April 10, 2024 • 17 mins
How much do you tip? 15% and 20 if the service is good? 20% all the time? 10%? What if you knew that 70% of tipped workers were women, and they made as little as $2.13 per hour?
This week, NOW National President Christian F. Nunes speaks with Saru Jarayaman, the co-founder and president of One Fair Wage, about the fight for economic equality, why tipped workers in the United States are a legacy of slavery, and what we all can do to make sure everyone earns a living wage.
Take Action NOW: https://now.org/issues/economic-justice/
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Listen to new episodes of Feminism NOW released every other Wednesday. To find out more about the National Organization for Women, visit our website.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(mellow music)
- Welcome back to "Feminism NOW",
a podcast featuring leaders and activists
who are on the front lines of the fight
for constitutionalquality, economic justice,
and reproductive rights.
I'm Christian F Nunes,the National President
of the National Organization for Women.
(00:23):
And as you probably know bynow, the theme of this season
is Women Leading Democracy.
That leadership can take many forms,
and one of them ispursuing economic justice.
Civic equality for women andnon-binary people can only come
when we have economic equality too.
That's why economic justiceis one of NOW's core issues.
(00:44):
Of course, we'd loveto hear your thoughts,
so please send us an emailat feminismnow@now.org.
And in the meantime,let's talk fair wages.
(upbeat music)
Let's start with aquestion for our listeners.
(01:05):
How much do you tip?
Maybe you're one of those people
who thinks 15% of the bill is just fine
and 20% if service is great,
or maybe you tip 20% no matter what.
It seems like an imposition,
asking for money on top ofthe money you already paid.
Why does the US have a culture
of tipping in the first place?
The service industry,particularly food service,
(01:27):
is sometimes called thenation's training ground.
63% of US adults have workedin the restaurant industry
and 70% of those tip workers are women.
And yet the federal minimum wage
for tip workers is only $2.13 per hour.
The restaurant industry has seven
(01:47):
of the lowest paying jobs in the country.
Many people working infood service are likely
to need food assistance.
In light of that, tipping begins to seem
like a much more important conversation
than just how much you're adding
to the total of your credit card.
Why don't tip workers make a living wage?
To find out, I'm so happy todayto talk to Saru Jayaraman.
(02:10):
She's a co-founder andpresident of One Fair Wage,
an organization fighting for all Americans
to make minimum wage, no tips required.
Saru, welcome.
- Thank you for having me.- So first,
I would like to get started.
First of all, can youtell us a little bit more
about the One Fair Wage campaignand how that gets started?
I know it kind of startedaround the time of 9-11.
(02:32):
Can you tell ourlisteners more about that?
- Absolutely.
So on September 11th,there was a restaurant
at the top of the WorldTrade Center Tower One
called Windows on the World.
On that morning, 73 workersdied in the restaurant
and about 250 workers lost their jobs
in that one restaurant.
13,000 lost their jobs citywide.
And we started a relief center
for workers first in NewYork, restaurant workers,
(02:54):
and then all over the country,grew all over the country.
And everywhere we went, workerswould say, it's my wages,
it's my wages, it's mywages, that's the problem.
And when we looked at the government data,
we learned why.
The restaurant industryhas been the largest
and fastest growing privatesector employer for decades.
But it's been the absolutelowest paying employer
for generations, dating allthe way back to Emancipation
(03:17):
when the wage structure
in the restaurant industry was created.
And today, as a result ofthat legacy of slavery,
we have a subminimumwage for tipped workers
that is still just $2.13 an hour
that affects a workforcethat is overwhelmingly women,
single moms working asservers and bartenders
in restaurants across America.
So our mission is to raiseall wages across the country
(03:40):
and end the subminimum wages
like the subminimumwage for tipped workers
that forces a population of mostly women
to have to tolerate a lotof harassment to get tips.
- Thank you for sharing thatinformation with us, Saru.
I think one of the strongeststatements you make
when you talk about thehistory of tip workers
and minimum wage is the history
(04:00):
that talks about thelegacy of slavery in that.
