Massachusetts voters will soon decide whether to increase minimum wage for tipped workers.
Question 5 has been met with support as well as pushback by many in the restaurant industry.
The minimum wage for tipped workers in Massachusetts is $6.75 an hour, provided that tips bring them up to at least $15 an hour. If tips don't make up the difference, their employers are required to do so.
The ballot measure aims to phase out that tipped minimum wage by gradually increasing the minimum hourly wage over five years. Wait staff could still collect tips, but if an employer pays at least the state minimum wage, they would be allowed to pool and share those tips with non-tipped workers.
Circus Cooperative Café in Cambridge operates on a similar model. Worker-owner candidate Myles Taylor supports Question 5 because he says it makes wages more predictable and could help equalize pay between customer-facing workers and those in the kitchen.
"A lot of folks in back of house are our most vulnerable citizens right now. It's folks that don't have a firm grip on English, enough to work server positions," Taylor said. "Making sure that they have a better wage is really, really important to me, because I've witnessed that disparity over and over again everywhere I've worked."
The option to pool tips has been met with backlash from some servers and bartenders, like Tracey Motta at Maguire's Bar and Grill in Easton.
Decision 2024
Motta also believes customers will tip less and that it will amount to a pay decrease.
"Minimum wage is $15, multiply, let's just say 40 hours, that's $600," Motta said. "I make a lot more than that."
Maguire's owner Neil Levine estimates the his annual operating costs would increase by $189,000 a year for payroll.
"I could take $189,000 loss. I could lay off staff. I could raise my prices," he listed. "If Question 5 were to pass, these are hard choices that we have to make."
Estefania Galvis is part of the One Fair Wage campaign, which is advocating for similar ballot initiatives across the country. She argues that in the long term, by paying higher wages, businesses could see reduced turnover.
"This is going to really help our economy thrive and our workers stay longer in their jobs and be able to be left out of poverty," Galvis said.
If approved, Question 5 would require employers to cover the full minimum wage for tipped workers and allow them to pool tips. If not, the current system, in which tips cover part of the minimum wage, would remain in place.
Click here to see more information about all five questions on the ballot in Massachusetts.
