Pennsylvania
Contact:
Naila Rosario
naila@onefairwage.org
Pennsylvania
Since the pandemic, restaurant workers have been leaving the industry in droves. Our research reveals that 53 percent of restaurant workers surveyed are considering leaving the industry, 70 percent of whom are citing low wages and tips as their primary reason for leaving, and 78 percent of workers state that the only reason they would stay in the industry is if they received a livable wage with tips on top. In response to this staffing crisis, thousands of restaurants nationwide have raised their wages to get workers to attract and retain staff, but this measure is not enough. Through state campaigns, we are focusing on raising wages for tipped workers so that the 1 million restaurant workers who have left since the onset of the pandemic can return to an industry that fairly compensates essential workers.
Dozens of women activists and advocates, including Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, Alyssa Milano, Abigail Disney, penned a letter to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to prioritize ending the subminimum wage for tipped workers as part of his legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Doing so would honor women by ensuring gender pay equity and reduce sexual harassment in the restaurant industry.
The subminimum wage for tipped workers in Pennsylvania is $2.83 per hour, one of the lowest in the nation.
In Pennsylvania, women are paid just 71 cents for every dollar a white, non-Hispanic man is paid. More than two thirds of tipped workers in Pennsylvania are women, which makes the subminimum wage for tipped workers a gender pay equity issue.
Tens of thousands of tipped workers in Pennsylvania are leaving the restaurant industry and are not willing to return without One Fair Wage, and over 100 Pennsylvania employers are now paying One Fair Wage to recruit staff and seek a level playing field. The time to pass One Fair Wage is now.