And I don't think a lot oflisteners know about that
and how that has really gone back that far
from Emancipation and slavery.
Could you tell us alittle bit more about how
that is directly tied to,in our country, to slavery?
And why this is still such a problem
and shows the problem withparts of structures of tip work
(04:22):
and wages as we still see today?
- Yes, absolutely.
And it's also very goodto talk about this history
as the tail end of Women's History Month,
because this in my mind isboth a legacy of slavery
and the original genderand race pay equity issue.
So look, pre-Emancipation until 1853,
(04:46):
waiters in the US were mostly white men
and they got actual wages, no tips.
Tipping was not prevalent at the time.
In 1853, they went onstrike for higher wages,
and in response, restaurantswho didn't wanna pay them more
started replacing themwith guess who, women.
And after about 10 years
of the industry moving more towards women
(05:07):
who they paid less to,
after 1865, they started tothink of an even better source
of even cheaper labor, which was
they wanted to hirenewly freed Black people
moving up from the south.
There were two industries, infact, that sought to do this.
One was the restaurantindustry hiring Black women,
and the other was thePullman Train Company
(05:28):
hiring Black men.
Both industries told these Black workers,
you're going to only get tips, no wages.
And in response to that,
the Pullman car portersorganized the first Black union
in the United States and wonthe right to one fair wage,
a full minimum wage withtips on top in 1937.
But the Black women inthe restaurant industry
never got that, because in response
(05:51):
to the Pullman car porters organizing,
the restaurants formed something called
the National RestaurantAssociation in 1919
that is still around today,and is led by the chains
and has been arguing since 1919
that they shouldn't haveto pay their workers,
who are still overwhelmingly women,
disproportionately womenof color 100 years later,
they shouldn't have to pay their workers
(06:11):
because customers paytheir workers in tips
and therefore they shouldn't have to.
And that has resulted 100years later in a workforce
that is the lowest paid, thepoorest workforce in America,
and as I said, the highestrates of sexual harassment
because these women have to putup with so much to get tips.
So it's important thatlisteners understand
(06:32):
that the women we're talking about
don't largely work in fine dining.
That's actually a verysmall tiny percentage.
These are mostly women working
in very casual restaurants and bars,
IHOPs, Denny's, Applebee's,
struggling with threetimes the poverty rate
of other workers, using foodstamps at double the rate.
And as I said, experiencingthe highest rates
of sexual harassment ofany industry in the US
(06:53):
'cause they have to put upwith so much to get those tips.
- You bring up excellent points,
because one of the things Ithink is so very interesting
when we think about this is truly like,
the fact that only the intersectionsbetween sexism, racism,
that we often talk about and see
when we are talking about this struggle
of oppression and discrimination,
that once again, womenand Blacks, you know,
(07:14):
and brown people were always the ones
who were the most oppressedand discriminated against,
but often women of color, right?
That continue, that we seeperpetuate in these systems.
But also the fact that we're also seeing
that there's also the degradation
and the disrespect andthe lack of integrity
and dignity that's shownwhat they have to deal with.
(07:37):
You know, to even try to earn livings.
And then they're stillfaced and still working,
even themselves below thepoverty line a lot of times
just trying to earn a living.
And we don't think about this.
And they're often having toseek assistance even occur.
And now we're seeing thatthere is even an increase
in subminimum wage jobs.
Why do you think that is?
- So as long as the restaurantindustry gets this exemption
(07:59):
that they get to payworkers a subminimum wage,
every other industry isgonna want that exemption.
They're gonna want to be ableto pay people $2 as well.
So people keep asking,
why am I tipping at thekiosk in the airport?
Why am I tipping in a coffeeshop when I never used to tip?
Why am I tipping atthis retail environment?
And it's because more and more industries,
(08:20):
as long as there is a subminimumwage for tipped workers,
are trying to emulatethe restaurant industry,
introduce tipping
and drive their workers' wagesdown to a subminimum wage.
So you're seeing the growthof subminimum wage workers
as long as there is a subminimum wage.
