Share Your Story
If you work or have worked in a restaurant, we want to hear from you. The campaigns to end the subminimum wage, raise the floor, and rebuild the industry are built on worker voices. Yours is one of them.
OFW uses worker stories in legislative testimony, in press, in organizing materials, and in the federal Living Wage For All Act campaign. Stories like yours have moved bills in D.C., Chicago, and the Capitol. Tell us what your job looks like, what the pay actually is, and what you want to change.
How to share your story
Fill out the short form below. The form takes about five minutes. You can write as much or as little as you want, in English or Spanish. You can stay anonymous, use just your first name, or share your full name — your choice. OFW staff reviews every submission, and we will not share or publish your story without your permission. We use the same form as the Living Wage For All coalition, so your story reaches both campaigns.
Prefer email? Reach us at info@onefairwage.org.
What we ask about
The form asks the basic facts of your work life and gives you space to tell your own story in your own words. The kinds of questions we ask:
- Where you work and what you do (server, line cook, dishwasher, bartender, host, food runner, prep, delivery)
- How long you have been in the industry
- What you actually earn — base pay, tips, hours
- What it costs to live where you live, and how that math works out (or does not)
- Whether you have experienced wage theft, harassment, or retaliation
- What you would change about the industry if you could
You do not have to answer every question. Skip whatever you want. The story is yours.
Where your story goes
Worker stories from this form have shown up in:
- Legislative testimony — in Albany, Sacramento, Springfield, Annapolis, Denver, and at the U.S. Capitol
- Press coverage — OFW reporters cite worker stories when they write about wages, harassment, and the restaurant industry
- OFW research reports — the 93-report library that anchors the movement’s case
- Social media and campaign materials — with your name only if you give permission
- The Living Wage For All federal bill campaign — worker voices behind H.R.8555
If you want your story used only in private organizing and not publicly, say so on the form. We respect that.
In the meantime
Read the worker voices already on this site — on the homepage, on the New York page (May 27 Albany Lobby Day testimony), on The Issue page, and in the research library.
Restaurant workers are the country’s largest non-union workforce. We are also the loudest, when we organize.
Tell us your story. Join the movement. Or both.
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