If the striking fast food workers in New York City wanted to buy the new $7 Starbucks Costa Rica Finca Palmilera coffee, they would have to work 58 minutes (before taxes) for a cup. If a server in a restaurant wanted that same $7 cup of coffee based on salary alone at the federal level, that server would have to work over 3 hours — 197 minutes — for that cup of coffee.
Those workers that make $2.13 an hour are supposed to receive money to reach the $7.25 minimum wage level in case the tips don't make a difference. In reality, that doesn't always happen.
Tomato pickers in Florida had a difficult time getting fast food restaurant companies to pay 1¢ more a pound for tomatoes.
Fast food companies push to keep their items as cheap as possible since consumers turn fickle at paying pennies more for their microwaved burgers, fries, and sugary drink.
Papa John's whined about the idea that Obamacare could make the cost of a pizza go up by 15¢.
We don't want to buy something we need from the grocery store unless that item goes on sale. We would drive to a rival grocery store, spending more than we save on gas, to pay 20¢ less for that item. Yet we live in a country where food is incredibly cheap.
The tip wage was tied in as a percentage of the minimum wage, mostly at 50%. On January 1, 1979, the percentage increased to 55% and by January 1, 1980 jumped up to 60% of the minimum wage.
You might recall that the minimum wage when Ronald Reagan took office on January 20, 1981 was $3.35/hour. When Reagan left the White House 8 years later, the minimum wage was still $3.35/hour.
Tipped employees in that time made $2.01/hour — 60% of the minimum wage. When the minimum wage (finally) went up in 1991, the percentage was lowered back to 50%. So the minimum wage was $4.25 and the tip wage was $2.13.
In a time where "Twin Peaks" was a huge hit, Johnny Carson still hosted the "Tonight" show, and just months before the world was introduced to Clarence Thomas, $2.13/hour for a tip wage wasn't great. In a world of artificially low wages, $2.13/hour wasn't bad.
As the minimum wage went up, the tip wage stayed flat. So now, the tip wage, as a percentage of the minimum wage is now at 29%.
Even if you think servers should receive less than the minimum wage (not keeping up with inflation), to pay them 50% would give them a raise to $3.63/hour, a 70% raise. Then again, when you haven't had a raise since the year newly legal drinkers were born, you should get back pay.
We eat out by ordering at fast food counters, and sitting down to fancy meals, and juggling food and drink in the car from the drive-through, and sitting on our keisters while others deliver us food. The food is cheap, fixed in haste, the service people are paid low to miniscule wages, and we wonder why the fries are always cold.
A few extra seconds of thought and a little more money would elevate the dignity of the transactions. Better yet, we should fight to get all workers in the entire food process closer to where they should be.
Comments