Restaurateurs split on raising minimum wage for tipped workers
Ahead of Tuesday’s election, members of the Restaurant Workers of Maine spoke out against Question 4 on Tuesday’s ballot that looks to increase the minimum wage of tipped workers from $3.75 per hour to $5 in 2017 and then by a dollar each year until it reaches $12 by 2024.
The Bangor Daily News reported that while many members of Restaurant Workers of Maine generally support raising the state’s minimum wage, some say this increase would bring a loss of income from tips, possibly higher prices for customers and could lead some smaller family-owned businesses to close from the loss of customers.
But not every restaurateur opposes Question 4. Gale White, owner of the Lubec Brewing Co. and Sunrise Café in Lubec told the BDN that some businesses should take a closer look at whether their company would suffer from Question 4 being passed.
“If a business could only succeed in paying a pauper’s wage, I would have to rethink that business model,” White told the BDN. “The server’s wage is ridiculous. It is so low. Those same people who are earning that wage [and support the lower hourly rate] are the same ones who get sent home the next night when things are slow.”
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