Tipping is an quintessential American custom. In the United States, consumers tip for services ranging from airport baggage handlers to hotel cleaning.
But according to some analysts, the tip has created an environment where restaurant servers are subjected to sexual harassment and low wages. The pandemic has only aggravated these problems.
About three-quarters of the restaurant industry’s prone workers are women and nearly half are people of color.
In a study by One Fair Wage and the Food Research Research Center at UC Berkeley, 83% of restaurant workers reported that their advice had declined during the Covid pandemic and that more than 40% experienced a change in frequency. of unwanted sexual comments from clients.
With the pandemic leaving millions to do essential work for low wages, calls have been renewed for a minimum wage of $ 15 and the elimination of the so-called sloping minimum wage, the base wage of many restaurant workers.
Forty-three states, including Georgia, North Carolina and Texas, have a sloping minimum wage for workers, in some cases as little as $ 2.13 per hour.
Still, many in the restaurant industry oppose the proposed changes, saying they would lead to higher menu prices and fewer hours for workers. According to the National Restaurant Association, the pandemic has already affected the industry and ended 2.5 million jobs in restaurants and more than 110,000 food and drink establishments in 2020 alone.
Watch the video above to find out what the $ 15 minimum wage would mean and the removal of the included minimum wage for restaurants and their employees.
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