Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

www.rocunited.org
The federal minimum wage is $7.25, but
the federal tipped minimum wage is only
$2.13. Nevada, with one of the nations most
vibrant restaurant industries, pays tipped and
non-tipped workers alike $8.25. Including
tips, tipped workers earn a median wage
of $10.50 equivalent to $21,840 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 many
restaurant workers in a precarious situation.
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 40, 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.
TIPPED WORKERS AND THE RISING AMERICAN ELECTORATE
THE STATE
OF TIPPED
WORKERS
In Nevada there are over 108,000 tipped
workers, and 53% 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 US
economy. Although Nevada has made great
strides in reducing poverty among hospitality
workers, and only one of the ten lowest paid
occupations is in the restaurant industry,
servers remain the thirteenth lowest paid
occupation in the state.
TIPPED
MINIMUM WAGE
$8.25
MINIMUM WAGE
$8.25
MEDIAN WAGE FOR
TIPPED WORKERS
INCLUDING TIPS
$10.50
GENDER
48%
5
2
%
TIPPED
WORKERS
WHO WORK IN
RESTAURANTS
53%
NEVADA
In states with a tipped minimum wage of $2.13,
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
POVERTY RATES IN $2.13 STATES
16% 25% 20%
POVERTY RATES IN STATES WITH NO TIP CREDIT
13% 14% 14%
TIPPED WORKERS AND THE RISING AMERICAN ELECTORATE
White 49%
Latino 22%
Asian 17%
Black 6%
Other 5%
<_
24 12%
25-34 26%
35-44 24%
45+ 39%
RACE
AGE
HIGHER EDUCATION
EDUCATION
PARENTS WITH CHILDREN
ON FREE LUNCHES
46%
MARITAL &
PARENTAL
STATUS
51
%
Married 41%
Parents 36%
Dads 30%
Moms 42%
Single Moms 21%
P
O
V
E
R
T
Y
RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE
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.
FOR MORE INFO rocunited.org/stateoftippedworkers/
The industry projects employment will continue
to grow at the rate of 15% over the next decade.
H
INDUSTRY PROJECTED SALES 2014

6 BILLION
B
I
L
L
I
O
N
I
N
D
U
S
T
R
Y

G
R
O
W
T
H
35%
P
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V
E
R
TY

R
A
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E
P
O
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E
R
TY

R
A
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E
T
I
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D

R
E
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T
A
URA
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T

W
O
R
K
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R
S
T
I
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D

WO
R
K
E
R
S
12
%
10
%
WORKERS ON
FOOD STAMPS
SAME AS REST OF
NV WORKFORCE
10%
40
MEDIAN AGE
of tipped
worker moms
are single moms
MINIMIM
WAGE
$10.10
$12.00
$15.00
TIPPED
STIMULUS
$12.7
$19.4
$30.1
Tipped restaurant
workers live in
poverty at 2x
the rate of the
Nevada workforce.