There are also other subminimum wages.
There's a subminimum wage forworkers with disabilities.
There's a subminimum wagefor youth in many states.
(08:40):
There's a subminimum wagefor incarcerated workers.
That's another legacy of slavery.
But the biggest workforce
of subminimum wageworkers is tipped workers.
And unfortunately that groupof tipped workers is growing
because as long as weallow a subminimum wage
for tipped workers, every other industry
is going to want that exemption.
(09:01):
- We've outlined the problemswith below minimum wage,
and we're going to talkabout the solutions next.
But first it's time for ActionNOW, our podcast segment
where I get to tell you about some
of the important issuesimpacting women today.
We're excited to let you know
about our upcoming national conference,
which will be held virtuallyfrom July 19th to July 21st.
(09:22):
Such a wonderful opportunity for all of us
to get excited about NOW andfind community with each other.
This year's topic isWomen Will Save Democracy,
No Democracy Without Intersectionality.
And we're thrilled
to present speakers inaction oriented workshops.
And it's your chance to get involved.
Oh yeah, and it's election yearfor the National NOW Board.
(09:45):
Go to now.org to registerfor the conference,
and we hope to see you there.
Join us at our meeting andhelp us take action now.
And now back to our interview.
So tell me, we've talked about some
of the major problems here
with below minimum wage and tipping.
(10:05):
So tell us exactly whatis One Fair Wage doing
to help fight back and to helpchange this in our country?
- Well, we actually are experiencing
an incredible, historic moment.
That's actually one of thesilver linings of the pandemic.
You know, during the pandemic,
things got really much worsethan everything I've described.
During the pandemic, workers reported
that they couldn't getunemployment insurance
(10:27):
'cause in most states they were told
that subminimum wage was toolow to qualify for benefits.
Then they went back to work
and they reported tips had gone down,
sexual harassment had gone up.
We had heard from so manywomen, "I'm regularly asked,
take off your mask so Ican see how cute you are
before I decide how much to tip you."
And those horrific conditions,
also, so many workers beingasked to enforce COVID protocols
(10:48):
on the same people fromwhom they had to get tips.
Look, that resulted in12,000 workers dying
in the restaurant industry.
Our industry was second only to healthcare
in the number of workers who died.
But second to dyingalso, you know, horrible,
was just the conditionsthese workers faced
and continue to face.
So 1.2 million workers walked off the job,
(11:12):
left the restaurant industry,
said I cannot put up with this anymore.
And that mass exodus has ledto thousands of restaurants
raising wages to recruit staff.
And 2022 we were realizing,we're in such a historic moment,
first time since Emancipation
that workers are resoundingly rejecting
these wage structures en masse.
We launched something called 25 by 250
(11:34):
where we're moving billsand ballot measures
in 25 states, half the country
to raise wages and subminimum wages
by the United States' 250th anniversary,
which is coming up in 2026.
So we are moving currentlybills in like, nine states,
New York, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland,
just a ton of states, Hawaii,
(11:54):
all over the country, California.
But we're also on the ballotthis year in four key states,
Michigan, Ohio, Arizona,and Massachusetts.
And being on the ballotwith wage increases
means that workers willhave the opportunity
to go vote themselvesa raise this November.
And so for anybody who'sworried about, you know,
this presidential election,this Senate election,
(12:15):
which is, you know, prettyscary and pretty important,
these initiatives are going to help
drive out a ton of youngpeople and people of color
who have named in pollsover and over again
that the top issue that theyare prioritizing this election
is the rising cost of livingand jobs with living wages.
So we are putting theseissues directly on the ballot
(12:36):
so that workers have the chance
to go vote themselves a raise.
- Which is so important,
because when we're talking about
what's directly impacting people,
it's things like a living wage.
When it comes to housing,
when it comes to beingable to feed your child
or your children or your familyor your parents or yourself.
I mean, these are the thingsthat directly impacting you.
So this is why One Fair Wagecampaign is so important
(12:59):
And NOW is definitelysupporting you in this campaign,
and you know you can alwayscall on me for this as well.
