As someone who worked for years as a server and barista, I wholeheartedly support the One Fair Wage campaign to eliminate the sub-minimum wage for tipped-wage workers.
It is ridiculous that customers at a restaurant are expected to pay for their food and then leave something extra to pay the wage of the person who brought their food. No other industry works this way, and the tipping culture has so many downsides.
As a server, you have to be nice to the customers no matter how rude they are, because you need their tips. As a woman, this means putting up with a lot of harassment.
When I was a server, I dealt with everything from mildly inappropriate comments to actual breast grabbing and butt pinching.
Furthermore, tipping is not required. Customers can choose not to tip – maybe for reasons beyond the server’s control – and then the server does not even make the minimum wage. This creates such uncertainty; as a server, you never really know how well you will do on any given night.
I am so disappointed that the Portland City Council chose to leave tipped-wage workers behind entirely (“Portland council keeps tipped workers’ base wage at $3.75,” Sept. 9). Instead of making a positive change or even just maintaining the status quo, this is a step backward.
Helen Lukacs
Portland
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