Black restaurant servers were tipped less than others in retaliation for enforcing social distancing, report says Updated: February 6
Print article Black food service workers whose incomes largely derive from tips have earned less during the coronavirus pandemic than their White counterparts and are more likely to experience retaliation for enforcing social distancing and mask rules, according to a new report by One Fair Wage, a national worker-advocacy group. Black restaurant workers also fared worse on other measures amid a recession that has especially devastated communities of color, with Black unemployment reaching nearly 10%. They were more likely to contract covid-19 or know someone who died of the disease, and were less able to obtain unemployment insurance, the report said.
Black food service workers whose incomes largely derive from tips have earned less during the coronavirus pandemic than their White counterparts and are more likely to experience retaliation for enforcing social distancing and mask rules.
AP file
A grant program was unveiled Friday to help Chicago restaurants increase workers’ pay to minimum wage.
The program, High Road Kitchens, is run by the national nonprofit One Fair Wage in partnership with the city and offers grants of between $10,000 and $30,000. In return, a restaurant must agree to scale up their workers’ pay to $15 an hour by 2026.
Restaurants also have to commit to going through a race and gender equity training program and providing 500 free meals to the community.
The program is backed by $1 million from an unnamed donor. Grants will be distributed in $10,000 increments for every 500 free meals, with a maximum grant size of $30,000 per establishment, according to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office.
USA TODAY
The claim: Tipping became popular in the United States because restaurant owners didn t want to pay Black workers after the ratification of the 15th Amendment
Funding service industry wages through customer tips has long been the norm in the United States. The practice has a history tracing back to Europe and was codified in the United States in 1938 and 1966, after more acceptance largely from restaurant and railroad industries following the Civil War.
A Nov. 24 tweet from UberFacts said: Tipping became popular in the U.S., in part, because restaurant owners didn t want to pay black Americans after the ratification of the 15th Amendment. This way, owners could set a $0 wage for waiters and rely on voluntary tips from customers to pay them.