Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

www.rocunited.org
COUNTER
ATTENDANTS
The federal minimum wage is $7.25, but
the federal tipped minimum wage is only
$2.13. Hawaii, with one of the nations most
vibrant restaurant industries, pays tipped
workers $7.00, only one quarter less than the
full minimum wage. Including tips, tipped
workers earn a median wage of $9.95
equivalent to $20,696 for a full-time year-
round employee. However, tipped workers
generally are allowed part-time schedules that
vary by season, and tips uctuate by season
and shift, leaving many restaurant workers in
a precarious situation.
The Rising American Electorate refers to the
demographic groups that are growing the
most rapidly, historically with lower voter
participation rates, but whose growing civic
engagement has been crucial in tipping the
scales in recent elections. Tipped workers
are primarily women, over 40% are moms,
and although many are married, nearly
half of these are single moms. Although the
median age for tipped workers is 35, half of
them are younger. And they are racially diverse,
overrepresented by Latinos, Asians, and African
Americans compared to the broader workforce.
They are also a highly educated group. Tipped
workers are a snapshot of the RAE.
TIPPED WORKERS AND THE RISING AMERICAN ELECTORATE
THE STATE
OF TIPPED
WORKERS
In Hawaii there are nearly 34,000 tipped
workers, and over 63% of these work in the
restaurant industry. The restaurant industry
employs nearly 10% of the workforce and
is one of the fastest growing sectors of the
US economy. Unfortunately, the restaurant
industry offers several of Hawaiis lowest
paid jobs. Three of the ten lowest paid
occupations are in the restaurant industry,
and one of these is a tipped occupation.
TIPPED
MINIMUM WAGE
$7.00
MINIMUM WAGE
$7.25
MEDIAN WAGE FOR
TIPPED WORKERS
INCLUDING TIPS
$9.95
GENDER
52%
4
8
%
TIPPED WORKERS WHO
WORK IN RESTAURANTS
63%
LOWEST PAID
TIPPED OCCUPATION
HAWAI I
In states with a tipped minimum wage of $2.13,
the poverty rates for workers of color is nearly
double that of the seven states without a tipped
minimum wage, with one in four living in poverty.
WHITE PEOPLE OF COLOR ALL
POVERTY RATES IN $2.13 STATES
16% 25% 20%
POVERTY RATES IN STATES WITH NO TIP CREDIT
13% 14% 14%
TIPPED WORKERS AND THE RISING AMERICAN ELECTORATE
Asian 50%
White 26%
Other 17%
Latino 7%
Black 0%
<_
24 23%
25-34 26%
35-44 15%
45+ 36%
RACE
AGE
HIGHER EDUCATION
EDUCATION
PARENTS WITH CHILDREN
ON FREE LUNCHES
52%
MARITAL &
PARENTAL
STATUS
45
%
Married 39%
Parents 36%
Dads 30%
Moms 41%
Single Moms 18%
P
O
V
E
R
T
Y
Hawaii has reduced
poverty levels among
tipped workers to match
the rest of the workforce.
RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE
Living off tips is precarious, but it doesnt have
to be this way. Raising the minimum wage and
eliminating the tipped credit would provide
a signicant stimulus to the U.S. economy in
tipped wages alone, providing a boost to local
economies and the broader food industry, as well.
FOR MORE INFO rocunited.org/stateoftippedworkers/
The industry projects employment will continue
to grow at the rate of 7% over the next decade.
H
INDUSTRY PROJECTED SALES 2014

3.8 BILLION
B
I
L
L
I
O
N
I
N
D
U
S
T
R
Y

G
R
O
W
T
H
29%
P
O
V
E
R
TY

R
A
T
E
P
O
V
E
R
TY

R
A
T
E
T
I
P
P
E
D

R
E
S
T
A
URA
N
T

W
O
R
K
E
R
S
T
I
P
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E
D

WO
R
K
E
R
S
3
%
5
%
WORKERS ON
FOOD STAMPS
2X REST OF HAWAII
WORKFORCE
16%
35
MEDIAN AGE
of tipped
worker moms
are single moms
MINIMIM
WAGE
$10.10
$12.00
$15.00
TIPPED
STIMULUS
$12.7
$19.4
$30.1