Eater - Tracking Changing Minimum Wages in the U.S.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52682/favicon-32x32.png2016-06-23T12:32:16-04:00http://www.eater.com/rss/stream/114222552016-06-23T12:32:16-04:002016-06-23T12:32:16-04:00Will New Jersey Be the Next State With a $15 Minimum Wage?
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<p>It will likely pass, but the governor could still veto it</p> <p>New Jersey could be the next state to adopt a $15 minimum wage: State Senators are scheduled to vote today on a bill that would gradually hike the hourly minimum to $15.10.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/06/22/nj-prepares-to-be-next-state-with-a-15-minimum-wage/" style="line-height: 1.24;">As the Daily Caller reports</a><span>, said bill was introduced by Democrats back in February; if passed, the minimum wage would rise each year on January 1, with an ultimate goal of $15.10 by 2021. </span><span>The current statewide minimum wage is $8.38.</span></p>
<p><span> If passed by the legislature — which is highly likely, given a Democratic majority — the bill would then be passed on to Governor Chris Christie for either vetoing or signing into law. If he vetoes it, "</span>Democratic leaders have said they will attempt to place the measure on the fall 2017 ballot for voter approval," <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/06/15_minimum_wage_approaching_final_legislative_pass.html">says NJ.com</a>, though that would significantly push back the timeline for reaching the $15 threshold.</p>
<p><span>So far, the states of New York and California and the city of Seattle have all approved a $15 per hour minimum wage, and lawmakers in a number of other states and cities have proposed similar measures. </span></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.24;" href="https://www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/Few_Rewards_Report_2016_web.pdf" target="_blank">A new report</a> from anti-poverty nonprofit Oxfam America and the labor-backed Economic Policy Institute says nearly half the U.S. population earns less than $15 an hour; it also points to a growing gap between the pay of executives and average workers, noting that in 1965 the CEO-to-average-worker pay ratio <span>was 20 to 1; as of 2014, it was 303 to 1. </span></p>
<p><span>While the Fight for $15 labor movement argues $15 an hour is simply a livable wage, business owners —</span><a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/5/9/11438452/fast-food-franchisees-minimum-wage" target="_blank"> including fast food franchisees</a><span> — say such pay hikes would force them to cut hours and lay off employees.</span></p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/6/23/12013086/new-jersey-15-minimum-wageWhitney Filloon2016-05-09T10:00:02-04:002016-05-09T10:00:02-04:00How Minimum Wage Hikes Could Affect Franchisees
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<p>Despite evidence to the contrary, fast-food franchisees say wage hikes will affect their bottom line </p> <p dir="ltr">Patrick Pipino has been in the restaurant business nearly his whole life, washing dishes at the age of 12 and waiting tables as a teenager, before working his way up to manager of a Ben & Jerry's in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. In 1996, he purchased that store and, by 1999, he owned three locations of the ice cream chain. The dream of being a multi-unit franchisee was short-lived, though. Just ten years later, he was back down to one location; he was forced to sell the other two because of high franchising costs. "It's very, very difficult to make any business go, but certainly a franchise business, where you have an advertising fee, a royalty fee," he says.</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">Franchisees say a higher minimum wage could force them to cut jobs and reduce hours.</q></p>
<p dir="ltr">Today, Pipino says he is struggling to keep his remaining location open. Still grappling with franchise costs, Pipino and other fast-food franchisees are faced with a new set of numbers brought on by phased-in minimum wage hikes. Two states (New York and California) and the city of Seattle have so far approved a $15 per hour minimum wage. With lawmakers in several other states and cities proposing similar measures, the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/tags/fight-for-15">Fight for $15 movement</a> shows no sign of slowing down. Though it's intended to help low-income workers earn a living wage, franchisees say it could force their hands in cutting jobs and reducing hours.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In New York, a <a target="_blank" href="https://labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/factsheets/pdfs/p716.pdf">new minimum wage </a>for fast food workers began its phase-in on December 31. Currently, fast-food workers are paid $10.50 per hour in New York City and $9.75 per hour in the rest of the state. Those rates will increase annually until they reach an hourly rate of $15, which will happen at the end of 2018 for New York City and in the middle of 2021 for the rest of the state.</p>
<p dir="ltr">While the founders of Ben & Jerry's have long been in favor of minimum-wage increases (the company pays factory workers <a href="http://www.benjerry.com/values/how-we-do-business/livable-wages">nearly twice</a> the national minimum wage), franchisee Pipino says he is "in favor of economic justice."</p>
