Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

www.rocunited.org
COUNTER
ATTENDANTS
Utah follows federal minimum wage guidelines.
The federal minimum wage is $7.25, but the
tipped minimum wage is even lower. It has
stood at $2.13 for the last 23 years. In 1991
it was pegged at 50% of the federal minimum
wage. In 1996 it was ofcially depegged from
the minimum wage and has remained frozen
ever since. Including tips, tipped workers
in Utah earn a median wage of only $7.90
equivalent to $16,432 for a full-time
year-round employee. However, tipped workers
generally are allowed part-time schedules that
vary by season. Seven states have eliminated the
tipped minimum wage in those states tipped
workers receive the full minimum wage.
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, nearly 40% are moms,
and although many are married, nearly one-
fourth of these are single moms. Although the
median age for tipped workers is 26, 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 Utah there are over 42,000 tipped workers,
and 67% 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. Unfortunately, the restaurant
industry offers several of Utahs lowest paid
jobs. Five of the ten lowest paid occupations
are in the restaurant industry, and one of
these is a tipped occupation.
TIPPED
MINIMUM WAGE
$2.13
MINIMUM WAGE
$7.25
MEDIAN WAGE FOR
TIPPED WORKERS
INCLUDING TIPS
$7.90
GENDER
60%
4
0
%
TIPPED WORKERS WHO
WORK IN RESTAURANTS
67%
LOWEST PAID
TIPPED OCCUPATION
UTAH
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 77%
Latino 14%
Asian 6%
Black 2%
Other 1%
<_
24 47%
25-34 20%
35-44 16%
45+ 17%
RACE
AGE
HIGHER EDUCATION
EDUCATION
PARENTS WITH CHILDREN
ON FREE LUNCHES
52%
MARITAL &
PARENTAL
STATUS
24
%
Married 37%
Parents 30%
Dads 21%
Moms 36%
Single Moms 9%
P
O
V
E
R
T
Y
live in POVERTY
at 2x the rate
of the Utah
workforce.
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 13% over the next decade.
H
INDUSTRY PROJECTED SALES 2014

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

G
R
O
W
T
H
55%
P
O
V
E
R
TY

R
A
T
E
P
O
V
E
R
TY

R
A
T
E
T
I
P
P
E
D

R
E
S
T
A
URA
N
T

W
O
R
K
E
R
S
T
I
P
P
E
D

WO
R
K
E
R
S
16
%
17
%
WORKERS ON
FOOD STAMPS
2X REST OF UTAH
WORKFORCE
13%
26
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