WASHINGT O N

THE STATE OF TIPPED WORKERS

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

www.rocunited.org
TIPPED worKErS wHo worK IN rESTAurANTS

In Washington there are over 110,000 tipped workers, and 55% of these work in the restaurant industry. The restaurant industry employs nearly 10% of the workforce and is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. Unfortunately, the restaurant industry offers several of Washingtons lowest paid jobs. Five of the ten lowest paid occupations are in the restaurant industry, and two of these are tipped occupations. The federal minimum wage is $7.25, but the federal tipped minimum wage is only $2.13. Washington, with a vibrant restaurant industry and the nations highest minimum wage, pays tipped and non-tipped workers alike $9.32. Including tips, tipped workers earn a median wage of $9.38 equivalent to $19,510 for a full-time year-round employee. However, tipped workers generally are allowed part-time schedules that vary by season, and tips uctuate by season and shift, leaving restaurant workers in the precarious situation of living off tips instead of wages.

55%
TIPPED occuPATIoNS
BuSSErS, ruNNErS, & bArTENDEr ASSISTANTS

2 LowEST PAID

CouNTEr ATTENDANTS

$9.32
MEDIAN wAGE for TIPPED worKErS INcLuDING TIPS

ONE MINIMuM wAGE

$9.38

TIPPED WorKErS AND THE RISING AMErIcAN ELEcTorATE

The Rising American Electorate refers to the demographic groups that are growing the most rapidly, historically with lower voter participation rates, but whose growing civic engagement has been crucial in tipping the scales in recent elections. Tipped workers are primarily women, over 40% are moms, and although many are married, half of these are single moms. Although the median age for tipped workers is 32, half of them are younger. And they are racially diverse, overrepresented by Latinos, Asians, and African Americans compared to the broader workforce. They are also a highly educated group. Tipped workers are a snapshot of the RAE.

GENDEr
67%

33%

TIPPED WorKErS AND THE RISING AMErIcAN ELEcTorATE

EDUCATIoN

49%
HIGHEr EDucATIoN

PArENTAL
STATuS
Married 35% Parents 36% Dads 26% Moms 41% Single Moms 17%

MArITAL &

AGE RACE 29
MEDIAN AGE

< _ 24 29% 25-34 28% 35-44 19% 45+ 25%

46

White 67% Latino 13% Asian 14% Black 5% Other 1%

% of tipped

worker moms are single moms

POVERTY

TIPPED rESTAurANT worKErS

live in PoVErTY at 2.4X the rate of the U.S. workforce.

PP

14%
ES

OV

ERTY RAT

ED worKE

oN frEE LuNcHES In states with a tipped minimum wage of $2.13,

PArENTS wITH cHILDrEN

TAU R ANT

51%

the poverty rates for workers of color is nearly double that of the seven states without a tipped minimum wage, with one in four living in poverty.
White PeOple OF COlOr All

19%
INDUSTRY GROWTH

worKErS oN fooD STAMPS

2x rEST of U.S. worKforcE

PoVErTY rATES IN $2.13 STATES

16% 25% 20%

PoVErTY rATES IN STATES wITH No TIP crEDIT

13% 14% 14%

The industry projects employment will continue to grow at the rate of 10% over the next decade.
HINDuSTrY ProJEcTED SALES 2014 11.2 bILLIoN

RAISE THE MINIMuM WAGE

MINIMIM

Living off tips is precarious, but it doesnt have to be this way. Raising the minimum wage and eliminating the tipped credit would provide a signicant stimulus to the U.S. economy in tipped wages alone, providing a boost to local economies and the broader food industry, as well.

WAGE

STIMuLuS $10.10 $12.7 $12.00 $19.4 $15.00 $30.1

BILLION

TIPPED

FOR MORE INfO rocunited.org/stateoftippedworkers/

16%

OV

ERTY RAT

or

KErS

rS E

TI
TIPPED