I don't see how logistically a tip credit would work. Either you just assume folks are making a certain amount in tips leaving some folks, leaving those that aren't to still earn an wage lower than non-tipped employees, or you try to determine actual tips for each employee. With cash tipping I don't see how that will work. Are you going to hire another person just to police tipping? It will just encourage employees to hid tips further and set employees and employers against each other.

I have a really hard time believing a female server wrote this. Come on Stranger, if you are going to print an anonymous piece by a "female waitstaff" you can at least find us one anonymous server against tip credit. Unless her ex is rich, this "woman" makes being a single mom waitstaffer sound positively idyllic. Not buying it.

Is the Stranger just going to keep printing personal anecdotes from the pro-business side or is it ever going to dive into studies and data on raising the minimum wage? I know it's tough when your advertisers pull out or threaten to pull out, but there's no need to tilt the scales completely the other way. Bring back Goldy!

Data from Saru's op-ed. Yay! Now where is the anti-15, pro-tip credit data? "In Washington, tipped workers are not that much better off—as recently as 2012, tipped workers (servers, baristas, busers, hairstylists, etc.) reported that their median wage is about $9.50 including tips, and employers report that it is about $11; it is likely somewhere in between. (Those statewide numbers are based on the occupational employment statistics gathered by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.)"

To anonymous author: just because your personal experience doesn't match the data does not mean the data is necessarily wrong. It could also mean that you're an outlier.

@frozenfrog- Absolutely. Big business is not only hiding behind small biz in their attacks, they are using the high end (more white, more male) servers to make the majority of tipped workers that would see a significant increase in their take home pay invisible.

Tip penalty also penalizes cheaper places over high end expensive joints. Your server at a Pho place isn't making $35/hr in tips. So Dave Meinert would see potentially zero dollars in increased labor costs and have even more of an advantage over less expensive places.

I am a tipped female server at a restaurant who is for total compensation.
I also have many single mother friends as well as dads who choose to become servers/bartenders due to the availability and income it brings to there lives. This story is not a idyllic description of a seattle servers life, its life.
Last year I made $71,000. And you know how I did that? Working. Working hard and long hours doing something I love. Creating relationships and also creating a dining experience where the customer wanted to leave me a good tip. To suggest that seattle servers, especially women are living in poverty and fear of the next sexual harassment we may have to deal with is offensive and disgusting.
I can handle myself, as well as the ladies I know.
Does there need to be a raise in minimum wage fazed in? yes I think we all can agree it does.
Is it fair that I will lose half my income to make that happen?
If tips are removed as so many feel is the best way to make this equal and fair I will be losing more then half my income.
I worked hard to be where I am at, and to have the skill set to make the money I do.

I've known the author for several years, having met her as a server and quickly becoming friends with her. I've known her and her children (two great kids) during difficult times.

Any bias of her personal experience is based upon her being one of the hardest working people I have ever known and one of the best servers I have ever had.

This is not the first time I have heard this view. I have a coworker who told me that he made better money tending bar than he did in his second year as a mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry.

How do they even get people to work these underpaid jobs?
These hospitality jobs are the worst paid jobs, in businesses mostly run by pricks.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_42644…

I actually personally know the author of this article. And I can guarantee you she is very real and very experienced in the industry. I am also a female bartender. And I work blocks from her current place of employment on Capitol Hill. I agree whole heartedly with her view on all of this. I do NOT support the minimum wage increase. I work at a very small bar and it WILL NOT be able to afford to stay open if they have to pay us a 15 dollar an hour wage. The bars that can afford to stay open WILL increase prices substantially in an attempt to keep it's doors open. I personally don't want to have to pay 12-15 dollars for a bottom end drink when I go out. This will crush small businesses and make large companies or corporations the only people who can afford to run a restaurant or bar in this area. And as far as "the author" being an outlier, she is not. Most of us bartenders up here do NOT support the increase.

The Stranger is acting as a shill for the local restaurant owners and their interests in maintaining ultra low wage workers.

Hi, I'm the author of this piece. @2: if you don't believe I'm a real, send your info to Christopher Frizzelle and I will meet you in person at a public place. @ Frozenfrog: you have no idea how the restaurant world works. 3 is totally correct in stating most tips are done via credit cards, which are tracked by the computer system, which are then reported to the IRS and taxed appropriately.

I think we all want a livable wage for everyone. But the question is how do you implement that livable wage in a way that is sustainable and keeping the big picture in mind? No one is advocating for menial wages a la Florida. And Saru, where are these 300 Applebees you speak of? There is one iHop on Madison...

