Major Paper 4: Exploratory
Research
For our final essay, we will use research to examine the many facets of
an issue before offering a conclusion based on our research. We need to see
what a variety of authors say about the topic before we formulate our own
opinion.
Choose an issue that you are curious about. It should be an
individualized topic, one that appeals to you personally and that you do not
yet have a strong opinion on. For this reason, “standard” topics like gun
control, abortion, prayer in schools, lowering the drinking age, legalizing
marijuana, or similar topics should not be chosen. See the week 12 module for
the full list.
This paper should use a minimum of 3 sources, and it is more likely that
you need 4-5 to write a strong essay that covers multiple viewpoints. Popular
sources like op-eds, magazine articles, and even named blog posts are
acceptable sources, along with more scholarly sources.
Keywords: perspective, multiple
views, objective, claims, support, argument
Requirements/Objectives:
·
Focus on one meaningful issue
·
Write a clear thesis at the beginning of your essay
·
Find information that helps you explain multiple perspectives
·
Integrate sources effectively with appropriate citations
·
Organize your argument in a way that makes a difficult issue easy to
understand.
·
Use an engaging voice that draws readers in with diverse points of view
·
Produce approximately 1,500-1,750 words (5-6) pages of polished writing
—
Lauren Jones
Professor Mia Martini
English 101
April 19, 2024
Exploratory Paper
(replace this with catchy title related to subject)
The topic of replacing the sub-minimum
wage for tipped restaurant servers in America in 2024 is a complex and controversial
one. The problems are clarified somewhat upon exploratory research reading
about the different perspectives people have about it when looking at the issue
from multiple angles. There are a number of groups of people involved in the
consideration of this topic who all have a lot to say about it. Many people are
affected. In recent years, progress has been made towards both raising, and
eliminating, the sub-minimum wage for tipped restaurant servers in many parts
of the us. The goal of many is to manage this at a federal level. This matters
because ___ . People are interested in it because ____ . To society as a whole,
this would really make a big difference, because ____ . This would work by ____
. This has changed over the years in the following ways: ___ . There are
multiple perspectives when it comes to this topic. There are people both for
and against it who have said many impassioned things about it. (*Insert paraphrasing
with proper citations and direct quotations with proper citations from 3-5 sources,
more are fine, I have included a number of quotes below from listed sources
that looked relevant).
—
“Google”
(Brave) search:
https://search.brave.com/search?q=What%20are%20the%20arguments%20against%20replacing%20the%20sub-minimum%20tipped%20wage%20for%20restaurant%20servers%3F&summary=%7B%22query%22%3A%22restaurant%20server%20association%20sub%20minuimum%20tipped%20wages%22%2C%22country%22%3A%22us%22%2C%22language%22%3A%22en%22%2C%22safesearch%22%3A%22moderate%22%2C%22results_hash%22%3A%22894119bcf6ddc6b20ffa20713b75a7539f718d1551992b230adaf9934acca716%22%7D&source=llmFollowup
:
What
are the arguments against replacing the sub-minimum tipped wage for restaurant
servers?
The
arguments against replacing the sub-minimum tipped wage for restaurant servers
include concerns
about financial impact on small businesses and potential negative effects on
tipping behavior.
Opponents of a higher minimum wage for tipped workers argue that increasing the
base wage would force employers to raise menu prices, which could lead to
customers tipping less or dining out less often. This, in turn, could
negatively affect a tipped employee’s overall income. Additionally, some argue
that the current system allows for flexibility in wages, as servers who receive
more tips can earn more than those who receive fewer tips. However, it is also
argued that this system can lead to wage disparities and unfair treatment of
workers who may not receive as many tips due to factors beyond their control.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.
The following source is too old to be considered as
credible as possible for lack of relevance when time sensitivity is an issues,
but makes good points:
(July 10, 2014):
“The creation of the tip credit—the difference,
paid for by customers’ tips, between the regular minimum wage and the sub-wage
for tipped workers—fundamentally changed the practice of tipping. Whereas tips
had once been simply a token of gratitude from the served to the server, they
became, at least in part, a subsidy from consumers to the employers of tipped
workers. In other words, part of the employer wage bill is now paid by
customers via their tips.”
“customers provide a subsidy to employers of tipped workers
worth more than twice the wage these employers are required to pay their tipped
staff.”
“The subminimum wage for tipped workers has remained at
$2.13 since 1991. In 1996, it was decoupled from the regular minimum wage, such
that the tipped wage remained at $2.13 even as the regular minimum wage was
increased. At that time, the tipped minimum wage was equal to 50 percent of the
regular minimum wage; today it is only equal to a record low 29.4 percent of
the regular federal minimum wage of $7.25”
“Tipped workers are predominantly women (66.6 percent) and
disproportionately young; however, the majority are at least 25, and over one
in four are at least 40 years of age.”
