Tipped Worker Ballot Question Would Benefit Illegal Immigrants, Yes Side Says

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2024/10/29/ballot-question-5-illegal-immigrants/

Massachusetts Question 5 would be good for illegal immigrants, according to the organization leading the effort to make it law.

One Fair Wage, an organization that seeks to end the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers nationwide, led the effort to get Question 5 on the state’s general election ballot.

The organization told NewBostonPost via email that its proposal is good for illegal immigrants.

“Federal and state law requires any employees to be paid regardless of status once they’re hired, so once the minimum wage goes up for tipped workers, undocumented tipped workers will also get a raise,” One Fair Wage president Saru Jayaraman wrote. “Also, because tip sharing will be allowed as an option with back-of-house workers, undocumented back-of-house workers would also get a slight increase.”

Question 5 in Massachusetts this November asks voters if the state should raise its tipped minimum wage from $6.75 an hour to match the state’s minimum wage by 2029 (now $15 an hour). As it stands, if a tipped worker’s employer pay plus tips doesn’t add up to $15 an hour at the end of a shift, the employer must make up the difference, according to Mass.gov. Yet, the amount the employer must pay to make up the difference varies. In many cases, a tipped worker makes more than $15 an hour on his own.  

Plus, the ballot question would let restaurants administer tip pools that include all of the restaurant’s employees, including non-tipped workers. Current state law says restaurant tip pools in Massachusetts can only include workers such as waiters, and bartenders and service employees suxh as bussers and food runners. That means that managers, bouncers, cooks, dishwashers, and hostesses cannot legally be a part of these tip pools. 

As Jayaraman noted, however, back-of-house workers at many restaurants include illegal immigrants who don’t speak English well enough to interact with customers; 10 percent of restaurant workers nationally are illegal immigrants, according to The Washington Post, and they are primarily back-of-house workers.

Opponents of Question 5 express many concerns, including higher restaurant and bar prices for patrons, lower tips for workers, and restaurants going out of business.

The Massachusetts Republican Party recently articulated these arguments in opposition to the ballot measure.

“The MassGOP is voting no on Question 5 because it will hurt everyone involved in the restaurant industry,” the party’s stance on the issue says. “By eliminating the tipped minimum wage, restaurants will be forced to cover the full minimum wage for tipped workers, driving up their labor costs. As a result, restaurants will make less money, and many could be forced to close their doors. Waiters and bartenders, who rely on tips to earn a living, will end up making less, as the incentive to tip will decrease. Meanwhile, restaurant patrons will face higher prices to offset these increased costs. This proposal jeopardizes the very foundation of the service industry, where restaurants, employees, and customers lose. We urge voters to protect the industry and vote no on Question 5.”

A September 2024 MassINC poll found that voters are torn on this question; 43 percent said they plan to vote yes, while 40 percent said no, and 16 percent didn’t know or refused to say. The three-point difference between yes and no was within the poll’s 4.1 percent margin of error.

Voters are set to determine this ballot question on Tuesday, November 5.

 

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