majority of Maine voters approved a $12-an-hour minimum wage on Nov. 8. But many voters didn’t understand that, when they voted for $12, they were also voting for a radical (and little-advertised) provision to raise the minimum wage for tipped employees by 220 percent. Fortunately, the Legislature has a chance to fix it.
Google’s Consumer Survey tool to poll 500 Maine residents who voted on the ballot question (either for or against). One-quarter of “yes” voters did not understand that the ballot measure also raised the required base wage for tipped employees by a triple-digit percentage – even if they already earn far more than $12 an hour with tips included.
This lack of voter knowledge is understandable. For starters, the tipped wage is a complicated and wonky issue that is generally unknown to those who haven’t worked in the restaurant industry. Contrary to labor union rhetoric, there is no “subminimum” wage in Maine – there’s just one minimum wage, and all employees are subject to it based on wages and tip income earned. Yet over a third of voters weren’t aware that tipped employees in Maine are required by law to receive at least the full state minimum wage in tips and base pay.
The funders for the Yes on 4 campaign (including the New York-based Restaurant Opportunities Center) have tried to expand the idea elsewhere. But even in blue states like Rhode Island and Maryland, Democratic legislators understood that there was no reason to change the status quo for tipped employees who already earn far more than the minimum wage between their tips and base pay.
A grass-roots employee coalition called Restaurant Workers of Maine, which already has over 4,000 members, has started a petition in favor of fixing the ballot measure. Their petition reads: “It is common knowledge in the restaurant industry that service staff earn, with tips, way more than the minimum wage.”
If Maine legislators don’t act, the current language in Question 4 puts these employees’ tip income at risk – as well as thousands of tipped job opportunities. This isn’t crying wolf. In California and New York, dramatic increases in the minimum wage for tipped employees have forced dozens of restaurants to close or cut back on hours or staffing, citing wage costs as the determining factor.