<p dir="ltr">Pipino projects that it will cost his business an additional "$12,000 and $15,000 a year" in 2016 alone to keep up with New York's new minimum wage requirements. He bases these figures on the amount of hours typically scheduled each year, along with payroll taxes ("I've run the numbers for our own store based on current costs and assuming no other changes to cost inputs," he says). As wages continue to increase, he believes costs will continue to rise. "I think next year, it'll cost between $24,000 and $30,000," he says.</p>
<p dir="ltr">As for how Pipino plans to combat those projected costs, he says he'll likely have to raise his prices. "I've run the numbers and we can make it right up to [a minimum wage of] $12 an hour. Above that, it's anyone's ballgame. Essentially, to go to $15 an hour, we would have to raise our pricing structure $1 on every item in the store."</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-left">To go to $15 an hour, we would have to raise our pricing structure $1 on every item in the store.</q></p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>In Seattle,</b> franchisee David Jones has raised prices at his two Subway stores — a direct response, he says, to the city's recent implementation of higher wages. Like New York, <a href="http://murray.seattle.gov/minimumwage/#sthash.eJ3sTTlX.dpbs" target="_blank">Seattle</a> has begun phasing in a $15 per hour minimum wage — and the wages are different for Schedule 1 (those with more than 500 employees) and Schedule 2 (those with 500 or fewer employees) employers. Under the law, those with fewer than 500 employees will reach the $15-an-hour wage in seven years, while employers with 500 or more employees will reach that level in three years. The problem, says Jones, is that franchisees are lumped in with big businesses (due to the assistance they receive with advertising, training, and suppliers) and are therefore required to pay their employees higher wages than local restaurants.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In 2014, just after the law passed, <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/8/14/9149325/fight-for-15-lawsuit-minimum-wage-seattle-nyc" target="_blank">a group of fast-food franchisees along with the International Franchise Association sued the city</a>, claiming the law unfairly discriminates against franchisees. The franchisees lost, with the court finding no empirical evidence "that imposing a faster phase-in schedule on franchisees is going to impact interstate commerce."</p>
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<p>Jones disagrees with the court's findings and says franchisees shouldn't be treated like companies with hundreds of employees. "Even though I have eight and nine employees at my two Subways, I was treated like a big business," says Jones. "There are six restaurants near my Seattle University store —” two are franchises and four are considered 'small businesses.' So, because I am a franchise, my minimum wage was higher than four restaurants competing with me. I had to raise prices." The result, says Jones, was a 15 percent drop in traffic (and $80,000 drop in sales) from the year before.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Jones' experience appears to be rare, at least according to a <a href="http://www.washington.edu/news/2016/04/18/early-analysis-of-seattles-15-wage-law-effect-on-prices-minimal-one-year-after-implementation/" target="_blank">University of Washington study</a> released April 18, which found "little or no evidence of price increases in Seattle relative to the surrounding area" due to wage increases.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>In New York</b>, Pipino says he'll also most likely cut back on staff as wages increase. "At the end of the day, businesses try to find a way to survive," he says. "<a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2015/8/3/9092087/mcdonalds-create-your-taste-kiosks-nyc">I know McDonald's is testing kiosks</a>, to do away with actual workers. We're not that lucky. The people who take the order in our stores, make the order in our stores. Where we used to have five people on at night, now we'll have two or three. Thirty employees instead of 40. That is a definite."</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">Jones has already cut back on staff — going from five lunchtime employees to three.</q></p>
<p dir="ltr">At his Seattle University Subway, Jones has already cut back on staff — going from five lunchtime employees to three, and two graveyard shift employees to one. "I'll survive it," says Jones. "I'm fortunate enough to have high-volume Subways, so I have some room to suffer. Unfortunately, there are 49 Subways in Seattle and I would bet that 42 are low-volume."</p>