“Due to their low wages and higher poverty levels, about
46.0 percent of tipped workers and their families rely on public benefits,
compared with 35.5 percent of non-tipped workers and their families. While it
is a good thing that workers faced with challenging circumstances can turn to
these programs for assistance, these programs were not designed to serve as a
permanent wage subsidy or part of the business strategy for low-wage employers.”
“The change to the tip credit in 1996
effectively shifted responsibility for an increasing portion of tipped workers’
wages from employers to customers; it greatly reduced employers’ future wage
bill by locking in a low base wage for tipped workers that would remain fixed,
even as prices rose or the regular minimum wage was increased. Legally,
employers of tipped workers are still required to ensure that the sum of tipped
workers’ base wages plus their tips is equal to at least the full regular
minimum wage; however, as is discussed later in detail, enforcement of this
requirement is fraught with problems, and evidence suggests that tipped workers
are subject to high rates of wage theft.”
Tip credit
No tip credit states
“only a small share of tipped workers are teens
(12.6 percent).
Furthermore, about a quarter of tipped workers
are young adults, ages 20 to 24,
while the vast majority (62.8 percent) are at
least 25 years old.
Nearly 30 percent are at least 40 years old.”
“Tipped workers are predominantly women (66.6 percent) and
disproportionately young; however, the majority are at least 25, and over one
in four are at least 40 years of age.”
“tipped workers are overwhelmingly (two-thirds)
female”
“a tipped employee seeking to monitor her
employer’s compliance with the law would need to…record the base wage she was
paid from her employer, and calculate if the effective hourly rate equaled the
required state or federal minimum wage. If it did not, this employee would have
to approach her employer seeking the missing pay. Of course, this is the same
employer who determines whether this employee will be given the most lucrative
shifts, the best restaurant sections (in the case of waiters and waitresses),
or if the employee will retain her job at all. It is unrealistic to think that
a tipped employee dealing with an unscrupulous employer would be able to
reclaim her lost wages, let alone confront someone with such power over her
near-term financial health.”
I can attest that the difference is usually not
made by the employer between what the server is supposed to be making hourly when
it is not made in tips on top of the 2.13 an hour sub-standard hourly rate to
bring it up to even minimum wage. At my last workplace before switching to my current
job, I had a manager outright refuse to do so when asked to, to act like she’d
never heard of that before, to say she did not know how to do so, to tell me
that if I didn’t like it maybe this wasn’t the industry for me, and to tell me
to save up for slow season, because it was coming. This was her many-tiered
response to my reporting that my wages that day had fallen far short of the
minimum wage I was owed between tips and at least a tip credit bringing me up
to minimum wage per hour.
“Research has also shown that the practice of
tipping is often discriminatory, with white service workers receiving larger
tips than black service workers for the same quality of service (Lynn et al.
2008).”
“ the sector that comprises the bulk of
tipped employment actually grew faster in states where tipped workers received
the regular minimum wage than it did in states with a lower tipped minimum wage.19 Moreover, the restaurant industry itself
projects higher growth rates in these “equal treatment” states than in those
with subminimum wages (National Restaurant Association 2014).20”
This paper makes a lot of good points, and is
from a credible .org source. However, it was written 10 years ago. How much has
changed? Some, but not most, of the things that were going on 10 years ago in
sub-standard tipped hourly wages have changed. For example, today, 10 years
later, it has not been 33 years that the hourly wage for restaurant servers in
my area has been 2.13 an hour. A lot has changed since 1991. The cost of living
has certainly risen. Yet, I bring home less, including tips, after a days work
than I did doing the same job in the year 2002. 22 years ago.
“Today, the subminimum wage for tipped workers
is a mere $2.13 an hour, where it has been for 23 years. Over that time, its
value has eroded to just 29.4 percent of the regular minimum wage that applies
to non-tipped workers.”
—
https://time.com/5658442/tipped-restaurant-workers-american-economy/
“Restaurant owners say they aren’t the ones who should pay
the price of America’s shift to a service economy. “Today, the middle class has
been gutted, but [lawmakers] are trying to legislate entry-level low-skilled
jobs into living-wage jobs where you can raise a family in New York, one of the
most expensive places in the world,” says Andrew Riggie, executive director of
the New York City Hospitality Alliance, which represents hotels and
restaurants. “We can’t address all societal ills on the shoulders of small-business
owners.””
—
https://nwlc.org/resource/the-raise-the-wage-act-valuing-working-people-and-advancing-equal-pay/ (2023):
The National Women’s Law Center
“Who Are Low-Paid
Workers? …
Primary Earners:
Only about 13% of workers who would see higher pay under
the Raise the Wage Act are teenagers.
More than six in 10
workers who would get a raise are at least 25 years old,
and most do not live with
a spouse.”
“The federal
minimum cash wage for tipped workers is $2.13 per hour, unchanged since 1991. Although employers are obligated to ensure
that their tipped employees receive at least the regular minimum wage by making
up the difference when tips fall short, this requirement is difficult to
enforce and many employers fail to comply.”
