Raise the Minimum Wage? Foes Say They'll Stop Tipping

[Capt. Obvious]

There's a surprise side order of sourpuss getting served up in the national argument over raising the minimum wage: some say they'll stop tipping when they go out to eat.

The surprise battleground is Seattle, where a movement to raise the minimum wage -- at $9.32, already the highest in the country -- to $15, is seen as setting the tone for the nationwide discussion. The city's effort makes President Obama's push for increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 appear modest in comparison. As Washington guarantees the state's full minimum wage for servers, who would continue to make tips on top of it, the drive has pitted the lower middle class against the working class who serve them food.

"I operate heavy machinery and make that... how does a fry cook get that?" said Carole Holfeld, a 39-year-old forklift operator and single mother from Tacoma, Wash. Making $16 an hour at Mega Brands, where she's worked for seven years, she doesn't think waiters deserve to make more than she does. What if the minimum wage is raised to $15? "Zero tip," she said.

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Plenty of douchetastic responses to the topic covered in the story - yeah, fuck waitstaff if they're going to pay close to what I make.

And operating a forklift at Mega Brands is now considered operating heavy machinery?

[louis-t]

1. Well, we already know David Koch doesn't tip.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

2. If wait staff was paid a living wage we wouldn't need to tip.

That how it works in pretty much every other modern industrialized country. The animosity of working people in this country towards one another is concerning though. When did someone who works and makes less than you become the enemy? It's sickening.

[enough]

6. You said it, thanks. (nt)

[n2doc]

8. +1 n/t

[Capt. Obvious]

12. That mindset is pervasive

I believe it can be traced back to the now accepted view that "others" are getting handed undeserved benefits while "you" have to earn it.

It's a sick and self-defeating attitude but I don't think it will ever die.

[jberryhill]

3. And guess why tipping is unusual in some countries?

There are places where a tip is pretty much the leftover change because, yes, it is understood that the server is not depending on tips for a significant part of their income. And, yes, the server has the same health care coverage as anyone else.

[msanthrope]

4. Carole, you already don't tip...nt

[A HERETIC I AM]

20. Carole is laboring under the misapprehension that..

A Forklift is "Heavy Equipment".

In other words, Carole is a nitwit.

[L0oniX]

5. They most likely aren't tipping anyway.

[liberalla]

35. That's it. Anyone whose first thought or solution is to not tip, has already

stopped tipping or reduced the amount they tip. Now they enjoy having a reason to justify their stinginess.

[TBF]

7. Fuck that - we can raise

Their taxes to a decent level too. I'm sick of being threatened by these spoiled silver-spoon babies.

[DanTex]

9. What should happen is tipping should go away.

Servers should be paid a reasonable wage and not have to rely on tips, and service should be included in prices.

[JaneyVee]

10. Gotta laugh when the mid class and poor eat their own. Instead of complaining

About them getting raises, how about you fight for higher wages too. You work at mega brands? Well paying these folks more means they could spend more in mega brands which means more job security for you. Idiots.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

34. Not only that, but now you can go to your boss and ask for a raise because you deserve...

... more than minimum wage.

I had a boss one time that would fight for my pay increase because he said that would help his case for a raise.

[DefenseLawyer]

11. Actually, tipping is part of the problem.

In the system that we have, wait staff gets hosed and they rely heavily on tips. Knowing that's the system, and having once been a waiter, I tip accordingly. But when we tip we really do help keep a system in place that keeps wages ridiculously low. Of course as long as that's the system we should and must tip; but as long as we tip owners will still be able to get employees that will work for next to nothing. I think if you ask most people that wait tables, they'd rather have a healthy salary than to have to rely on tips.

[justgamma]

13. I operated a fork truck for 20 years

in a union plant. My top pay was $13.00 an hour. I was a stockroom coordinator, responsible for keeping track of inventory. Why don't I care if food servers make more? Maybe it is because, I spent 1/2 my time on the forklift and 1/2 my time in my office doing paperwork. The servers spend 100% of their time on their feet meeting their customers demands. Hell, I had it easy.

[alp227]

16. exactly. people love to rant rant rant about what they don't know

kinda like the story of Green Eggs and Ham. they know it's easy to talk the talk but not walk the walk about the "other" workers.

[Coyotl]

14. Great idea. Pay people a just and proper wage and they don't need tips.

[1awake]

15. But wait staff don't make minimum wage???? nt

[stillcool]

22. this is from a link

That was in the article.

"Did you know that a waiter at a restaurant in Indiana probably earns a base wage of $2.13 per hour; $4.34 for a server in the Colorado Rockies; and $8.67 for wait staff near Olympia National Park in the state of Washington? These pay disparities are created by an obscure and often misunderstood federal provision called a ‘tip credit,’ which allows employers to pay tipped workers below the binding federal or state minimum wage."

[Cleita]

25. I can't believe this was made into a law.

It was bad enough when they passed a law stating that they be taxed on 8% of the tickets they served. On low tip days those servers would end up having those taxes deducted from their base wage making that hourly wage even smaller. Giving the employer this discount further penalizes the poor working class.

[Adrahil]

30. I know wait staff here are paid terribly....

... although most restaurants pay more than the base wage minimum, most still have a base pay of less than $7/hr. I tip generously, because I know that. I admit I would tip less if the minimum wage were $10-$15.

[HughBeaumont]

17. Republican Peasants: Politicizing Life Issues Since 1981. Or 1901.

"As long as SOMEONE'S life sucks worse than mine does, I'm sleeping a whole lot better!!"

[MO_Moderate]

18. Come on Carole

You should tip based on performance, not resentment. Sheesh.

The only way a min wage raise will affect my tipping is if it affects the cost of the meal.

[Cleita]

19. They need to put an 8% service charge on all checks which goes to the servers

and other staff. That way the cheapskates like the Koch Brothers will pay for services rendered. When you go get your car serviced, you pay for the type of work done, parts and other products, and labor charges. This is no different.

[stillcool]

21. people who resent tipping..

Should stay home.

[wocaonimabi]

32. or eat corporate fast food

[JJChambers]

23. I'll tip twice as much

[wocaonimabi]

24. Fine do like Europe pay wait staff a LIVING Wage and include the tip in the bill

No more asshats stiffing wait staff on the tip.

[Adrahil]

29. I don;t mind paying a service charge, but call it a "tip"

a "tip" is a voluntary payment in recognition of the quality of service.

[rrneck]

26. The difference

whether or not you get paid to bring food or suck up.

[aquart]

27. Like spit in their food, do they?

Please remind them that even waitstaff have camera phones (ask Mitt) and deadbeat photos could circulate widely.

[WhiteTara]

28. Like they tip now. nt

[AZ Progressive]

31. American Snobbiness: "How dare that person, who must not work as hard as me, gets to make a living!

Many people in this country just can't stand egalitarianism. They want to feel elevated and look down on others. "How dare people get paid the same that I get paid!"

Just look at how many Americans consciously or subconsciously look down on other countries.

[Politicalboi]

33. And how many know that

Restaurants pay very little to their workers so they need to rely on tips? I never knew they got paid just over $2.00 an hour and tips. I thought $8.00 an hour was bad enough, and tips were divided between the workers. And I used to do forklift work. Give me that work any day over serving the public. I would think the servers should make more than the forklift driver.