Posts tagged Restaurant Workers
Op-ed: Chicago’s Minimum-Wage Retreat
March 23, 2026 // Chicago’s distressed dining scene—recently described as “on the brink of collapse”—was bolstered by good news last week, as the City Council voted to halt future increases in the minimum wage for servers and bartenders. This is a setback for progressive Mayor Brandon Johnson, who counts the wage hike as one of his administration’s few accomplishments. But it’s good news for Chicagoans. Chicago’s wage woes date to 2023, when Mr. Johnson made raising the tipped minimum wage an early priority after being elected. It was an unusual choice: Servers and bartenders already earn more than minimum wage, especially in Chicago, where a typical restaurant worker reportedly earns nearly $30 an hour between the lower base wage and tips.
Seamark at Encore Boston to close, less than a month after workers unionize
March 12, 2026 // Seamark Seafood & Cocktails, the ritzy seafood restaurant inside the Encore Boston Harbor casino and hotel, is closing, laying off 56 workers who voted to unionize less than a month ago. The eatery from Carver Road Hospitality is shutting down for good on March 29, nearly two years after it opened. Its reason for closing, according to is because of “economic challenges.”
24 union members detained during civil disobedience near Las Vegas airport
December 6, 2025 // Union members are demanding a new contract with disadvantaged business enterprises at the airport. The Culinary and Bartenders unions represent nearly 400 hospitality workers employed at 21 outlets inside Harry Reid International Airport. Union members voted unanimously on November 12 to authorize a strike. The union has not set a strike date while negotiations continue.
Lessons from D.C.: Why “$30 by ‘30” Wage Plan Could Leave Servers with Less
October 26, 2025 // Mr. Mamdani’s plan is being aligned with a renewed push by progressive New York legislators to eliminate the tipped-wage system, which would require restaurant workers to be paid the same minimum wage as all other tipped-wage positions. Legislation has been percolating in Albany in recent years that would phase out the tipped wage by 2028, with a prominent “Living Wage for All Coalition” now launching to guide the effort to fruition. Behind the coalition is the group One Fair Wage, which has been spearheading a systematic effort to eliminate the tipped-wage system in progressive jurisdictions across America. One Fair Wage has seen success in large cities such as Chicago and Washington, D.C., but as these policies take hold, the economic reality is starting to bite.
AFL-CIO rallies Atlanta workers to unionize ahead of Labor Day
July 24, 2025 // AFL-CIO, brought its “It’s Better in a Union” national bus tour to Atlanta, rallying workers across industries to organize and demand better pay, benefits, and working conditions. The event, held in partnership with the Atlanta chapter of the AFL-CIO, drew workers from restaurants, healthcare, sanitation, and logistics, many of whom say they’re fed up with corporations profiting while employees struggle to make ends meet. “We’re doing everything, but we’re not rewarded for what we’re doing,” said Teresa Kennard, a Waffle House employee who spoke during the rally. “We all know there is power in numbers.”
Restaurant owners, workers hold competing rallies over potential repeal of Initiative 82
June 5, 2025 // Wednesday, business owners and workers held competing rallies outside the Wilson Building, as the D.C. Council considers the fate of Initiative 82. Initiative 82 was passed in November of 2022 and implemented the following Spring. The voter-backed law eliminates the tipped minimum wage by gradually raising wages over the next several years. But that law is now in question, as Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed repealing I-82 under her 2026 budget.
Businesses seek to overturn hotel and airport wage hikes by forcing a citywide election
May 30, 2025 // Under the city's laws, hotel and airport workers have minimum wages that are higher than those who are employed by other industries. The hotel minimum wage, approved by the council in 2014, is currently $20.32 per hour. The minimum wage for private-sector employees at LAX is $25.23 per hour, which includes a $5.95 hourly healthcare payment. For nearly everyone else in L.A., the hourly minimum wage is $17.28, 78 cents higher than the state’s. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
Gov. Jared Polis’ coming labor bill veto will strain Democrat’s labor ties — and set stage for ballot fight
May 15, 2025 // Polis has said that Colorado’s 81-year-old labor law has worked well and that he wants maximum employee input in negotiating union dues. He added Thursday that he wanted a deal that would bring stability to business-labor relations in the state, referring to fears that a change to the status quo would usher in a tug-of-war over competing ballot measures and legislation. Asked about Polis’ skeptical views of SB-5, Dougherty said those were concerns “that were not relayed to us when he was running for governor.”
Union says restaurant group is blocking service staff from unionizing in DC
May 4, 2025 // Standing alone outside The Occidental, while holding a whiteboard alleging “paid actors” were among protestors, Anne Marie Henderson told passersby that those on the picket line did not work at the restaurant. “We’re fine the way we are … we don’t want a union. We are not mistreated here, it’s not terrible work conditions. There’s not a late paycheck,” Henderson, who identified herself as a receptionist working with the restaurants, said. Henderson expressed confusion about the protest outside the restaurant, as she claims, no one among the restaurant staff has expressed interest in unionizing.
Culinary Union strike at Virgin Las Vegas leads to 57 arrests in peaceful protest
November 26, 2024 // In a significant escalation of the Culinary Union's first open-ended strike in 22 years, 57 union members and striking workers from Virgin Las Vegas were arrested yesterday during a peaceful act of civil disobedience. The demonstration, which drew hundreds of participants, has maintained continuous picket lines at every entrance and exit along Harmon Avenue and Paradise Road since the strike began on November 15, 2024.