Michigan Restaurant Workers

The fight

Michigan voters passed One Fair Wage on the ballot in 2018. The legislature adopted the measure to keep it off the ballot, then gutted it. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 2024 to restore the original ballot measure, which would have phased out the tipped subminimum wage entirely by 2030. The phase-out was due to begin February 21, 2025.

That ruling is now under sustained pressure. A February 2025 legislative compromise halted the phase-out at 50% instead of fully eliminating the tipped subminimum — an industry-lobby win. OFW is defending the rest of the gain. Meanwhile, a coalition of OFW, key local groups, and unions is organizing for $25 across the state, with UAW planning a $25 ballot push for the 2028 presidential election. The campaign is also driving turnout in the 2026 midterms.

Who’s affected

163,000+ Michigan tipped workers — 74% women, 21% people of color — were paid $3.75/hour as the subminimum tipped wage before the 2024 ruling, and are still paid a subminimum today — 40% of the state minimum wage in 2026 under the February 2025 deal. 91% of Michigan restaurant workers could not afford rent during the pandemic — the highest of any state. 75% of affected workers were women.

What polling shows

56% of Michigan likely voters support a minimum wage increase with a tipped phase-in. Among Democratic surge voters: 83%. Among Black mothers: 78%. 55% of surge voters say they’d be more excited to vote if a minimum wage increase were on the ballot. Fair wages drive turnout in Michigan — documented, repeatable.

What workers are saying

“We’re making $5.98 less per hour than the regular minimum wage, but are still required to meet regular minimum wage requirements. The government told us they would take care of us. But you forgot about us.” — Sarah, White Lake, MI — bartender, cook, and mother

The political moment

Michigan workers won One Fair Wage at the ballot box in 2018 via citizen initiative — only for the Republican legislature to pull the bill into the legislative chamber and adopt-and-amend it into a watered-down version that preserved the tipped subminimum. In July 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled this maneuver unconstitutional and restored the original 2018 ballot initiative, with the phase-in starting February 2025. On the day the phase-out was to begin, the legislature passed and the governor signed a compromise (SB 8) that preserved the tipped subminimum wage — setting it at a rising share of the minimum wage, capped at 50%, rather than eliminating it. Michigan workers are still fighting to finish what they won in 2018.

The political coalition that won in 2024 included One Fair Wage, the UAW, SEIU Michigan, the AFL-CIO, the Michigan Chapter of the NAACP, and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. Lake Research Partners polling from February 2022 showed 56% of likely Michigan voters supported a minimum wage increase with the tipped wage phase-in. Among Democratic surge voters: 83%. Among Black mothers: 78%. Fair wages are also a turnout driver: 55% of surge voters say they’d be more excited to vote if a minimum wage increase were on the ballot, and 63% of Black mothers say the same.

Building to $25 by 2028

The UAW is now planning a $25 minimum wage ballot initiative for the November 2028 presidential election in Michigan, with One Fair Wage as a coalition partner. The strategic logic mirrors what worked in 2018 and 2024: ballot initiative + organized labor + worker stories + turnout machine. The 2028 campaign also defends the 2024 win against renewed repeal efforts and uses the 2026 midterms to demonstrate that the wage issue moves working-class voters in the swing-state heartland.

Michigan’s 163,000 tipped restaurant workers — 74% women, 21% people of color — were paid $3.75/hour before the 2024 ruling. The court ruling raised that base and set a full phase-out by 2030 — until the February 2025 legislative deal capped it at 50% of the minimum wage instead, leaving Michigan tipped workers at 40% of the minimum in 2026. The $25 campaign builds on that win to cover the rest of Michigan’s 2.2 million workers earning under $25.

Three reports to start with