And I know you had somesuccesses, even, you know,
in Michigan and some other states,
and you know, you beento DC, and you know,
and you continue to have somesuccesses in a lot of places.
So we wanna continue to seesome successes continue.
So as we talk, we know alsothere's a push for federal.
(13:21):
But what are some of thechallenges that you're seeing here?
I think we kind of know them,
but can you tell us whatthose challenges are
and what our listeners
and our activists can do tohelp encourage the federal push
for One Fair Wage as well?
- In 2021 we had a bill moving
when Biden first came into office
called the Raise the Wage Act.
It would've raised the wage to $15
(13:42):
and ended all subminimumwages for tipped workers,
workers with disabilities, and youth.
It passed the House.
We almost got it through the Senate,
but eight Senate Democratsalong with all the Republicans
voted against it.
And at that time, SenatorSchumer said, you know,
it's really the RestaurantAssociation that's blocking this.
So two strategies to win.
One is the more stateswe can get to raise wages
(14:05):
and end subminimum wages,
the less power the RestaurantAssociation will have
at the federal level,
because there alreadywould've agreed to it
in a lot more states.
One is to get this doneat the state level,
lots and lots of statesdoing this is gonna diminish
the power of the Restaurant Association
and get more senators to vote yes.
And part of that state fightis that we have four states
(14:27):
where we put the issue directlyon the ballot this year,
Michigan, Ohio, Arizona,and Massachusetts,
where 3.5 million workerswill have the opportunity
to go vote themselvesa raise this November.
And for all of us that are worried
about this year's election,presidential, Senate elections,
House races, and worriedabout voter turnout,
young people and peopleof color have named
(14:49):
in multiple polls thatthe rising cost of living
and jobs with living wages aretheir top concerns this year.
Which should be of nosurprise to most of us
that are still experiencingthe very high costs of living
right now across the country.
So people are reallysaying, that's my priority,
the ability to go vote yourself a raise
(15:09):
means that you'll go to the ballot
moreso than you would for any candidate.
And while you're at the ballot,data shows you're likely
to go vote for somebodywho supports that raise.
And so Joe Biden has runon the issue in 2020.
He's likely to run on it again in 2024.
So there's a real opportunityfor us to defeat Trump
by putting these issuesdirectly on the ballot
(15:31):
and mobilizing lots and lots of people
to go vote themselves a raise.
But the second thing is we can
continue to tell our federal legislators,
stop listening to the likes
of the National Restaurant Association
and listen to the people.
When you ask the people of America
in pretty much any state,red state or blue state,
should people get a livingwage from their boss,
the overwhelming answeris of course they should.
(15:53):
And when you ask them,should restaurant workers get
a full minimum wage before tips,
most people say, whatare you talking about?
I thought they already were getting
a full minimum wage before tips.
So it's so popular.
We just need to tellour federal legislators
we need to get this done.
If you're in those states,please be in touch.
We wanna work with youto get the vote out.
If you're not in those states,help us by either donating
(16:14):
or you can still do phonebanking from other states.
But be in touch 'causewe'd love to work with you.
- Thank you so much.
I think everyone,
Saru has told us our call to action,
that is to continue to pushin our states to make sure
our states are passing andraising the minimum wage
so then that it gives more pressure
on our federal government
to also push and makesure that we get it done
(16:35):
in that place.
So Saru, thank you so muchfor being here with us today.
You have taught us allso much about history
and what it takes to change the game.
And we know that youare going to make sure
and One Fair Wage is gonnamake sure it gets done.
So we thank you for your time.
If you wanna know more aboutthe One Fair Wage campaign,
where can they learn about that?
- You can go to www.onefairwage.org.
(16:57):
- Alright, thank you.
And I look forward to seeing more action,
everyone getting involved.
And we are going to get that wage raised
because everyone deservesto be able to live
a sustainable, healthy life.
All right, thank you Saru.
- Thank you so much for having me.
- Thank you so much, Saru.
