One Fair Wage

Last updated
One Fair Wage
AbbreviationOFW
Purpose Humanitarian
Location
Website onefairwage.org
One Fair Wage progress and organizing map c. 2024 US map. One Fair Wage. Ending subminimum wages for tipped workers.jpg
One Fair Wage progress and organizing map c. 2024

One Fair Wage is a nonprofit non-governmental organization in the United States that is led by Saru Jayaraman for restaurant workers to end the sub-minimum wage for tip workers who make less than the minimum wage before tips.

Contents

History

The One Fair Wage campaigns to improve tipped wage laws by advocating for higher wages in a number of states including Washington, D.C. [2] California and six other states already have One Fair Wage. [3] [4] One Fair Wage, chaired by Alicia Renee Farris, is trying to raise the minimum wage in Michigan to $12 an hour by 2022, and to $12 an hour by 2024 for tipped workers. [5] [6] [7] The issue was brought to the General Election ballot on the November 2018. [8] [9] [10] The Michigan Chamber of Commerce opposed the plan. [11] In 2020, following the COVID-19 crisis, One Fair Wage began campaigning to raise money for restaurant wage workers who lost their jobs due to restaurant closures. [12] [13]

Campaigns

In January 2023, One Fair Wage and The New York Times exposed the National Restaurant Association for using worker-funded food training program ServSafe to lobby against workers pay increases at the state and federal levels. [14] As a result, the California State Senate has passed legislation [15] to require employers to pay for the training, not workers, and is now headed to a vote in the Assembly.

Median wage data

From the US Bureau of Labor Statistics is this wage info (includes tips):

May 2023. Percentile wage estimates for waiters and waitresses [16]
Percentile10%25%50%

(Median)

75%90%
Hourly Wage$ 8.94$ 11.43$ 15.36$ 20.00$ 28.89
Annual Wage [a] $ 18,600$ 23,770$ 31,940$ 41,600$ 60,100

Controversy

The U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee investigated the IRS's treatment of One Fair Wage (OFW), to determine if it received undue tax benefits as a non-profit organization. The investigation, led by Rep. James Comer, centered on whether OFW’s significant lobbying activity, which is prohibited for tax-exempt charities, conflicts with its status under 501(c)(3). In a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, Comer cited OFW's public acknowledgment of its lobbying mission and called for a review of the IRS's handling of non-profits, requesting correspondence with OFW and related training materials by February 28, 2024. [17]

  1. ↑ Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. [16]

References

  1. ↑ "From coast to coast, One Fair Wage is making strides!". One Fair Wage (@1fairwage_official). Instagram . March 12, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Tipped Wage For Restaurant Workers Survives Possible Ballot Challenge In D.C." wamu.org. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "To Fight Harassment in Restaurants, We Must Start with Wages". foodandwine.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Detroit Searches for Equity in Rising Restaurant Scene". nextcity.org. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin join fight to raise Michigan's minimum wage". mlive.com. 24 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Jane Fonda speaks out in support of restaurant workers who deserve 'One Fair Wage' at Manhattan event". nydailynews.com. 28 October 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Group Looking To Raise Michigan Minimum Wage To $12 By 2022". detroit.cbslocal.com. 20 September 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin in Michigan, advocating for fair wage in restaurant industry". wwmt.com. 12 September 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin advocate for higher Mich. wages". detroitnews.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "Michigan's minimum wage will go up in 2018 — but the money won't go very far". metrotimes.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Despite support from residents, Calumet City will not raise minimum wage". chicagotribune.com. 29 September 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Lannan, Katie (2020-03-17). "Coronavirus response: One Fair Wage Campaign to deliver money to tipped workers struggling with restaurant closures". masslive. Archived from the original on 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  13. ↑ Adams, Biba. "One Fair Wage campaign launches emergency fund to support tipped service workers". Detroit Metro Times. Archived from the original on 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  14. ↑ Fahrenthold, David A.; Smith, Talmon Joseph (2023-01-17). "How Restaurant Workers Help Pay for Lobbying to Keep Their Wages Low". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  15. ↑ "Bill Text - SB-476 Food safety: food handlers". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  16. 1 2 "Waiters and Waitresses. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics". US Bureau of Labor Statistics . Retrieved 15 May 2024.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  17. ↑ "Congress probes claims the IRS is giving anti-tip-credit". restaurantbusinessonline.com. 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
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