Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

www.rocunited.org
SERVERS
Nebraska 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 Nebraska earn a median wage of only
$8.00 equivalent to $16,640 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, 35% are moms, and
although many are married, more than
half 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 Nebraska there are nearly 27,000 tipped
workers, and 72% 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 Nebraskas 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
$8.00
GENDER
81%
1
9
%
TIPPED WORKERS WHO
WORK IN RESTAURANTS
72%
LOWEST PAID
TIPPED OCCUPATION
NEBRASKA
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 74%
Latino 17%
Asian 3%
Black 3%
Other 3%
<_
24 46%
25-34 22%
35-44 15%
45+ 17%
RACE
AGE
HIGHER EDUCATION
EDUCATION
PARENTS WITH CHILDREN
ON FREE LUNCHES
48%
MARITAL &
PARENTAL
STATUS
54
%
Married 30%
Parents 31%
Dads 13%
Moms 35%
Single Moms 19%
P
O
V
E
R
T
Y
TIPPED RESTAURANT WORKERS
live in POVERTY at 4x the rate
of the Nebraska
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 6% over the next decade.
H
INDUSTRY PROJECTED SALES 2014

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

G
R
O
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T
H
25%
P
O
V
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R
TY

R
A
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P
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R
TY

R
A
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I
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D

R
E
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T
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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
28
%
25
%
WORKERS ON
FOOD STAMPS
3X REST OF NE
WORKFORCE
20%
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