<p dir="ltr">Jones is quick to point out that he isn't against minimum wage hikes. In fact, he says he supports him. He is opposed, however, to the gap in wages between fast-food restaurants and mom-and-pop eateries. "The real suffering is going to come in when we have a $2 gap between us [fast-food franchisees] and the rest of the restaurants," says Jones.”</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>In California</b>, Gov. Jerry Brown signed <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=19368" target="_blank">legislation</a> enacting a $15-an-hour minimum wage in early April. Wages will rise to $10.50 per hour on January 1, 2017 for businesses with 26 or more employees. It will then rise each year until it reaches $15 per hour in 2022. California franchisor André Vener says the law isn't affecting his business in a direct way so far —” nor does he expect it to in the future. "As franchisors, we just have to be more creative," says Vener, a partner at Dog Haus, a fast-casual hot dog restaurant based in Pasadena.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Rather than raising prices, Vener says he and his partners are taking a closer look at their hiring practices. "More than half of our employees get paid more than minimum wage anyway. We try to hire better-talented people, that way they can help with sales and junior management stuff if need be. The way I see it, two $13-an-hour employees might do better than three entry-level people."</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-left">Minimum wage laws could affect plans for small chain expansion into other states.</q></p>
<p dir="ltr">The minimum wage hikes could affect how the company in less obvious ways, too. Dog Haus currently operates 18 restaurants in five states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah) and has plans for more than 100 franchised locations around the country. Could minimum wage laws impede that expansion? "Where we would want to be in Seattle or San Fran or New York, those stores are probably not going to be the first to sell."</p>
<p dir="ltr">Additionally, he and his partners are looking at ways to adjust labor costs — like replacing food runners with hand-held buzzers, which would allow diners to go to the counter for their food when it's ready. Dog Haus' purchasing habits could change, too. "Right now, we purchase our hot dogs in California. If the people grinding our hot dogs make $15 an hour, it might end up being cheaper to get them ground in Texas. We haven't reacted yet, but it's a possibility."</p>
<p dir="ltr">James Parrott, Deputy Director and Chief Economist of the Fiscal Policy Institute, says that the fast food industry can accommodate higher wages without reducing profitability. "There will be savings in reduced turnover, which is sky high at fast-food restaurants," says Parrott. "And modest price increases are not much greater than the trend line in the fast food sector to begin with."</p>
<p>A 2015 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2015/4/13/8403905/52-percent-fast-food-workers-public-assistance-food-stamps-study">study</a> by the Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education revealed that nearly 52 percent of all fast food workers are dependent upon public assistance programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, and child care subsidies. According to Parrott, lowering that number is not just a social good, but an economic positive for taxpayers as a whole. "When living wages are improved, taxpayers are then asked to pay less to subsidize the low-wage business model," he notes. "It's a pretty massive taxpayer subsidy."</p>
<p><q class="pullquote float-right">If the people grinding our hot dogs make $15 an hour, it might end up being cheaper to get them ground in Texas.</q></p>
<p>Parrott is quick to point out, however, that some businesses will fail. But will they fail due to increased wages? "Stores go out of business every day. Others take their place. But no one has ever suggested that we outlaw business failure."</p>
<p>As someone actively looking to grow his business, Dog Haus' Vener is confident the wage hikes will be positive — for both employers and employees. "Honestly, I don't know how you can feed a family on ten bucks an hour," he says. "Our brand wasn't built off of minimum wage. It was built off of quality people. I was in one of our stores the other day and I noticed nine guys in the kitchen, six of whom have been there since the beginning. Going cheap is the most expensive thing you can do."</p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/5/9/11438452/fast-food-franchisees-minimum-wageVirginia Chamlee2016-04-28T18:34:34-04:002016-04-28T18:34:34-04:00Alabama Fast Food Workers Sue State Over Minimum Wage Law
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<p>They're claiming racial discrimination</p> <p>Fast food workers in Birmingham, Ala., are suing their state government over a law that negates a recent minimum wage increase, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alabama-minimumwage-lawsuit-idUSKCN0XP2J5">reports Reuters</a>. The workers, along with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Greater Birmingham Ministries, allege the state law is racially discriminatory.</p>
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<p><span>Last August, the Birmingham City Council </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2015/8/19/9179053/birmingham-minimum-wage-restaurants-alabama" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">passed an ordinance</a><span> to raise the city's minimum wage from the federal mandate of $7.25 an hour to $8.50 in July 2016 and $10.10 one year later. But in February, Governor Robert Bentley </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/02/bill_to_block_city_minimum_wag_2.html" style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;">signed into law</a><span> a bill that prohibits Alabama municipalities from setting their own minimum wages. The state does not have a legal wage floor, so Alabama businesses must abide by the federal minimum.</span></p>
