Washington D.C. Restaurant Workers
D.C. proved One Fair Wage works. After Initiative 82, restaurant employment hit an all-time record — and tips did not decline. Now OFW is co-leading Initiative 87 — a $25/hour minimum wage for all D.C. workers, no subminimum carve-outs. The D.C. Board of Elections approved the measure. On November 12, D.C. workers turned in 43,618 signatures to put it before voters at an April 2027 D.C. special election. The Board of Elections must now verify them.
OFW signature collection in D.C. — the playbook the $25 campaign is now running again.
The fight
OFW is co-leading Initiative 87 — a $25/hour minimum wage for all D.C. workers, with no subminimum carve-outs for tipped workers, workers with disabilities, or any other category. Tipped workers would be at 100% of the floor, with tips on top. The D.C. Board of Elections approved the initiative as a proper ballot measure. On November 12, D.C. workers turned in 43,618 signatures to put Initiative 87, $25 for all D.C. workers with tips on top, before voters at an April 2027 D.C. special election. The Board of Elections must now verify them.
The campaign is led by OFW, UNITE HERE Local 25, and SEIU-1199. A lawsuit by a bar owner against the Board of Elections compressed the signature window and the initiative missed the November 2026 ballot; on November 12, organizers turned in 43,618 signatures to qualify it for an April 2027 special election. 80% support in an October 2025 poll of likely D.C. Democratic primary voters.
The proof from I-82
D.C. is the case study. After Initiative 82 began phasing in:
- D.C. hit an all-time record for full-service restaurant employment in June 2024 — 31,100 jobs, the highest since BLS recordkeeping began in 1990, and it came after the I-82 wage increases began.
- 6 of the top 10 employment months in D.C. history have occurred since I-82 wage increases began.
- D.C. median hourly tips are 25% above the national average — the "tips will collapse" prediction failed.
- D.C. is #1 in the nation for per capita dining spending ($10,291/year).
The industry lobby spent four years arguing I-82 would destroy D.C. restaurants. The data is the rebuttal.
What I-82 ran into
In July 2025, the D.C. Council voted 7-5 to slow the I-82 phase-in — capping the tipped wage at 75% of the regular minimum wage by 2034 instead of fully eliminating the subminimum by 2027. The National Restaurant Association ran a sustained pressure campaign to make it happen. I-82 was not repealed, and tipped workers in D.C. still earn substantially more under the law than before. But the lobby’s playbook worked partially. Initiative 87 is the next round.
On the air: NBC4 Washington
NBC4’s 4 More Context took up the question directly: what would a $25 minimum wage mean for D.C. restaurant workers, local businesses, and the price of eating out? The segment covers the ballot measure One Fair Wage is building toward.
What workers are saying
“The apocalyptic prediction of doom and misery was completely manufactured. Workers have enjoyed getting a pay bump. They’re happier at work. Yes, people are still tipping servers. My tips have stayed stable, no change.” — Trupti, D.C. tipped worker
The political moment
D.C. Initiative 82 passed in November 2022 with 74% of the vote — one of the largest margins in modern D.C. history. Two years into the phase-in, the city is breaking restaurant employment records, tips are running 25% above the national average, and per-capita restaurant spending in D.C. is the highest in the country. The economic case is settled. What followed was a political fight: the National Restaurant Association funded a sustained 2024-2025 push to slow the phase-in, culminating in a July 2025 D.C. Council vote (7–5) to cap the tipped wage at 75% of the full minimum by 2034 rather than continue to full equity. The Initiative 87 campaign is the response — restoring the original intent of Initiative 82 and finishing the job at $25 for all D.C. workers.
An October 2025 Workbench Strategy poll of likely D.C. Democratic primary voters found 80% support for gradually raising wages to $25 an hour plus tips, according to findings provided by UNITE HERE Local 25. The coalition leading the Initiative 87 push includes One Fair Wage, UNITE HERE Local 25, and SEIU-1199 (healthcare and home care) — the same labor and community alignment that won I-82 in 2022 — along with the Working Families Party and UFCW Local 400.
What happens if we win
D.C. workers earn the highest tips per capita in the country, and the 2025 employment data confirms that workers don’t lose tips when they get a real base wage — they get both. A $25 floor with tips on top by the 2031 phase-in would lift roughly 250,000 D.C. workers earning less than $25, with disproportionate gains for Black D.C. workers, immigrant workers, and workers in Wards 7 and 8. It would also make D.C. one of the first jurisdictions in the country to set a $25 floor for every worker, alongside the $30 campaigns under way in Alameda County and Los Angeles.
Three reports to start with
The D.C. Success Story
How Initiative 82 led to record restaurant employment and stable tipping — the receipts on the industry lobby’s failed predictions.
Read the report →D.C. Restaurant Jobs & Tips Reach Record High
Updated BLS / FRED data showing D.C. hit the highest restaurant employment ever recorded — 31,100 jobs — with tips 25% above the national average.
Read the report →Making History D.C.
The pre-I-82 case: how D.C. became the first East Coast jurisdiction to put One Fair Wage on the ballot.
Read the report →D.C. Did It Once. We’re Doing It Again.
Join the Initiative 87 campaign for $25 for all D.C. workers. On November 12, workers turned in 43,618 signatures for the April 2027 special election.
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