(17:18):
And there you have it.
This is how we get involved
and this is how we getour issues on the ballot
to help us change our lives.
Thank you.
And let's get the One FairWage passed and pushed.
Thank you, listeners, for being with us
as we use season two of our podcast
to showcase people makinga real difference to women
and their allies in our democracy.
(upbeat music)
(mellow music)
- Welcome back to "Feminism NOW",
a podcast featuring leaders and activists
who are on the front lines of the fight
for constitutionalquality, economic justice,
and reproductive rights.
I'm Christian F Nunes,the National President
of the National Organization for Women.
(00:23):
And as you probably know bynow, the theme of this season
is Women Leading Democracy.
That leadership can take many forms,
and one of them ispursuing economic justice.
Civic equality for women andnon-binary people can only come
when we have economic equality too.
That's why economic justiceis one of NOW's core issues.
(00:44):
Of course, we'd loveto hear your thoughts,
so please send us an emailat feminismnow@now.org.
And in the meantime,let's talk fair wages.
(upbeat music)
Let's start with aquestion for our listeners.
(01:05):
How much do you tip?
Maybe you're one of those people
who thinks 15% of the bill is just fine
and 20% if service is great,
or maybe you tip 20% no matter what.
It seems like an imposition,
asking for money on top ofthe money you already paid.
Why does the US have a culture
of tipping in the first place?
The service industry,particularly food service,
(01:27):
is sometimes called thenation's training ground.
63% of US adults have workedin the restaurant industry
and 70% of those tip workers are women.
And yet the federal minimum wage
for tip workers is only $2.13 per hour.
The restaurant industry has seven
(01:47):
of the lowest paying jobs in the country.
Many people working infood service are likely
to need food assistance.
In light of that, tipping begins to seem
like a much more important conversation
than just how much you're adding
to the total of your credit card.
Why don't tip workers make a living wage?
To find out, I'm so happy todayto talk to Saru Jayaraman.
(02:10):
She's a co-founder andpresident of One Fair Wage,
an organization fighting for all Americans
to make minimum wage, no tips required.
Saru, welcome.
- Thank you for having me.- So first,
I would like to get started.
First of all, can youtell us a little bit more
about the One Fair Wage campaignand how that gets started?
I know it kind of startedaround the time of 9-11.
(02:32):
Can you tell ourlisteners more about that?
- Absolutely.
So on September 11th,there was a restaurant
at the top of the WorldTrade Center Tower One
called Windows on the World.
On that morning, 73 workersdied in the restaurant
and about 250 workers lost their jobs
in that one restaurant.
13,000 lost their jobs citywide.
And we started a relief center
for workers first in NewYork, restaurant workers,
(02:54):
and then all over the country,grew all over the country.
And everywhere we went, workerswould say, it's my wages,
it's my wages, it's mywages, that's the problem.
And when we looked at the government data,
we learned why.
The restaurant industryhas been the largest
and fastest growing privatesector employer for decades.
But it's been the absolutelowest paying employer
for generations, dating allthe way back to Emancipation
(03:17):
when the wage structure
in the restaurant industry was created.
And today, as a result ofthat legacy of slavery,
we have a subminimumwage for tipped workers
that is still just $2.13 an hour
that affects a workforcethat is overwhelmingly women,
single moms working asservers and bartenders
in restaurants across America.
So our mission is to raiseall wages across the country
(03:40):
and end the subminimum wages
like the subminimumwage for tipped workers
that forces a population of mostly women
to have to tolerate a lotof harassment to get tips.
- Thank you for sharing thatinformation with us, Saru.
I think one of the strongeststatements you make
when you talk about thehistory of tip workers
and minimum wage is the history
(04:00):
that talks about thelegacy of slavery in that.
And I don't think a lot oflisteners know about that
and how that has really gone back that far
from Emancipation and slavery.
Could you tell us alittle bit more about how
that is directly tied to,in our country, to slavery?
And why this is still such a problem
and shows the problem withparts of structures of tip work
(04:22):
and wages as we still see today?
