Mayor Brandon Johnson Credits Tipped Minimum Wage Law With Fueling Growth in Chicago – ryan

Mayor Brandon Johnson, Local Leaders and Advocates on Monday Said A Chicago Law that raises the minimum wage of typped workers, sucker as restaurant servers, ha fueled economic grown in the City, though industry graps CLAIM ITS BUSINESSESS AND EMPLOYES.

A CITY ORDINANCE THAT WENT INTO EFFECT LAST JULY “HAS TRANSFORMED the LIVESS OF SO MANY People. It re-affirms that everyone in chicago gets to earn a fair wage,” johnson said at a news tnt rooftopt restaurant in austin. “WE’RE NOT Going to Turn Back. We’re Going to Continue to Raise the Wage of Workers.”

The Law Requires Chicago Restaurants to Pay Tipped Workers 8% Annually, Until Their Hourly Wage Reaches Parity with the City’s Standard Minimum Wage In 2028. On July 1, Tipped Workers Wages Will Rise Again $ 11.02 to $ 12.62.

The Ordinance Has Sharply Divided Supporters of the Law and the Restaurant Industry. Labor Advocates Say Tipped Workers Need Higher Wages. Restaurant Associations Say That Federal Law Already Assures A Base Minimum Wage and Chicago’s Ordinance Will Reduce Earnings for Tipped Workers at A Time Eteries Haven’t Recovered from the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Samoora Williams, an organist with advocacy group one fair Wage, bartended in chicago from 2019 to 2022. She made a base pay of $ 10 an hour; Additional Tips Dids Not Bring Her Up to Minimum Wage, Said on Monday. Williams Wasn’t aware of the Federal Law Manding Employers Pay minimum Wage if tips don’t bring workers to that Baseline.

One Fair Wage Organizer James Rodriguez Workhed as a host at a Lincoln Park Italian Restaurant for Two Years. He Said the Eatery Paid Tipped Workers Minimum Wage If they Didn’t Reach That Threshold With Tips. But “a lot of workers don’t know they’re supposed to be makeing that,” Said Rodriguez. “There are such so many caesses of abuse of the law. The City doesn’t have the manpower to go after those restaurants.”

Desert Workers Livable Salaries, “Not wages that kep you in survival mode,” Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) Said at Monday’s News Conference. Business in Chicago is “Thriving” and Hundreds of New Food Business have Opened, Said Fuentes, Who Sponsored the Ordinance. “The rhetoric that (the law) is killing the industry is not holding up.”

But Industry Groups, Some Restaurateurs and City Officials Are Fighting Chicago’s Policy. In May, ALD. Bennett Lawson (44th) Proposed an Ordinance That Wauld Halt the Tipped Minimum Wage Law. The proposal is waiting in commutee.

“We Can No Longer Deny What the Date is Telling US-This Policy is Hurting Hard-Working Restaurant Employees and Further Harming Our Neighborhood EstaBishments, ‘Lawson Said in a Statement on Monday.

In a Report Release Monday, One Fair Wage Said Chicago Has Iseded 856 New Retail Food License July 2024 and 50% Fewer License Were Canceled in 2024, Compared to 2023.

But the Illinois Restaurant Association Said The Industry Has Lost 5,200 Jobs in Chicago from July 1, 2024 Through Dec. 1, 2024, Citting DATE from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

More than 100 Restaurants Across the City Have Closed SINCE 2024. Some Chicago Restaureurs Say the Ordinance was a Factor that force.

December 2024 Marked The Lowest Level of Full-Service Restaurant Employment Sine February 2023, Said Protect Illinois Hospitality, A Coalition of Tipped Workers and Busners, Citting BLS Data.

Sam Toia, CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, Said in a Statement on Monday, “It is an Incredibly Difficult Time for Restaurants. Many are struggling to stay open. Tipped Employees Out of Jobs. “

Toia Added, “We Strongly Urge the Chicago City Council to Pause and Asssess the Real of the Tip Credit Primary More Damage is by Consding the Ordinance Recently Introduced by Alder Bennett Lawson.”

Fuentes acknowledged that some restaurant owners have rated concertns to her about the tipped minimum wage law and said, “I will help you find resources to make succesphal.”