Oped Archive

  • The SEIU’s fake fast food union

    February 2024 ·  Michael Saltsman ·  Orange County Register

    Five years ago, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) announced an aggressive plan to create “Unions For All.” Today in California, that vision looks exceedingly small. How else to react to the forthcoming statewide launch of a so-called fast food workers’ union? This new entity is not a union in the traditional sense, it has no self-sustaining funding source, and no employer is obligated to bargain with…
  • A $15 Minimum Wage in Oklahoma is a Recipe for Disaster

    January 2024 ·  Rebekah Paxton ·  The Oklahoman

    The fate of Oklahoma’s hospitality industry may soon be in the hands of its people. A proposed ballot measure would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, spelling disaster for the state’s businesses and tens of thousands of employees. It could be voted on as soon as November 2024. On its face, this “one size fits all” policy seems like a great solution to combat inflation by putting…
  • Restaurants should be wary of latest food safety training program

    January 2024 ·  Rebekah Paxton ·  Orange County Register

    A new law in California now requires restaurants to compensate employees for state-mandated food handler certifications. But the law has been weaponized by advocacy groups looking to push their own training programs. One Fair Wage (OFW) – a union-backed activist group that wants to end the tipping system around the country – launched a course aimed at advancing its own political goals. However, a draft we reviewed…
  • Why No One Goes Out to Eat in D.C. Anymore

    January 2024 ·  Michael Saltsman and Rebekah Paxton ·  The Wall Street Journal

    The restaurant scene in the District of Columbia is dying, and public policy is to blame. As recently as 2016, the nation’s capital received its first Michelin Guide and accolades from the country’s top food magazines. In 2018 the editor of Bon Appétit declared that Washington was “having a moment,” with some restaurants so popular that patrons would wait an hour to get a bite. But that…
  • Tip credit elimination in Connecticut would do more harm than good

    December 2023 ·  Annie Nguyen ·  The Hartford Courant

    Earlier this year, SB 1177, which would have eliminated the tipped minimum wage, was tabled by the state Senate after hearing concerns from local businesses and employees. Now, labor committee co-chair Sen. Julie Kushner has announced plans to reintroduce the plan again in January – despite its proven track record of consequences elsewhere across the country. As a former Windsor, Connecticut resident, my family still operates two restaurants in the…
  • Bid to end tip credit puts jobs at risk

    November 2023 ·  Rebekah Paxton ·  Boston Herald

    In the eleventh hour, Massachusetts lawmakers are considering bills to eliminate the state’s tip credit and add on a minimum wage increase up to $20 per hour. Such an unprecedented move will worsen economic hurdles facing restaurants and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of employees. As part of a so-called “grand bargain” signed by Governor Charlie Baker in 2018, Massachusetts has already seen a hike in the…