on tips.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Through In a statement, one fair Wage said that this
bill is a distraction from the real fight. So do
you believe that this is least a start at least
to get the ball rolling on raising wages or do
you feel like raising the minimum wage won't be addressed
if this no tax on tips is enacted.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I do not think Donald Trump or Republicans plan to
raise the minimum wage in Congress, but I do think
at the state level, at the local level, there are
plenty of opportunities to return to respond to no tax
on tips by raising wages for all workers, including tipped workers. Unfortunately,
in Colorado, state Democrats have voted for a bill in
(02:10):
the Assembly that would cut tipped workers' wages in Denver
by four dollars an hour, an outrage. Fortunately, that outrage
is building a lot of momentum towards a statewide ballot
measure that would raise the overall minimum wage, including for
tipped workers. So I do think in Colorado and around
the country there's a ton of momentum to raise the
wage at the state level, not so much in Congress.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
So the pushback we always hear is that for those
that receive tips, especially in the restaurant industry, that it
is going to crush business, make it more expensive for
them to serve food and operate because of that. Your
reaction to that is, do you have data to prove
that's the case or not the case?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Absolutely. There are seven states, again most of them surrounding Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Minnesota, Montana,
and Alaska that all require a full minimum wage with
tips on top. It's sixteen fifty for all workers in
California with tips on top. Similar wages in other states,
and those states have the same or higher restaurant sales,
(03:12):
small business growth rates, tipping averages, and overall industry growth
rates as Colorado. In fact, California has the largest and
fastest growing restaurant industry in the country with a full
minimum wage with tips on top. Look, even Florida has
a higher minimum wage for tipped workers than Colorado at
this point because voters voted for it. That's the thing.
(03:32):
When you ask voters in Colorado or anywhere else, they say,
of course, everybody deserves to be paid a full minimum
wage by their employer enough to survive with tips on top.
Even Trump voters believe that it's really the elected officials
who seem to want to take money away from workers
and give it to billionaires.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Now this may be slightly off topic, but does one
fair wage have a stance on if we should just
eliminate tips entirely and just make sure everyone has a fair,
livable minimum wage.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Look, if we were talking about much higher numbers of
minimum wage where people could actually live, maybe, But at
this point, the cost of living I was just looking
for Colorado. The cost of living, according to the MIT
living wage calculator for a single person with no children,
is close to thirty dollars an hour. With no children.
(04:23):
With kids, it's closer to forty or fifty dollars. Now
that's just food, transportation, housing, survival. So right now, as
long as you're talking about wages of eleven or twelve
or fifteen, tips are absolutely essential on top of wages
to get people closer to that survival wage, you know,
So until we're talking about much higher numbers, we need
(04:46):
to ensure workers get a full livable wage with tips
on top.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
So I may be conflating issues here, but I don't
know if you or somebody within the organization tried to
start a restaurant at two and both sailed, do you
trip it that to maybe the cost of doing business?
And you all with the business model you're trying to
push forward.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
So we actually started a training restaurant, a space for
people to actually get trained on how to learn to
be servers and bartenders. And over time, fabulous restaurant owners,
including several in Colorado, said, you know, we can host
that training, we can provide it, and that's the reason
we passed it off to them. So, no, there are
(05:26):
incredible restaurant owners in Colorado. We actually just honored several
of them in Denver last week that are paying a
full livable wage with tips on top or higher and
surviving and thriving so I think the proof is in
the pudding. There are great restaurants in Colorado and millions
of restaurants in seven states that are already doing this
and doing really well profitably.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
President of One fair Way to Saru, Jay Rahman Taru,
thank you so much for your time this morning.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Thank you,
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