<\/p>\n
October 4, 2018<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Media contact: National Consumers League \u2013 Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242\u00a0or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202)\u00a0207-2832<\/p>\n
Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL) is deeply disappointed by the DC City Council\u2019s vote to overturn <\/span>a ballot measure voters approved in June to raise the minimum wage for restaurant servers and other tipped workers in the District of Columbia.<\/span><\/p>\n On Tuesday, the city council voted 8 to 5 in favor of repealing the measure, and now it\u2019s up to Mayor Muriel Bowser to either veto or sign the bill. In the past, Bowser has expressed opposition to Initiative 77. The initiative requires DC businesses to eventually pay the full $15 local<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>minimum wage to restaurant servers, bartenders, valets, and other workers who earn most of their income from customers\u2019 tips.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAbolishing a low minimum wage for tipped workers would give a much-needed boost to low-income families who barely earn enough to make ends meet,\u201d said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. The national consumer and worker advocacy organization is headquartered in Washington, DC, where some of its staff has been involved in advocacy efforts to ensure that DC residents\u2019 voices were heard on the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n Businesses in the city can currently pay tipped workers as little as $3.89 per hour as long as workers make enough money in tips to earn the full minimum wage. (The city\u2019s regular minimum wage is currently $13.25 but will reach $15 by 2020.) If their tips aren\u2019t enough, employers are supposed to pay the difference.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite being approved by voters in the June primary, the measure sparked fierce opposition from the local restaurant industry, which claimed that such a move would drive away small businesses and force restaurants to slash jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n