(Image via perfectvenue.com)

Volunteer Writer: Bryar Pimental

Email: bpimental1@umassd.edu

As a server, I would be lying to say I supported Question 5 on the Massachusetts 2024 election ballot. This question proposed raising the minimum wage for tipped workers from around $6.85 to $15.00 over five years.

I couldn’t imagine how anyone would vote yes, even from a customer standpoint. Some heard “no more tipping,” which was enough for them. All I heard was higher menu prices, fast food service for a sit-down dinner, and fewer local restaurants surviving.

While some restaurants pay a higher rate depending on their business, Massgov says that in Massachusetts, the minimum wage for a service is $6.75. To a non-service worker, this might sound like a labor law violation. How could any business get away with paying almost $10 below the minimum wage? Tips help to bridge that gap.

A server is expected to get at least $10 an hour in tips plus the $6.85 wage, which equals $16.85. 

What happens if a server has a slow day and doesn’t get enough tips to bring them to at least $15.00 an hour? Their employer is required to pay the difference. On the other hand, if it is busy, servers can make upwards of $30 an hour. 

This proposal caps the income of servers. Many servers I work with have been in the service industry for 25 years, supporting their families and paying their bills with the money they make. This would have been impossible had this bill been passed.

Most view tipping as “paying the employees so their employers don’t have to” but fail to realize this is already true. According to Investopedia, a company takes into account the costs of labor, material, and overhead when pricing its products. Increasing the minimum wage would also increase the menu prices to cover the cost of labor.

Toast, a restaurant cloud system for smaller businesses, says, “The average restaurant profit margin usually falls between 3 – 5 percent.” This means only about 3-5% of their sales are profit; the rest goes back into the business. That’s not a lot of wiggle room, and the money must come from somewhere.

71% of restaurants have responded to the recent minimum wage increases by raising menu prices.  

On the 2020 ballot in Washington, they supported increasing the minimum wage. They also reported 64% reduced employee hours and 43% had job eliminations.

As a server and a customer sitting on both sides of the table, I am relieved that Massachusetts voted no on raising the minimum wage for tipped workers. I love to show appreciation through a tip because I know how it feels to get a good tip on a night when I’m feeling down. Restaurants create communities and connections that last a lifetime. 

Massachusetts was right to vote no and save our local restaurants and service workers.