One Fair Wage campaign urges “Yes on 77”

The One Fair Wage campaign is pushing for better wages and better tips for restaurant professionals in DC. Initiative 77 -- endorsed by the Metro Washington Council earlier this month -- calls for employers to pay all their workers the same minimum wage of $15 an hour PLUS tips by 2025. Seven out of the 10 lowest-paying jobs in America are in the restaurant industry: 66 percent of servers living in DC are people of color and 53 percent are women. “These low wages are thanks to the National Restaurant Association, which has successfully fought for the right to not pay their workers and force them to rely entirely or mostly on tips since Emancipation,” says campaign organizer Diana Ramirez. The One Fair Wage campaign is led by women and people of color who live and work in DC, and they’re urging DC residents to vote YES on Initiative 77 on June 19. Hear Restaurant Opportunities Center DC Director Diana Ramirez on today’s Your Rights At Work on WPFW at 2p (see Calendar).