<p>In support of the bill, Alabama Sen. Jabo Waggoner, a Republican from the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, said Birmingham's ordinance would cause employment to "go downhill." But the lawsuit that was announced Thursday, claims the new state law is tainted with "racial animus." The city of Birmingham's population is 73 percent black, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/0107000">according to the latest census data</a>. Vestavia Hills <a target="_blank" href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/0178552,0107000">is estimated to be</a> 90 percent white.</p>
<p>On a conference call announcing the federal civil rights lawsuit, 23-year-old Marnika Lewis, an employee at a Birmingham Moe's Southwest Grill location and one of the plaintiffs, alleged the state stole her pay raise. "I can't afford to feed my son or heat my home on the $270 I'm paid each week, so I have to rely on public assistance just to scrape by," Lewis said, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/28/alabama-minimum-wage-workers-sue-birmingham-fast-food">according to the <i>Guardian</i></a>. "If the legislature and governor hadn't illegally stolen my raise, I would have had money to pay for my son's child care."</p>
<p>The debate over minimum wage has become one of the most contentious issues for American workers, business owners, and policy makers. Last month, California lawmakers <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2016/3/28/11317166/california-15-minimum-wage">approved a plan</a> to increase the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour, and New York lawmakers <a target="_blank" href="http://ny.eater.com/2016/4/1/11343976/new-york-minimum-wage">followed suit</a> earlier this month. In the 2016 presidential race, Democrats <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2016/4/15/11439648/hillary-clinton-15-minimum-wage-bernie-sanders">Hillary Clinton</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2015/7/22/9015117/bernie-sanders-federal-minimum-wage-bill">Bernie Sanders</a> have announced support for increasing the national minimum wage to that level.</p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/4/28/11532518/fast-food-workers-alabama-minimum-wage-lawsuitChris Fuhrmeister2016-04-15T15:00:02-04:002016-04-15T15:00:02-04:00Hillary Clinton Now Says She Supports a $15 Minimum Wage
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<p>Thank Bernie Sanders for this one</p> <p>If a Democrat wins the White House this November, it looks like a $15 federal minimum wage has a chance at becoming reality — regardless of whether it's Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Sanders has long been vocal about wanting a $15 minimum wage for all hourly workers, but while Clinton has voiced support for the Fight for $15 labor movement, her official position has been that she supports<a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/3/3/11152642/hillary-clinton-tipping-15-minimum-wage" target="_blank"> raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $12</a>. Until last night's Democratic primary debate, that is.</p>
<p>Sanders, whom many are declaring the winner of the debate, went on the offensive and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/apr/15/bernie-s/does-hillary-clinton-want-15-or-12-minimum-wage/">attacked Clinton on the minimum wage issue</a> after she stated that she supports the Fight for $15.</p>
<p><span>"I am sure a lot of people are very surprised to learn that you supported raising the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour," Sanders stated, pointing out, "When this campaign began, I said that we’ve got to end the starvation minimum wage of $7.25, raise it to $15. Secretary Clinton said let's raise it to $12."</span></p>
<p>Then, asked by moderator Wolf Blitzer if she'd sign a $15 minimum wage bill if it crossed her desk, she responded affirmatively. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vox.com/2016/4/15/11436488/hillary-bernie-winners-losers-cnn">As Vox points out</a>, this is a huge win for the labor movement: "[Sanders] — along with the grassroots Fight for 15 movement — had successfully convinced the living embodiment of establishment Democratic politics to sign into law a $15-an-hour national minimum wage."</p>
<p>Clinton has also previously <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2016/3/3/11152642/hillary-clinton-tipping-15-minimum-wage">called for an end to tipped wages</a>, earlier this month proclaiming that America is the "only industrialized country in the world that requires tipped workers to take home their income in tips, instead of wages."</p>