- Yes, absolutely.
And it's also very goodto talk about this history
as the tail end of Women's History Month,
because this in my mind isboth a legacy of slavery
and the original genderand race pay equity issue.
So look, pre-Emancipation until 1853,
(04:46):
waiters in the US were mostly white men
and they got actual wages, no tips.
Tipping was not prevalent at the time.
In 1853, they went onstrike for higher wages,
and in response, restaurantswho didn't wanna pay them more
started replacing themwith guess who, women.
And after about 10 years
of the industry moving more towards women
(05:07):
who they paid less to,
after 1865, they started tothink of an even better source
of even cheaper labor, which was
they wanted to hirenewly freed Black people
moving up from the south.
There were two industries, infact, that sought to do this.
One was the restaurantindustry hiring Black women,
and the other was thePullman Train Company
(05:28):
hiring Black men.
Both industries told these Black workers,
you're going to only get tips, no wages.
And in response to that,
the Pullman car portersorganized the first Black union
in the United States and wonthe right to one fair wage,
a full minimum wage withtips on top in 1937.
But the Black women inthe restaurant industry
never got that, because in response
(05:51):
to the Pullman car porters organizing,
the restaurants formed something called
the National RestaurantAssociation in 1919
that is still around today,and is led by the chains
and has been arguing since 1919
that they shouldn't haveto pay their workers,
who are still overwhelmingly women,
disproportionately womenof color 100 years later,
they shouldn't have to pay their workers
(06:11):
because customers paytheir workers in tips
and therefore they shouldn't have to.
And that has resulted 100years later in a workforce
that is the lowest paid, thepoorest workforce in America,
and as I said, the highestrates of sexual harassment
because these women have to putup with so much to get tips.
So it's important thatlisteners understand
(06:32):
that the women we're talking about
don't largely work in fine dining.
That's actually a verysmall tiny percentage.
These are mostly women working
in very casual restaurants and bars,
IHOPs, Denny's, Applebee's,
struggling with threetimes the poverty rate
of other workers, using foodstamps at double the rate.
And as I said, experiencingthe highest rates
of sexual harassment ofany industry in the US
(06:53):
'cause they have to put upwith so much to get those tips.
- You bring up excellent points,
because one of the things Ithink is so very interesting
when we think about this is truly like,
the fact that only the intersectionsbetween sexism, racism,
that we often talk about and see
when we are talking about this struggle
of oppression and discrimination,
that once again, womenand Blacks, you know,
(07:14):
and brown people were always the ones
who were the most oppressedand discriminated against,
but often women of color, right?
That continue, that we seeperpetuate in these systems.
But also the fact that we're also seeing
that there's also the degradation
and the disrespect andthe lack of integrity
and dignity that's shownwhat they have to deal with.
(07:37):
You know, to even try to earn livings.
And then they're stillfaced and still working,
even themselves below thepoverty line a lot of times
just trying to earn a living.
And we don't think about this.
And they're often having toseek assistance even occur.
And now we're seeing thatthere is even an increase
in subminimum wage jobs.
Why do you think that is?
- So as long as the restaurantindustry gets this exemption
(07:59):
that they get to payworkers a subminimum wage,
every other industry isgonna want that exemption.
They're gonna want to be ableto pay people $2 as well.
So people keep asking,
why am I tipping at thekiosk in the airport?
Why am I tipping in a coffeeshop when I never used to tip?
Why am I tipping atthis retail environment?
And it's because more and more industries,
(08:20):
as long as there is a subminimumwage for tipped workers,
are trying to emulatethe restaurant industry,
introduce tipping
and drive their workers' wagesdown to a subminimum wage.
So you're seeing the growthof subminimum wage workers
as long as there is a subminimum wage.
There are also other subminimum wages.
There's a subminimum wage forworkers with disabilities.
There's a subminimum wagefor youth in many states.
(08:40):
There's a subminimum wagefor incarcerated workers.
That's another legacy of slavery.
But the biggest workforce
of subminimum wageworkers is tipped workers.
