Question 5, a ballot measure seeking to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers, has sparked statewide discourse as voters prepare to cast their ballots on Nov. 5.
Under current state law, tipped workers can be paid as low as $6.75 per hour, as long as their wage and tips combined equal at least $15 an hour. The proposed law would “gradually increase the minimum hourly wage an employer must pay a tipped worker,” according to the Massachusetts government.
If approved, the measure would gradually raise tipped workers’ hourly wages over a five-year period, with a final increase on Jan. 1, 2029, according to GBH. The final increase would bring their hourly pay to $15 per hour, which is equal to the minimum wage for non-tipped workers.
The initiative has received some governmental support. State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier and State Senator Patricia Jehlen both endorsed the measure, according to Ballotpedia.
Estefania Galvis, national organizing director for One Fair Wage, an advocacy group supporting this initiative, said Question 5 is essential for ensuring fair compensation for tipped workers.
“We support this initiative because it’s what’s fair for workers, for customers and employers,” Galvis said. “For far too long, we’ve seen prices go up, but wages [don’t].”
Galvis said there is “misinformation” surrounding the initiative, noting that opponents are claiming that servers “will lose their tips” if this ballot is passed, which she said is “an absolute lie and does not happen.”
Galvis also said servers in support of the initiative are “very afraid” to voice their support out of fear that “their bosses could potentially fire them or retaliate.”
On the other hand, Question 5 has also faced backlash from some members of the restaurant industry.
Jessica Muradian, director of government affairs for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, voiced opposition to the measure, saying it would be “devastating for the state of the restaurant industry.”
Chicago, Illinois and the state of California passed similar One Fair Wage initiatives as well. In 2018, Washington, D.C. passed the One Fair Wage initiative, though the D.C. City Council overturned it after lobbying from the Restaurant Association.
One Fair Wage was revived in Washington, D.C. during the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of Initiative 82 and was passed in 2022. Since the measure was implemented in early 2023, the district experienced “job losses, earnings loss for employees and rising service charges,” according to the Employment Policies Institute.
“We’ve seen multiple restaurants in D.C. close, and we don’t want to see the restaurant industry in Massachusetts devastated,” Muradian said.
Muradian said the majority of tipped workers are satisfied with the current system, citing surveys showing that 86% of participants think the current tipping system works for them.
Other local leaders voiced concerns in opposition of this initiative.
“Question 5 will force restaurants to raise prices, and our servers and waitstaff will earn less. We need to help our tipped employees and restaurants, not make things harder, while making it even more expensive for everyone else,” Mayor of Weymouth Robert Hedlund wrote in a press release on Sept. 11.
In response to concerns about the impact on businesses, Galvis said raising the minimum wage for tipped workers would ultimately benefit both workers and the broader economy “in communities across Massachusetts,” particularly small businesses.
“[This initiative is] going to force the small businesses to rethink how they are managing their workspaces to make sure that their workers are supported and uplifted,” Galvis said.
Question 5 includes a measure that would allow employers to administer a “tip pool” that distributes all tips made between all workers, including non-tipped workers, according to the Mass. government. Muradian said these tips belong to the front of house staff.
“They’ve chosen to be servers and bartenders because they’re able to maximize the amount of money they are making in a very short period of time, and they don’t want to share their tips with the back of the house,” Muradian said.
Muradian also expressed frustration over interference from outside advocacy groups.
“We have folks from another state coming in here and telling our servers, bartenders and restaurant owners what’s good for them,” Muradian said. “Folks from out of state that don’t know what folks in our own state want for themselves have come in here, and they have spent close to a million dollars to get a question on the ballot.”
Mayor Gary Christensen of Malden wrote in the press release that the national approach to this ballot initiative “does not work for Massachusetts.”
Galvis said the initiative is not an outside issue, but an issue for Massachusetts.
“It is time that the Massachusetts Restaurant Association realizes that the job of the worker is to keep the restaurant moving, and that it is the responsibility of restaurant owners and the state to make sure that the industry is thriving,” Galvis said.
