The increase in Nebraska’s minimum wage will not affect everyone.
Voters in Nebraska passed recently passed a referendum during midterm elections calling for increase of the minimum wage. The problem with this is that it does not affect anyone in the tip service industry. According to the organization Raise the Minimum Wage, this includes people in jobs like parking attendants, car wash workers, nail salon workers, baggage porters, and bellhops. For college students it can be seen more in the restaurant industry.
The National Restaurant Association explains how states can pay tipped workers less. Nebraska minimum tipped wages are $2.13 an hour, which is the same as the federal tipped wage. This means that the difference needs to be made up in tips. When the federal minimum wage increases, this does not mean an increase for those who get tipped. When voting, many people did not realize this. Next time a minimum wage increase goes on the ballot, this needs to be addressed and discussed more.
Servers are to use tips to make up the difference. Different sources list different figures for how much servers actually come out with once their hours are divided by the amount they make. Raise the Minimum Wage has waiters and waitresses facing twice the amount of poverty as normal workers. Since the goal of raising the wage higher is to help reduce poverty, it will not help those in the tip service industry.
The best way to fix this problem is to increase the tipped minimum wage. According an article from the Huffington Post, there has been no increase in the federal tipped minimum wage in 20 years. This is due to the fact lobbyist are stating the servers should easily make up the difference plus more in tips. Unfortunately, there has been a decrease in the wages servers have been getting once tips are added.
This goes to show how people are not tipping like they should. In order for servers to really be making great tips every night, then there also has to be a social change about how people feel about tipping. Americans need to learn how to tip. For instance, one should always tip 20 percent instead of 15 percent. When going to a restaurant, people need to always tip and be aware that they are in fact paying the server his or her wage. You would not like it if someone took away some of your pay just because he or she felt like it.
When other people are making more with an increase in their wages, it does not translate over to tips. This has to do with lots of factors, such as how high the patron’s bill is or how busy the night is.
A person working in a restaurant still has to come out at least minimum wage once all their tips and hourly pay is added up. If they do not, then the business has to pay the difference. In places where this can happen, especially during slow times, they may see their hours cut. Restaurant owners typically see a lower labor cost due to the $2.13 an hour pay.
With the rise in wages for other industries, prices are likely to jump to cover the labor cost. There is no difference in having food cost rise so that owners can cover the labor cost. It is not fair to say it’s okay to raise the labor cost in retail where products could see an increase in price, but not raise the pay for servers. Twenty years has been long enough for people working in the serving industry to be getting the same pay.
Increasing the tipped minimum wage along with the minimum wage for all other jobs is the best way to help make sure everyone is making enough. By having servers make more per hour before tips, it gives them a safety net. They will still have a paycheck that is enough to provide for their needs. It helps restaurant owners not worry about if they need to pay servers out of pocket for not making enough with tips.