As restaurant staff, we want to keep our restaurants in business because 1.) they are our employers; 2.) we want our friends to be able to keep their jobs; and 3.) folks should have accessibility to restaurants and bars of their choice.

And finally, we don't want your shitty Yelp reviews because we aren't adequately staffed to provide you good service.

Oh. And I'm a single mom. And work this job, because it is incredibly flexible and the money I make is incredible for the hours I work. I work hard for my money. But I also, do not have to miss out on the lives of my kids. This is not some glittered up version of reality. My kids and I do not live in poverty. We actually live quite comfortably. And we do it without support from the government and unfortunately without support from a deadbeat dad.

First off, thank you for providing a first hand account of your experience... but please remember, this is just YOUR EXPERIENCE. So, while your personal story may not jive with the statistical facts behind the push to increase the minimum wage, that is not a valid argument to refute those facts. Those facts tell us that the experience of most women in tip reliant positions include high levels of sexual harassment and wage theft. Also, you represent a small minority of individuals who "might" be negatively effected by an increase in the minimum wage, since something like 80% of the people in Seattle currently making a base minimum wage are working for the likes of McDonald's, not for small/local/neighborhood businesses, and probably aren't able to supplement their base wage with tips to the same extent. Especially since your unfounded argument that people will suddenly and dramatically change their tipping habits because they are aware that their server is making slightly more than poverty-wages is more then debatable... it's just plain moronic. That's not to diminish the importance of that minority group... but why shouldn't we try to maximize the good?

@ 16 I am a server, not a bartender. 14 is a bartender. @Machiavelli, The Stranger is trying to report on both sides of the issues so readers can utilize their own critical thinking abilities to sus out the issues regarding what exactly a $15 minimum wage will entail.

This is how $15 an hour without tips works out:
$15 x 40 (but no one is going to get close to 40 hours a week at a minimum wage job anymore because of fear of overtime) = $31,200 less taxes ($895 for a single person + 15%) = $25,625 ***BUT*** most folks are most likely going to only be scheduled 30 hours a week or less. As $15/hr minimum wage workers most “full-time” employees willl make about $18,000 year BUT MOST WILL MAKE LESS because if budgetary concerns regarding overtime. If someone is in a lease or has a mortgage to pay based on their current earnings, they will get a slap in the face when they find they won’t be able to pay for basic housing in Seattle on $18,000 year - not to mention buying groceries or paying other bills. This defeats the whole purpose of providing a “living wage.”

Tell me, how does it make sense to take an entire group of people making significantly more than $18-25K and reducing them to poverty level? Saru and Sawant, I will happily show you all of my W2s.

Let's do a tally of all the restaurants and bars in SEATTLE. I can assure you, my experience is not representative of a small minority. I know quite a few people in the restaurant industry with families.

I love the anonymous sock puppetry and accounts created in the last couple hours piling on. Good job guys, totally doesn't look like astroturfing.

Take your concern trolling elsewhere.

I completely agree with this post. The only reason I know the person who posted this is from the service industry helping us cross paths. I enjoy being waited on by her every time I come in after I get off work and she provides a very valuable service that I feel a raised minimum wage will destroy. I bartend and do not want my employer to have to raise my wages to $15 an hour either. I love my job and the money I make at the job I have.

If the minimum wage is raised to $15 an hour, I know many friends that will either lose there jobs or lose there businesses. I don't want this to become a reality.

@21 and 22... First off, there has never been mention by $15Now or anyone else advocating for the $15 minimum that it come with a ban on tipping. That is a scare tactic that restaurant owners (large and small) are using to convince you that a higher minimum wage will be bad for you. Honestly, your tips aren't going anywhere, and likely, any loss from the types of a-holes who might stop tipping because of the higher minimum will probably be more than made up for by the additional real gains from those people who tip a percentage out of pure habit and social normativity (which includes most consumers) because prices will go up, thus tips will increase... because of math. Also, your experience may be representative of a majority the people who work (and collects tips) in restaurants or bars in Seattle... but that is NOT the experience of most people who make minimum-wage in Seattle! That is the point. Raising the minimum wage "might" (but won't) negatively effect you and people like you, but it would have a DRAMATICALLY positive effect on the MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY MAKE MINIMUM WAGE!

Writing an anonymous article and then having friends pile on comments praising the anonymous person's moral integrity is not an effective form of debate. Again, anecdotes are not data. You can't just say "the sky is going to fall down!" You have to be able to say "place X did this same thing and the sky fell down!"

