In 2012, the organization Fight for 15, composed of fast-food workers who walked off the job to demand a living wage and workers’ rights, formed in New York City. The federal minimum wage has stayed stagnant at $7.25 an hour since 2009, a rate that, adjusted for inflation, is “about 29 percent less per hour than [workers’] counterparts made 50 years ago.” And though some states have instituted higher minimums (and although $15 an hour is hardly a living wage either), momentum has grown, especially within the restaurant industry, for the implementation of higher wages and the elimination of tipped minimum wage. Now, “President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to boost the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, eliminate the tipped minimum wage and index minimum wage to the median hourly wage,” says CNBC. But in light of this, some restaurant owners are stoking fear among customers. Menu prices will have to go up to account for this, they say, which could mean you’ll no longer be able to afford your favorite meal, or the change will push restaurants out of business entirely.