Hot topic: Wages (not war)
Minimum wage has been and continues to be a, shall we say, hot topic. From the federal government to the state, legislators are annually (at least) debating what should minimum wage be? Is it too high or too low?
Let’s start at the beginning: What is the minimum wage? As of 2012, in the state of Florida, minimum wage is $7.67 an hour. (The federal government mandates it must be at least $7.25/hour.)
There is an exception to the 7+ buckaroos an hour, though, and this exception impacts all the fine people who work in the service industry (local and chain restaurants, etc). Tipped employees have a minimum wage of $4.65 an hour.
Eh…we think that’s a little low. What happens on a slow night? Or in the summer in towns like ours, when things slow down a bit? A slow night or two could mean inability to make rent.
This past winter, the Florida Senate debated SB 2106, which would, “allegedly cut minimum wage for tipped workers from $4.65 to $2.13 per hour, while enforcing a stipulation that employees make at least $9.98 per hour when tips are added into their total per-hour earnings.”
The Florida State Department of Labor (FSDL) believes lowering minimum wage, as was proposed earlier this year, would be unconstitutional under the Florida Constitution. FSDL came to this conclusion, in part, because in 2004, voters approved an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would elevate minimum wage to $6.15 per hour on May 2, 2005. (The provision allows for adjustment due to inflation.)
So we did a little informal investigation of our own and here’s what we found in indiegainesville:
- Most consumers were unaware that their servers are paid so low, with the exception of those who have or do work as tipped employees.
- Every single locally owned business we talked to (and no, we stayed anonymous for 80% of the over 20 we spoke with) stated that the current minimum wage for their tipped servers is too low.
Pause.
Read over our informal findings again:
Every single local business owner with tipped employees believes that $4.65 an hour is too low.
We felt free to assume these same owners/managers/bosses would feel $2.13 is far too low.
(And if you’re wondering, “Why on earth did you post about this?”—remember, we’re all in this together. The local economy relies on…us. The locals.)
Oh, and remember places like Satchel’s pay living wage, for good reason, we think. Perhaps that’s a key to the employee loyalty that helped fund-raise and rebuild this beloved, iconic indiegainesville restaurant…?
(Yes, we are counting down until Friday, when Satchel’s reopens, hotter than ever.)
Indie, I think now is the time to introduce (re-introduce?) the idea of a local currency for Gainesville, modeled after Ithaca, NY’s successful Ithaca Hours: http://www.paulglover.org/hours.html
Who’s game?
@hutchowen, I think you’re going to need to elaborate. Would that work?
It wil work if people participate. Gainesville is very gainesville-centric. If people are committed to keeping money and value in our community, they will participate. It would require some administration. The originator of the Ithaca, NY program has a how-to book on the subject. It’s quite an amazing experience over there; it began as an experiment and is now part of the culture, some 20 years later.
http://www.ithacahours.org/
when i got my first wait job at age 15 (in 1984) the waitstaff minimum wage was $2.03 an hour. the fact that it has only gone up $2.62 in almost 30 years is shameful. this is how they are going to destroy the middle class. think about it: many of us could only afford to go to college here by working multiple jobs. if they cut the already abysmal pay of these jobs, the only people who will be able to afford an education will be the rich. and THAT is exactly what they’re aiming for.
oh, and read the wikipedia on ithaca hours. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ithaca_Hours
esp the last paragraph under “currency.” seems we’d need a local champion who will be here indefinitely promoting the idea. but i like it!
Please help by signing this petition. $2.13 is too low
http://www.change.org/petitions/2-13-is-too-low-raise-the-minimum-wage-for-tipped-employees