Leaving the whole lack of economic understanding aside, the author only asked her friends to come on here to say that she was a real person living the life she described. We did that and added personal experiences about her.

As far as $15 minimum wage dramatically helping people making minimum wage, that is debatable and remains to be seen. Generally an economy will adjust itself to the point that the people making minimum wage end up with the same buying power/quality of life that they had before the increase of the wage. This increase of over 50% will likely end up severely lowering the buying power/quality of life of everybody currently making $15-25/hr. Easy enough to see why: These people won't get a raise and the products they buy and the rent they pay will rise.

Seriously, who takes economic advice from a socialist? That is like asking a vegan which brand of bacon is best.

@29 Right, because a Ph.D. in economics knows nothing about the economy. That's like saying Marx had no insights into capitalism because he was a socialist. Just because she prefers a different economic model doesn't mean she doesn't understand capitalist economics.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/m…

FYI..Minimum Wage promotes racism--> Dont Believe it!! Cause you wont..But it actually favors White Males over Minorities or low skilled... So prepare for MCD's to start hiring the white guy who leaves his job as an Assistant Manager at QFC(making $13 per hour) for the job that just got vacated by the Minority Mom who travels in from Everett.

@31 Do you have any evidence for that claim?

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/walter-e-wi…

I posted the same comment on another thread, but it bears repeating here:

I am a tipped employee and have been for the past 14 years. This is my career, not a "job." I work hard and I get paid very well. Over the past 14 years, I have averaged $28/hr. I am not someone who needs saving with an increase to minimum wage.

There are some fears over people tipping less due to a raise in the minimum wage without including a tip credit. But bigger fear comes from what businesses have to do to adapt to such a large minimum wage increase. Most restaurants and bars try to operate with a 5-8% net profit, if you built a business that makes more, good for you, but many fall short of this goal. Labor is a restaurant/bar's biggest expense, and without making large changes to the operations of a business, nearly all of them would close.

So what are the possible changes? A price increase is inevitable, likely 20%. Another possibility is that the business has a service charge added to every bill instead of a tip. The business can then use that service charge to supplement the increase in payroll, with leaving some left over as a tip. This effectively cuts our tip pool from 20% down to likely 10%. We care about the businesses we work for and don't want them to have to close, or make drastic changes that would end up slashing our pay by more than 25%

I'm all for an increase in minimum wage, but without considering total compensation, it's a threat to my entire industry.

The source doesn't provide any evidence. It just says that his book finds that the minimum wage somehow hurt black teenagers. Not having read the book, it's hard to take the claim at face value. Sounds like if he had his way there would be no minimum wage.

Here's some evidence for the other side of that claim, that increasing the minimum wage disproportionately helps workers of color:
"In his prospective study of Santa Fe’s 2004
minimum wage law, Pollin (2004) similarly found that the increase would benefit...especially workers of color."
"Researchers consistently find that the affected workers are largely...people of color."
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/opinionnw/…

What did the data show for uenmployment levels for minorities before and after mw increase in sante fe

@34... If your employer told you that he would pocket a service charge to cover his increased labor costs, reducing your share of gratuity applied to the bill, then you had better double check your loyalties because that's just not legal in the state of Washington.

Also, the one thing you fail to acknowledge is that not all employees making minimum wage in Seattle also make tips. In fact, relatively few of them do. So, while it's all well and good that you are doing fine and dandy with the current system... that system is not working for most people making the same base wage.

Plus, your industry in Seattle is vibrant and diverse DESPITE one of the highest minimum wages in the country. It will continue to be vibrant and diverse, because that is what those of us who already make enough to enjoy it value. We will continue to value that even when we know that our server or bartender is making $15/hr. It will continue to be vibrant even if we have to pay a bit more to enjoy it. It will continue to be vibrant when some fraction more people who work in Seattle can suddenly afford to actually enjoy it as well.

Anonymous?

Yeah, not buying it

Flat $15 with zero exemptions

If you want to bargain, we can make it $16

@36 There was no increase in unemployment across the board. Not sure if they have race specific measures.
"Overall, this analysis found that the living wage analysis had no discernible impact on employment per firm, and that Santa Fe actually did better than Albuquerque in terms of employment changes."

@37 this entire article is about including a tip credit with a minimum wage increase, what we're discussing is entirely related to tipped employees.

Look Frozen. For this point I am not disputing Unemployment as a whole. White gets Black guy job= 0% change in Unemployment. But now Black Male Unemployment goes up by %..Get it!!

So that data would be important as that is the salient point I am making.