And unfortunately that groupof tipped workers is growing
because as long as weallow a subminimum wage
for tipped workers, every other industry
is going to want that exemption.
(09:01):
- We've outlined the problemswith below minimum wage,
and we're going to talkabout the solutions next.
But first it's time for ActionNOW, our podcast segment
where I get to tell you about some
of the important issuesimpacting women today.
We're excited to let you know
about our upcoming national conference,
which will be held virtuallyfrom July 19th to July 21st.
(09:22):
Such a wonderful opportunity for all of us
to get excited about NOW andfind community with each other.
This year's topic isWomen Will Save Democracy,
No Democracy Without Intersectionality.
And we're thrilled
to present speakers inaction oriented workshops.
And it's your chance to get involved.
Oh yeah, and it's election yearfor the National NOW Board.
(09:45):
Go to now.org to registerfor the conference,
and we hope to see you there.
Join us at our meeting andhelp us take action now.
And now back to our interview.
So tell me, we've talked about some
of the major problems here
with below minimum wage and tipping.
(10:05):
So tell us exactly whatis One Fair Wage doing
to help fight back and to helpchange this in our country?
- Well, we actually are experiencing
an incredible, historic moment.
That's actually one of thesilver linings of the pandemic.
You know, during the pandemic,
things got really much worsethan everything I've described.
During the pandemic, workers reported
that they couldn't getunemployment insurance
(10:27):
'cause in most states they were told
that subminimum wage was toolow to qualify for benefits.
Then they went back to work
and they reported tips had gone down,
sexual harassment had gone up.
We had heard from so manywomen, "I'm regularly asked,
take off your mask so Ican see how cute you are
before I decide how much to tip you."
And those horrific conditions,
also, so many workers beingasked to enforce COVID protocols
(10:48):
on the same people fromwhom they had to get tips.
Look, that resulted in12,000 workers dying
in the restaurant industry.
Our industry was second only to healthcare
in the number of workers who died.
But second to dyingalso, you know, horrible,
was just the conditionsthese workers faced
and continue to face.
So 1.2 million workers walked off the job,
(11:12):
left the restaurant industry,
said I cannot put up with this anymore.
And that mass exodus has ledto thousands of restaurants
raising wages to recruit staff.
And 2022 we were realizing,we're in such a historic moment,
first time since Emancipation
that workers are resoundingly rejecting
these wage structures en masse.
We launched something called 25 by 250
(11:34):
where we're moving billsand ballot measures
in 25 states, half the country
to raise wages and subminimum wages
by the United States' 250th anniversary,
which is coming up in 2026.
So we are moving currentlybills in like, nine states,
New York, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland,
just a ton of states, Hawaii,
(11:54):
all over the country, California.
But we're also on the ballotthis year in four key states,
Michigan, Ohio, Arizona,and Massachusetts.
And being on the ballotwith wage increases
means that workers willhave the opportunity
to go vote themselvesa raise this November.
And so for anybody who'sworried about, you know,
this presidential election,this Senate election,
(12:15):
which is, you know, prettyscary and pretty important,
these initiatives are going to help
drive out a ton of youngpeople and people of color
who have named in pollsover and over again
that the top issue that theyare prioritizing this election
is the rising cost of livingand jobs with living wages.
So we are putting theseissues directly on the ballot
(12:36):
so that workers have the chance
to go vote themselves a raise.
- Which is so important,
because when we're talking about
what's directly impacting people,
it's things like a living wage.
When it comes to housing,
when it comes to beingable to feed your child
or your children or your familyor your parents or yourself.
I mean, these are the thingsthat directly impacting you.
So this is why One Fair Wagecampaign is so important
(12:59):
And NOW is definitelysupporting you in this campaign,
and you know you can alwayscall on me for this as well.
And I know you had somesuccesses, even, you know,
in Michigan and some other states,
and you know, you beento DC, and you know,
and you continue to have somesuccesses in a lot of places.
So we wanna continue to seesome successes continue.
So as we talk, we know alsothere's a push for federal.