<p>While supporters of the $15 minimum wage argue that such a pay increase would lift millions of workers out of poverty, many worry that such a dramatic hike <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vox.com/2016/4/15/11436868/hillary-clinton-fights-for-15" style="line-height: 1.24;">could actually result in the loss of jobs</a>.</p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/4/15/11439648/hillary-clinton-15-minimum-wage-bernie-sandersWhitney Filloon2016-04-13T11:09:34-04:002016-04-13T11:09:34-04:00White Castle Warns It May Hike Prices by 50 Percent to Cover Rising Minimum Wage
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<p>Are those tiny burgers about to get more expensive?</p> <p>Is the price of Harold and Kumar's favorite late-night snack about to skyrocket? A White Castle executive is warning that prices could go way up in light of impending minimum wage hikes in New York.</p>
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<p>NYC's minimum wage <a target="_blank" href="http://ny.eater.com/2016/4/1/11343976/new-york-minimum-wage">will increase to $15 by 2018</a> (it's currently $9), with the rest of the state to follow by the end of 2021. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/433893/minimum-wage-new-york-hourly-workers-opportunity-white-castle">Speaking to conservative news site National Review</a> about the looming pay increases, White Castle vice-president Jamie Richardson says, "We’re disappointed. What this means for White Castle is we really have to evaluate how we manage our business ... We think we’d need to <b>increase menu prices by something like 50 percent.</b> It’s not something we’ve done before. It’d be catastrophic."</p>
<p>White Castle, which has more than 400 locations including more than a dozen in the NYC metropolitan area, is just the latest to <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/6/11/8764845/how-higher-minimum-wage-could-negatively-affect-restaurants" target="_blank">express concern</a> over how increasing labor costs across the country will affect business. Some companies have already elected to institute minor menu price increases to stay ahead of rising labor costs, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2015/11/12/9723616/shake-shack-price-increase">including Shake Shack</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2015/7/10/8931035/chipotle-price-increase-san-francisco-minimum-wage">Chipotle locations in San Francisco</a>. Richardson worries "that if menu prices at fast-food chains shoot up by anywhere near 50 percent, many people will stop eating out as much, replacing trips to White Castle with trips to the grocery store."</p>
<p>But is White Castle's speculation about skyrocketing menu prices overblown? While <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/6/11/8764845/how-higher-minimum-wage-could-negatively-affect-restaurants" target="_blank">an independent analysis conducted last year</a> showed that minimum wage hikes would indeed "eat into restaurants' profits," <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/7/28/9058901/fast-food-15-minimum-wage-price-increase" target="_blank">a subsequent Purdue University study </a>indicated a $15 minimum wage would lead to a 4.3 percent price increase at fast food restaurants, nowhere near the 50 percent figure that White Castle is throwing out. A Purdue professor noted that instead of raising menu prices, another solution might be for businesses to reconsider portion sizes — but those already-diminutive sliders can't get much smaller.</p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/4/13/11420892/white-castle-minimum-wage-price-hikeWhitney Filloon2016-03-28T09:36:54-04:002016-03-28T09:36:54-04:00California Plans to Hike Minimum Wage to $15 by 2022 [Updated]
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<p>Even for tipped workers</p> <p>The Fight for 15 has won a major victory on the West Coast: The state of California has struck a tentative deal to instate a $15 minimum wage for all hourly workers by 2022, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-minimum-wage-deal-20160326-story.html" target="_blank">according to anonymous sources cited by the <i>LA Times</i></a>. The governor is expected to make a formal announcement sometime today.</p>
<p>The California minimum wage is currently $10, which went into effect last January; under the new deal, that would increase "to $10.50 on Jan. 1, 2017, with a 50-cent increase in 2018 and then $1-per-year increases through 2022."</p>
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<p>The deal was struck between legislators and labor unions in lieu of putting the issue to a vote, "averting a costly political campaign this fall"; previous polling indicated that California voters would have approved such a measure,<a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-minimum-wage-negotiations-california-20160322-story.html" target="_blank"> essentially forcing lawmakers' hands</a>.</p>
<p>The move toward a $15 minimum wage has already been adopted in the cities of Los Angeles (<a target="_blank" href="http://la.eater.com/2015/5/19/8627005/la-city-council-votes-increase-minimum-wage-15-hour-restaurants">by 2020</a>) and San Francisco (<a target="_blank" href="http://sf.eater.com/2014/6/16/6206661/sf-restaurants-and-bars-arent-happy-about-proposed-15-minimum-wage">by 2018</a>), as well as in Seattle; meanwhile in the state of New York, last summer Governor Andrew Cuomo <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/nyregion/andrew-cuomo-and-15-minimum-wage-new-york-state-workers.html?_r=0" style="background-color: #ffffff;">announced</a> his support for a plan that would raise the state minimum to $15 by 2021<span>, but he’ll need to seek legislative support in the State Congress to do so. </span><span>The proposed wage increase would happen more quickly in New York City, where workers would earn $15 by 2018.</span></p>