“Across party lines, most voters support raising the minimum wage
and requiring employers to pay the full minimum wage to tipped workers, before
tips.”
“Working mothers would
also especially benefit: of the 7.2 million parents with children at home who would get
a raise under the Raise the Wage Act, three-quarters (5.4 million) are
mothers.”
The vast majority
(82%) of tipped workers across the country would get a raise and be able to count on
receiving at least the regular minimum wage before tips. In the One Fair
Wage states where that is already required, tipped workers typically
experience far lower poverty rates than in states with a $2.13 tipped
minimum cash wage.
—
A robust body of evidence
examining the impact of state and local minimum wage increases concludes
that such measures have worked exactly as intended—boosting
incomes for workers and their families without costing jobs, even
in areas in which low wages are prevalent.
In the seven states
that have already adopted One Fair Wage, this policy has not harmed growth
in the restaurant industry or tipped jobs. From 2011 to 2019, One Fair Wage states had
stronger restaurant growth than states that had a lower tipped minimum
wage. And while the pandemic hit the leisure and hospitality sector hard,
the recovery has been swifter in One Fair Wage states: From January 2021
to May 2023, One Fair Wage states saw 53% growth in the leisure and
hospitality industry, compared with just 19% growth in states with lower
wages for tipped workers.
Because underpaid workers spend
much of their extra earnings in their communities, raising the minimum wage can boost local economies and spur
small business growth. Higher wages can also benefit employers
by reducing turnover and increasing productivity.
—
The impact of the Raise the Wage Act of 2023, by congressional district
(2023) :
Economic Policy Institute
“The federal minimum hourly wage is just $7.25
and has not increased in 14 years, the longest period of congressional inaction
in the history of the minimum wage. As a result, the real,
cost-of-living-adjusted value of the minimum wage has fallen by 30%. The
Raise the Wage Act of 2023, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and
U.S. Senate on July 25, 2023, would raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an
hour by 2028. The bill would also gradually raise and then eliminate subminimum
wages for tipped workers, workers with disabilities, and youth workers, so that
all workers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) would be at the same
wage level.”
—
(2023) :
“The $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage is a
starvation wage. It must be raised to a living wage – at least $17 an hour,”
said Sanders. “In the year 2023 a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep
you in it. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality and
record-breaking corporate profits, we can no longer tolerate millions of
workers being unable to feed their families because they are working for
totally inadequate wages. Congress can no longer ignore the needs of the
working class of this country. The time to act is now.”
Said Ranking Member Scott: “No person working
full-time in America should be living in poverty. The Raise the Wage Act will
increase the pay and standard of living for nearly 28 million workers across
this country. Raising the minimum wage is good for workers, good for business,
and good for the economy. When we put money in the pockets of American workers,
they will spend that money in their communities.”
“Over the last 50 years, $50 trillion in wealth
has been redistributed from the bottom 90 percent of America to the top 1
percent. Today, the value of the current federal minimum wage, $7.25 per hour,
is the lowest it has been since 1956 and has declined by
nearly 28 percent since it was last increased in 2009. While
approximately 5 million tipped workers in the U.S. depend on tips for nearly
three-quarters of their income, the tipped sub-minimum wage has remained
stagnant at just $2.13 per hour since 1991.
Meanwhile, across every
state in the country, a living wage for a worker in a family with two working
adults and one child is greater than $17 per hour, according to the Economic
Policy Institute’s (EPI) Family Budget Calculator. However, nearly 30 percent of workers in the
U.S., over 44 million people, make less than $17 per hour. Many of these
low-wage workers face persistent economic insecurity, struggling to put food on
the table and afford basic necessities, including housing, health care, and
childcare.”
“If the minimum wage had
increased with productivity over the last 50 years, it would be $23 an hour
today.”
—
https://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/2023/04/25/california-restaurant-workers-struggle-for-increased-minimum-wage/70146579007/
:
“Chicago restauranteurs founded the National Restaurant Association in 1919, but its roots go back to 1865, when white restaurant
owners invented the idea of using customers’ tips as a replacement for wages for newly freed
Black workers.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/23/the-era-of-the-subminimum-wage-for-tipped-restaurant-workers-is-ending.html
:
“Advocates say the new law will assure a
living wage to working-class staffers, and address a legacy of racism, sexism,
and even “looksism,” the widely held (and statistically supported) view that
prettier waitresses get bigger tips. Opponents, led by the Illinois Restaurant
Association, argued that the proposal will cut restaurant profits in half and
cut the effective income of tipped workers”
—
https://www.npr.org/2021/03/20/977958521/so-how-should-your-favorite-restaurant-pay-its-servers-well-its-complicated
:
“The
tipped wage structure is a relic of the Jim Crow era, when businesses looked
for ways to avoid paying a full wage to African Americans and women.”
“People of
color and women today make up a huge chunk of the tipped workforce, and
discrimination and sexism persist, affecting servers such as Melton.”