(13:21):
But what are some of thechallenges that you're seeing here?
I think we kind of know them,
but can you tell us whatthose challenges are
and what our listeners
and our activists can do tohelp encourage the federal push
for One Fair Wage as well?
- In 2021 we had a bill moving
when Biden first came into office
called the Raise the Wage Act.
It would've raised the wage to $15
(13:42):
and ended all subminimumwages for tipped workers,
workers with disabilities, and youth.
It passed the House.
We almost got it through the Senate,
but eight Senate Democratsalong with all the Republicans
voted against it.
And at that time, SenatorSchumer said, you know,
it's really the RestaurantAssociation that's blocking this.
So two strategies to win.
One is the more stateswe can get to raise wages
(14:05):
and end subminimum wages,
the less power the RestaurantAssociation will have
at the federal level,
because there alreadywould've agreed to it
in a lot more states.
One is to get this doneat the state level,
lots and lots of statesdoing this is gonna diminish
the power of the Restaurant Association
and get more senators to vote yes.
And part of that state fightis that we have four states
(14:27):
where we put the issue directlyon the ballot this year,
Michigan, Ohio, Arizona,and Massachusetts,
where 3.5 million workerswill have the opportunity
to go vote themselvesa raise this November.
And for all of us that are worried
about this year's election,presidential, Senate elections,
House races, and worriedabout voter turnout,
young people and peopleof color have named
(14:49):
in multiple polls thatthe rising cost of living
and jobs with living wages aretheir top concerns this year.
Which should be of nosurprise to most of us
that are still experiencingthe very high costs of living
right now across the country.
So people are reallysaying, that's my priority,
the ability to go vote yourself a raise
(15:09):
means that you'll go to the ballot
moreso than you would for any candidate.
And while you're at the ballot,data shows you're likely
to go vote for somebodywho supports that raise.
And so Joe Biden has runon the issue in 2020.
He's likely to run on it again in 2024.
So there's a real opportunityfor us to defeat Trump
by putting these issuesdirectly on the ballot
(15:31):
and mobilizing lots and lots of people
to go vote themselves a raise.
But the second thing is we can
continue to tell our federal legislators,
stop listening to the likes
of the National Restaurant Association
and listen to the people.
When you ask the people of America
in pretty much any state,red state or blue state,
should people get a livingwage from their boss,
the overwhelming answeris of course they should.
(15:53):
And when you ask them,should restaurant workers get
a full minimum wage before tips,
most people say, whatare you talking about?
I thought they already were getting
a full minimum wage before tips.
So it's so popular.
We just need to tellour federal legislators
we need to get this done.
If you're in those states,please be in touch.
We wanna work with youto get the vote out.
If you're not in those states,help us by either donating
(16:14):
or you can still do phonebanking from other states.
But be in touch 'causewe'd love to work with you.
- Thank you so much.
I think everyone,
Saru has told us our call to action,
that is to continue to pushin our states to make sure
our states are passing andraising the minimum wage
so then that it gives more pressure
on our federal government
to also push and makesure that we get it done
(16:35):
in that place.
So Saru, thank you so muchfor being here with us today.
You have taught us allso much about history
and what it takes to change the game.
And we know that youare going to make sure
and One Fair Wage is gonnamake sure it gets done.
So we thank you for your time.
If you wanna know more aboutthe One Fair Wage campaign,
where can they learn about that?
- You can go to www.onefairwage.org.
(16:57):
- Alright, thank you.
And I look forward to seeing more action,
everyone getting involved.
And we are going to get that wage raised
because everyone deservesto be able to live
a sustainable, healthy life.
All right, thank you Saru.
- Thank you so much for having me.
- Thank you so much, Saru.
(17:18):
And there you have it.
This is how we get involved
and this is how we getour issues on the ballot
to help us change our lives.
Thank you.
And let's get the One FairWage passed and pushed.
Thank you, listeners, for being with us
as we use season two of our podcast
to showcase people makinga real difference to women
and their allies in our democracy.
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