<p>The California plan for $15 an hour would also include tipped workers, and some are urging the state of New York to follow suit: <span>"The move to $15 in a state that long ago did away with the antiquated system of a sub-minimum wage for tipped workers will bring significant improvement in the lives of restaurant workers, who nationally experience poverty at twice the rate of the rest of the U.S. workforce," says Saru Jayaraman, co-director and co-founder of Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United. "</span><span>Lifting wages for all workers is a question of basic fairness. We urge New York State to follow California's leadership and not leave behind tipped workers, the majority of whom are women."</span></p>
<p>Many business owners, including restaurateurs, have balked at minimum wage increases, saying they will decrease revenue and stunt business growth. The new California deal will make a small concession for small business owners: "Businesses with fewer than 25 employees would have an extra year to comply, delaying their workers receiving a $15 hourly wage until 2023," reports the <i>Times</i>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, recent studies have shown that <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2014/8/28/6164423/40-percent-of-restaurant-workers-live-in-poverty">40 percent of U.S. restaurant workers live in poverty</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2015/4/13/8403905/52-percent-fast-food-workers-public-assistance-food-stamps-study">52 percent of fast food employees are dependent on government assistance</a>.</p>
<p><b>Update: March 31, 6:20 p.m.</b> California lawmakers <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-minimum-wage-vote-20160331-story.html" target="_blank">have passed</a> the bill to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour. Governor Jerry Brown will sign it into law on Monday, April 4.</p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/3/28/11317166/california-15-minimum-wageWhitney Filloon2016-03-17T12:30:02-04:002016-03-17T12:30:02-04:00Restaurants, Lobbying, and the Politics of Persuasion
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<img alt="Food industry and government illustration" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tV_Go8460CdHGu0uWCRABwPk83E=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49075565/Cover1.0.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Food industry and government illustration | Tyson Whiting</figcaption>
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<p>When it comes to policy-making, major chains have more influence than you think</p> <p id="mWgMxT">Throughout the 2016 election, Eater's column <a href="http://www.eater.com/tags/politics-plated">Politics Plated</a> will investigate the surprisingly interconnected relationship between politics and the food industry. In this installment, a look at food companies' drive to influence legislation and policy makers.</p>
<p id="HT9lP8">The food and beverage industry cares as much about politics as voters. The industry <strong>spent more than $33 million on lobbying in 2015</strong>, according to political research group <a href="http://opensecrets.org">OpenSecrets</a>. A third of that came from restaurants and bars, which want to influence laws and protect their bottom lines. But many of the issues top food companies are lobbying are ones intended to protect everyday consumers and workers — issues like the minimum wage, health care reform, and marketing regulations.</p>
<div class="float-right hang-right" id="MzqKFT"> <p> </p> <p><q class="pullquote">The most popular lobbying issues for restaurants are taxes, food industry regulations, and health.</q></p> <p> </p> </div>
<p id="F3Fzwb">Typically, large companies hire in-house and private lobbyists to get lawmakers to pass policies that benefit the companies' industries and reject the policies that don’t. According to Eater's analysis, the most popular lobbying issues for restaurants are in the areas of taxes, food industry regulations, and health. And when restaurants aren’t lobbying for those things themselves, their trade associations are doing it: The National Restaurant Association, an industry advocacy group, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000150&year=2015">spent more than $4.2 million last year lobbying</a> on the restaurant industry’s behalf.</p>
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<p class="caption" id="xfHewI">Photo: Mike Mozart/<a href="https://flic.kr/p/pePdGe">Flickr</a></p>
<p id="mgVeW2">Lobbying has been successful in some cases. But sometimes a win for the industry is a loss for workers and consumers. Take the employer mandate in President Barack Obama's health care act: The mandate requires business owners to offer health insurance to all full-time employees who work at least 30 hours per week. But restaurant chains, including Wendy’s and Yum! Brands (parent company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC), have lobbied to re-define full-time employment as working 40 hours per week. The conservative-led <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/8/house-passes-40-hour-workweek-obamacare-mandate/?page=all">House of Representatives approved the proposal</a> in January 2015.</p>
