4 ms·

I think it's interesting that there's so much talk about minimum wages for drivers, but restaurant workers have been working for $2-3/hour for decades, includin

I think it's interesting that there's so much talk about minimum wages for drivers, but restaurant workers have been working for $2-3/hour for decades, including periods of time when they are doing untipped work.

renewiltord 6y ago
The places with these conversations do not have that. Both California and Washington have the same minimum wage for tipped and untipped workers. So in Washington you are guaranteed $13.50 / hr and then tips go on top. In California you are guaranteed $12 / hr and then tips go on top. In Seattle, where this law was passed, the minimum wage is over $16 / hr and then tips go on top. Alabama does do that bit with the $2/hr minimum wage if tips make up the balance but there isn't a significant effort in places like that to backstop wages for drivers. Essentially, there is no inconsistency.
- redisman 6y ago
  > So in Washington you are guaranteed $13.50 / hr and then tips go on top. In California you are guaranteed $12 / hr and then tips go on top. Wait forreal? I gotta stop tipping.
  - renewiltord 6y ago
    It's still socially expected in these places, so you might face some censure. But yes, for real. Interestingly, SF which has a $15 min wage has higher socially expected tip percentages than the rest of California.
  - lotsofpulp 6y ago
    Americans have such a fetish for tipping. I think it makes them feel like generous benefactors to be in control of someone’s earnings. You could raise the wage for servers to $100k per year and people would still want to tip 25% for a $50 sandwich. But changing the system so that employers pay employees properly? That would be ludicrous...even though it works for just about everyone else.
Acrobatic_Road 6y ago
False. In some states, employers may deduct tips from wages, but in every state the employee must make at least the federal/state minimum.

renewiltord 6y ago

The places with these conversations do not have that. Both California and Washington have the same minimum wage for tipped and untipped workers. So in Washington you are guaranteed $13.50 / hr and then tips go on top. In California you are guaranteed $12 / hr and then tips go on top. In Seattle, where this law was passed, the minimum wage is over $16 / hr and then tips go on top. Alabama does do that bit with the $2/hr minimum wage if tips make up the balance but there isn't a significant effort in places like that to backstop wages for drivers. Essentially, there is no inconsistency.

redisman 6y ago
> So in Washington you are guaranteed $13.50 / hr and then tips go on top. In California you are guaranteed $12 / hr and then tips go on top. Wait forreal? I gotta stop tipping.
- renewiltord 6y ago
  It's still socially expected in these places, so you might face some censure. But yes, for real. Interestingly, SF which has a $15 min wage has higher socially expected tip percentages than the rest of California.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  Americans have such a fetish for tipping. I think it makes them feel like generous benefactors to be in control of someone’s earnings. You could raise the wage for servers to $100k per year and people would still want to tip 25% for a $50 sandwich. But changing the system so that employers pay employees properly? That would be ludicrous...even though it works for just about everyone else.

Acrobatic_Road 6y ago

False. In some states, employers may deduct tips from wages, but in every state the employee must make at least the federal/state minimum.