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The Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce supports the MRA initiative!
Vote NO this November on "a Law Requiring the Full Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers with Tips on Top."
In Massachusetts, tipped employees and restaurants are drivers of our local economy. Currently, an out-of-state group of organizers from California has pushed a narrative about the tipped wage industry in Massachusetts that lacks empirical evidence and support from the very servers, bartenders, and other tipped employees they say they represent.
In fact, 86% of current tipped employees believe that the current tipping system works for them, and 90% believe that if tipping wages are eliminated, they will earn less. While it is clear that employees will suffer at the hand of this legislation if passed, restaurants are also incredibly vulnerable to financial burdens.
On average, it will cost restaurants $18,500 more per tipped employee annually. That is a nearly 225% increase in costs. For local businesses in Massachusetts, this increase in is a financial burden that will undoubtedly lead to closures and staffing cuts like we have seen in Washington D.C.. Since the implementation of their version of this legislation, over 10% of the workforce has already been laid off or faced closures in just over 9 months.
As a state that prides itself on economic development and diversity, this ballot question will only hurt our residents and provide substantial losses to the local economies that rely on meals and other taxes.
We hope that you will join us in opposing this ill-conceived ballot question. Please certify your opposition by using this form: https://www.protecttips.org/endorsement
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