<p id="jfLlff"><span>In another example, the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Food Marketed to Children was tasked by the U.S. government to recommend guidelines for advertisers who market unhealthy products to children. </span><span>The goal was to reduce childhood obesity,</span><span> but many food companies advocated for less restrictive rules. Companies like McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts lobbied over the guidelines, </span><a style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-foodlobby-idUSBRE83Q0ED20120427">pressuring Congress to back off the issue</a><span>.</span></p>
<p id="8xIGHW">To explore this issue more, Eater looked at 14 top restaurant organizations (the same group whose contributions to political parties we examined in the first <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/2/8/10904984/restaurant-PACS-political-donations">Politics Plated installment</a>) to see<strong> which issues and bills food chains have lobbied from 2011 to 2015</strong>. All but four companies on the list (Chipotle, Panera Bread, Dairy Queen, and Chick-fil-A) have lobbying history in the past five years. Use the tool below to browse through some of the descriptions and bills restaurant chains reported lobbying during that time.</p>
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https://www.eater.com/2016/3/17/11224696/lobby-fast-food-restaurants-lobbyingVince Dixon2016-03-03T10:30:58-05:002016-03-03T10:30:58-05:00Hillary Clinton Wants to Raise the Minimum Wage for All Workers, Including Those Who Earn Tips
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<figcaption>Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>She believes everyone should make $12 an hour</p> <p>Following her victory over Tuesday's primaries, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is reiterating her stance on labor. The presidential candidate spoke last night outside the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, voicing her support for hiking the federal minimum wage to<span> $12</span><span>, </span><a style="line-height: 1.5; background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160303/hells-kitchen-clinton/clinton-calls-for-15-minimum-wage-end-tipped-wages-nyc-speech" target="_blank">reports DNAinfo</a>.</p>
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<p><span>Clinton also called for an end to tipped wages, proclaiming America the "only industrialized country in the world that requires tipped workers to take home their income in tips, instead of wages." (Many states have two different minimum wages, with a lower hourly rate for tipped workers.) </span><span>She praised New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who's been </span><a target="_blank" href="http://ny.eater.com/2015/9/10/9306089/governor-cuomo-announces-all-industry-minimum-wage-of-15-for-new-york">fighting to raise his own state's minimum wage</a><span> to $15 an hour across the board.</span></p>
<p>Clinton has previously been vocal about <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eater.com/2015/4/16/8427715/hillary-clinton-support-fightfor15-underpaid-fast-food-workers-protest">her support for the Fight for $15 movement</a>; the federal minimum wage is currently $7.25. Topping Hillary's recommendation of $12 an hour, fellow Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/7/22/9015117/bernie-sanders-federal-minimum-wage-bill" target="_blank">advocates a $15 federal minimum wage</a>.</p>
<p>Many employers have spoken out <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/6/11/8764845/how-higher-minimum-wage-could-negatively-affect-restaurants" target="_blank">against minimum wage hikes</a>, saying they simply can't justify paying employees more. Several cities including <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/3/31/8300981/seattle-minimum-wage-law-15-restaurants-suttonomics" target="_blank">Seattle</a>, <a href="http://ny.eater.com/2015/12/30/10689974/nra-cuomo-wage-plan" target="_blank">New York</a>, and <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/7/10/8931035/chipotle-price-increase-san-francisco-minimum-wage" target="_blank">San Francisco</a> have recently raised their minimum wages, leading some restaurants to <a href="http://www.eater.com/2016/2/23/11102044/new-york-state-restaurants-tipping-surcharges-minimum-wage" target="_blank">get rid of tipping and introduce surcharges</a> or <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/11/12/9723616/shake-shack-price-increase" target="_blank">raise menu prices</a> in order to pay employees fairly.</p>
<p><b>POST UPDATE 3/3 11 a.m.: </b><i>An earlier version of this post reflected DNAinfo's report that Clinton spoke out in favor of a $15 federal minimum wage. The story was later corrected to indicate that Clinton in fact supports a $12 federal minimum wage.</i></p></span></p>
https://www.eater.com/2016/3/3/11152642/hillary-clinton-tipping-15-minimum-wageWhitney Filloon