As significant victories for tipped service workers continue to materialize across the country, One Fair Wage announces a series of crucial wage increases in various jurisdictions, driven by legislative efforts and successful ballot measures. This development is a testament to the growing national call for higher wages in the economy generally, given that the rising cost of living has topped every major voter poll for 2024, and in the service sector in particular, following the post-pandemic staffing crisis and worker exodus, which helped catalyze a surge in worker power and advocacy for fair wages across the nation. One Fair Wage is also leading ballot measures and legislation in over a dozen states in 2024 to raise wages generally and end various subminimum wages; the ballot measures alone could raise wages for 6 million workers nationwide.
Victories and Upcoming Wage Increases
The landscape for service workers is set to change notably in the following areas:
Flagstaff, Arizona: Approaching the final year of a 5-year phase-in, Flagstaff is poised for a significant increase in wages for tipped workers in 2024, where the wage will increase to $16.80 from $14.80 per hour, and will raise with the overall minimum wage after that, officially ending the subminimum wage for tipped workers.
Washington, D.C.: Moving into the second year of its 5-year phase-in since voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of Initiative 82, D.C. will continue raising wages for service workers, with an increase from $8.00 to $10.00 per hour.
Chicago, Illinois: Chicago will begin its first year of a 5-year phase-in plan in 2024, following the city council’s historic passage of one fair wage, ushered in by Mayor Brandon Johnson and the city council, marking a crucial step forward in wage equity for over 100,000 service workers.
2024 Legislative Efforts and Ballot Measures
One Fair Wage is not only celebrating recent victories but also looking ahead to 2024 as a pivotal year for further advancing higher wages. Initiatives include:
Arizona, Ohio, California, Michigan, Massachusetts: One Fair Wage is leading ballot measures in all of these states to raise wages to be on the November 2024 ballot. In AZ, OH and MI, the initiatives raise the minimum wage for all workers and end subminimum wages for tipped workers, workers with disabilities, and youth. In MA, the initiative would end the subminimum wage for tipped workers, and in CA, the initiative would raise the minimum wage for all workers. The initiatives in MI, CA, and MA have all been certified by the state as having enough signatures to go on the ballot. These ballot measures would raise wages for 6 million workers nationwide.
New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Illinois, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Puerto Rico: Legislation is advancing in all of these states in 2024 to end the subminimum wage for tipped workers.
Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage stated, “We’re seeing incredible momentum for wage increases, given voters’ focus on the rising cost of living, and increased enthusiasm on the ground as hundreds of workers have been gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures to put these measures on the ballots, reflecting a growing public awareness for the need to raise wages and end all subminimum wages in the US. Each signature we’ve collected and each legislative win represents a step toward more livable wages in this country and a step away from an archaic compensation system mired in the injustices of Jim Crow. As we approach a general election cycle, economic issues, especially the cost of living, will be at the forefront of voters’ minds. Legislators are increasingly recognizing the need to move towards a living wage and to end the sub-minimum wage. This isn’t just about fair pay; it’s about dignity and economic justice.”
With seven states already requiring One Fair Wage (CA, OR, WA, NV, MN, MT, AK), these initiatives are part of One Fair Wage’s broader ’25 by 250′ campaign, a national effort targeting wage increases and the elimination of subminimum wages in over 25 states by the United States’ 250th Anniversary in 2026.
One Fair Wage is a national organization of nearly 300,000 service workers, over 2500 restaurant employers, and dozens of organizations nationwide all working together to raise wages and end all subminimum wages in the United States and improve wages and working conditions in the service sector in particular. One Fair Wage policy would require all employers to pay the full minimum wage with fair, non-discriminatory tips on top, thus lifting millions of tipped and subminimum wage workers nationally out of poverty.
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