How Servers Really Feel About the "No Tax on Tips" Law

"And while the bill holds very limited benefits for tipped workers, it also lays out major cuts to both SNAP and Medicaid benefits, both social services that restaurant workers in particular must lean on, according to a recent report from One Fair Wage. SNAP faces $186 billion in funding cuts, while Medicaid will be cut by nearly $1 trillion."

"Data published by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that 10% of total SNAP participants work in restaurants, the largest single industry among SNAP beneficiaries. More than 1.5 million restaurant and food service workers rely on Medicaid. "If we want to actually benefit workers," says Raeghn Draper, executive director of the CHAAD project, a Chicago-based restaurant worker advocacy group, "let's give them something that's permanent: Let's raise wages, let's have universal health care.""

"The National Restaurant Association, a powerful trade association that lobbies on behalf of restaurant owners, takes a different stance. When asked for comment, a spokesperson said in an email that "tipped servers take home a median of $27 an hour" nationally, while the highest-paid make "more than $41 per hour." These figures come from a survey conducted by the NRA itself. As reported in the New Yorker, "no economist would regard a lobbying group as a reliable source for such information.""

The bill provides minimal benefits to tipped workers but enacts major cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, with SNAP losing $186 billion and Medicaid nearly $1 trillion. Ten percent of SNAP participants work in restaurants, the largest single industry among SNAP beneficiaries, and over 1.5 million restaurant and food service workers rely on Medicaid. Advocates call for permanent solutions like higher wages and universal health care. The National Restaurant Association reports much higher median tipped wages, while Bureau of Labor Statistics data show a median hourly wage for tipped workers, including gratuity, of $16.23, equating to under $34,000 annually at full-time hours.

Read at Bon Appetit