At a Wednesday rally at the Javits Center in New York City, the Democratic presidential candidate came out against tipped wages, which force many service workers to rely on the whims of mercurial customers to eke out a living.
“It is time we end the so-called tipped minimum wage... We are the only industrialized country in the world that requires tipped workers to take their income in tips instead of wages.”
There are laws that require bosses to make up whatever workers don’t receive in tips, so that all workers theoretically take home at least a minimum wage. But many workers say these laws are ineffective, and that bosses either refuse to make up the difference or fire them altogether if they request it. Eliminating these laws and mandating that all workers, even in tipping industries, make a livable minimum wage would be a huge boost to millions of service workers.