There are laws in place for service workers related to minimum wage. The employers have to make up the difference if tips don’t meet the rate for hours worked. It seems to me that’s not sufficient for the times.
Hypothetically, if everyone were to stop tipping in the U.S. would things be better or worse for workers? Would employers start paying workers more?
Everyone couldn’t agree to put a simple piece of fabric over their mouths in public to reduce the spread of a deadly virus. You’ll never convince everyone of anything. You’ll absolutely hurt workers. Period.
This is why it really bothers me when people comment that they refuse to tip anyone for anything. I get that you have a problem with the system. So do I. So do a lot of people. But all you’re doing is fucking over that particular server in the moment. You aren’t “sticking it to the man” or hurting their employer. You’re hurting the poor sod just trying to make their way.
Please continue to tip people who are paid a tipped wage, even if you don’t agree with the system. You’re not harming the right people when you refuse to tip like that.
(Disclaimer: Tipping people who are NOT paid a tipped wage is not necessary…like cashiers at counter service restaurants.)
This is very prevalent on Lemmy.
Marginally ok thing happens that is progress in one particular part of a wider issue
No grass touchin lem:
“Well that’s not addressing full systemic change within one calendar month therefore is a waste and an assault on all of us!”
Like, we get it dude. There’s big problems out there. But that attitude just sucks the good out of every individual act, especially when that act has no contact, or ability to change the wider issue.
They didn’t say it’s pointless because it isn’t a big enough change.
They said it’s harmful because it’s screwing over the server and the employer (let alone the industry) probably won’t care.
In the past, I would have agreed but, in a lot of places the sub-minimum “tipped” wage has gone away and now tips are just bonus. I’m sure the worker likes the money, but it’s not like they aren’t getting a full wage. Tips in fact may be acting as an inhibitor to workers fully organizing and negotiating their wage with their employer.
Do you know where these places might be? I have not heard of this being a thing.
There is a link in the article https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/tipped-workers-minimum-wage-rcna132172
This is very interesting, thanks! I had no idea. For the tl;dr, it looks like Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, and many businesses in Minnesota, Montana, and Nevada have tipped minimum wage the same as non tipped minimum wage. Many others pay more than federal tipped wage, but it doesn’t mean that it approaches the state minimum wage. While still far many states than I’d expect, it’s nowhere near the majority.
I’m convinced that people who refuse to tip “on principle” are just cheapskates.
Looks like the cheapskates found your post.
I think it would still help even if only some people stopped tipping, you don’t need full coordination to make it a less viable business practice.
While Restaurant margins are low, raising them to minimum wage wouldn’t bankrupt them, but it might cause some employees to quit who were making a lot more than that. I don’t know if that’s your goal or not.
A better idea would be to coordinate a campaign to stop going to restaurants that do tipping. Don’t make the worker out in the work that way.
🎯🎯🎯
Wouldn’t this, in turn, create a competitive advantage for restaurants offering higher base wages (and including what used to be tips in menu prices to begin with)? Or, if they are too stubborn for that, and good employees are lost to the industry forever and quality declines, maybe people go to restaurants less. In general I don’t like the food service business and go out of my way to avoid it altogether, but I think that paying into an exploitative thing like tips just because you and the worker have been put into that kind of manipulation isn’t the right decision. That said a campaign to stop going to restaurants that do tipping seems like a good idea also.
Why be a patron to bad business practice?