-
Initiative 77 was wrong in June, and it’s wrong now
September 2018 · Michael Saltsman · Washington Post
Call it the wage increase that wasn’t. In June, 10 percent of registered D.C. voters supported Initiative 77, a ballot measure to raise the base wage for tipped employees by 200 percent. Proponents of the measure portrayed this low-turnout win as a meaningful one. Yet a survey of voters who supported the idea shows that a majority wrongly thought they were supporting a minimum-wage increase to $15 — a… -
Here’s a Tip: Waiters and Bartenders Like How They’re Paid
June 2018 · Michael Saltsman · Wall Street Journal
The District of Columbia is one of the most liberal places in the country. But its elected officials—all Democrats or left-of-center independents—have lined up against a ballot measure that would raise the base wage for workers who rely on tips by 200%. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and most members of the council are opposed to the measure, known as Initiative 77. Even Attorney… -
Let servers keep their tips
May 2018 · Michael Saltsman · The Detroit News
Detroit’s burgeoning restaurant scene has been the subject of national attention. But a proposed ballot measure to raise the base for restaurant servers by more than 200 percent threatens to halt to the restaurant industry’s growth in Detroit and beyond. Start with some background: Michigan’s minimum wage was raised to $9.25 in four steps starting in 2015, as part of a bipartisan deal between Republicans and Democrats… -
Cuomo’s about to crush New York restaurants
April 2018 · Michael Saltsman · New York Post
It’s déjà vu all over again. Less than four years after Gov. Andrew Cuomo convened a wage board to study tipped-employee pay, the Labor Department will hold a series of hearings to decide whether New York should follow seven other states and eliminate the tipping system entirely. The first hearing, on Friday at SUNY-Farmingdale, will pit service-industry staff who value their tip income against labor advocates who prefer all… -
Sexual Harassment Is Awful. But It Has Nothing To Do With Tipping.
March 2018 · Michael Saltsman · Forbes.com
Does the option to leave a gratuity for a waiter or waitress encourage customers to sexually harass these employees? That’s the message currently being promoted by the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC), and echoed in dozens of recent news articles. It’s a popular talking point. But it’s not worth the paper it’s written on. ROC is a controversial labor advocacy organization with its own history of alleged bad behavior; it was… -
California’s cautionary tale for New York restaurants
February 2018 · Michael Saltsman · Crain's New York Business
A proposal from Gov. Andrew Cuomo to eliminate New York’s tip credit has worried restaurateurs, who are already reeling from recent wage hikes. Cuomo counsel Alphonso David recently dismissed these concerns by pointing west. “California, as an example, does not have a tipped wage, and the sky didn’t fall,” he said at a Crain’s forum. David might want to take a closer look at the data. For many California…