Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

www.rocunited.org
The federal minimum wage is $7.25, but
the federal tipped minimum wage is only
$2.13. Alaska, with one of the nations
most vibrant restaurant industries, pays
tipped and non-tipped workers alike $7.75.
Including tips, tipped workers earn a
median wage of $9.00 equivalent
to $18,720 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, nearly 50% are moms,
and although many are married, more than
half of these are single moms. Although the
median age for tipped workers is 31, 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
AL ASKA
THE STATE
OF TIPPED
WORKERS
In Alaska there are nearly 13,000 tipped
workers, and 71% 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 Alaskas lowest paid
jobs. Five of the ten lowest paid occupations
are in the restaurant industry, and two of
these are tipped occupations.
2 LOWEST PAID
TIPPED OCCUPATIONS
SERVERS
BUSSERS, RUNNERS, &
BARTENDER ASSISTANTS
TIPPED
MINIMUM WAGE
$7.75
MINIMUM WAGE
$7.75
MEDIAN WAGE FOR
TIPPED WORKERS
INCLUDING TIPS
$9.00
GENDER
67%
3
3
%
TIPPED WORKERS WHO
WORK IN RESTAURANTS
71%
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 47%
Asian 32%
Latino 10%
Other 12%
Black 0%
<_
24 30%
25-34 26%
35-44 22%
45+ 23%
RACE
AGE
HIGHER EDUCATION
EDUCATION
PARENTS WITH CHILDREN
ON FREE LUNCHES
36%
MARITAL &
PARENTAL
STATUS
56
%
Married 30%
Parents 39%
Dads 23%
Moms 46%
Single Moms 26%
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 14% over the next decade.
H
INDUSTRY PROJECTED SALES 2014

1.4 BILLION
B
I
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L
I
O
N
I
N
D
U
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T
R
Y

G
R
O
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T
H
17%
P
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R
TY

R
A
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P
O
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E
R
TY

R
A
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D

R
E
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T
A
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T

W
O
R
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R
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T
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D

WO
R
K
E
R
S
8
%
7
%
WORKERS ON
FOOD STAMPS
3X REST OF AK
WORKFORCE
22%
31
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
Alaskas One Wage
means that tipped
workers live in
poverty at the same
rate as the rest
of the workforce.