I just talked to the author of this article. I am a bartender and server who has worked my whole life in this industry. I agree with her whole heartedly. This has the potential to destroy me financially. Keeping the minimum wage for bartenders and severs around 10$ hr +tips with increases coinciding with minimum wage increases seems fair and just to me.

Bs on this article too. Tips are classist because their based on the bill amount. This isn't hard to see. Also I doubt your job allows you to leave on a moments notice, they do need someone covering that shift.

Also why is it ok for your cooks to make 9.5 an hour?

Hi, I'm the author of this piece.
I am sure you can verify my identity by calling my parole officer, at the regional Justice Center @206-890-2361. I'm out on work release pending sentencing for fraud and embezzlement, I'm trying to turn my life around and so far my sobriety is holding, but the bar tending is a real challenge (so you know I am a really good person trying hard to do the right thing, so you should defiantly believe me). Can I borrow $1,000 bucks until payday? An old friend in in town". No that is NOT heroin in my purse, why are you looking in there anyway?
The Stranger paid me some really great cash to write the piece. did you fall for it?... oh wait I don't think they wanted me to say that, crap I already push the publish button.

There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding as to what the point of tipped workers speaking up is about. We aren't saying that the minimum wage shouldn't be raised. We are simply saying there should be total compensation. Tips are recognized by both the IRS and the state of Washington as wages, that is why we are being taxed on them. So why would they not be considered in this issue? Having worked in the industry for about 10 years I know a lot of service industry people and I don't know a single one that makes less than $15/hr with tips included. It feels like we are painted as victims when we aren't victims. There are a lot of people even just in these comments who are speaking for us even though we are on here saying that we are doing just fine, better than fine for most. We don't need to be spoken for, if we felt we didn't make enough money we would say so for ourselves.

Another issue I keep reading in the comments is people seem to think we don't want the minimum wage raised. This is incorrect. Everyone I have talked to is all for the minimum wage being raised. We want our cooks and retail workers, and fast food workers, etc, to make more money. All we want is for our tips to be recognized and left alone.

Also it would be super easy to make sure tipped employees got at least $15/hr with total compensation. My paycheck shows my hours worked. If my Gross divided by my hours doesn't equal 15 then my employer would just cover what would be needed to get me to $15/hr. We don't want the hourly rate to go down, just keep it where it is, let our tips count towards our wages and if those combined don't average out to $15/hr my employer will cover the rest. And yes you can easily have someone enforce this, other cities(like SF) have people who audit and enforce wage laws.

@46 Well put!!!

The problem is the arguments against a tip credit are also very valid arguments against tipping. If you believe tipping is sexist/racist/classist (it is), then it's hard to make an argument for the tip credit, but it's also hard to make an argument for tipping in general.

The one good thing about a tip credit is its one way to increase the wages of the back of the house so they are more fair when compared to the wages of the front of the house.

@49 I cant speak for everyone in my industry, but the women I work with have all expressed that they were offended when they heard tipping was being called sexist. For them calling tipping sexist took away from what they would call good service. It is basically saying that they aren't getting good tips because of the great service they provide, but instead are getting good tips because they are women. I'm not saying that there aren't any women out there getting tipped only because of their gender and how they act/dress, but I know at the very least that at the establishment I work women are respected and if any guest were to sexually harass them, that guest would be gone, and I would hope in 2014 we aren't the only restaurant out there that does this. I know it would be better from their mouths and not mine(being male) but since they probably aren't reading this, I thought I would at least share the thoughts they shared with me.

Once again, 15Now supporters attack a worker for having the audacity for disagreeing with the Sawant regime. Some "pro-worker" people you are.

As for "anecdotal stories" here is the Department of Labor showing average income for restaurant Servers in the state of Washington. Keep two things in mind:
First, this is the whole state, not Seattle. Servers in Seattle obviously make more than servers in Yakima and less affluent areas bring this average down. Second, servers often don't declare their cash tips, so that doesn't get tracked.
The median hourly rate for Washington State servers is 13.43/hour or 27,900 a year. Seattle is, of course, more than that but I couldn't find data on Seattle alone. Source: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes353031…

So there. No anecdotal evidence, just raw data gathered by an impartial source (the Department of Labor)

But now watch: the Red Shirts will ignore the facts as they always do an resort to name calling. That is why they will ultimately lose.

@45

I am usually against name calling, but I have to say this: YOU'RE A FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT ASSHOLE AND I HOPE YOU EAT SHIT AND CHOKE ON THE CORN YOU FIND ON THE INSIDE. YOU SHOULD BE THROWN IN A LITTLE FUCKING ROOM AND FED ONLY THE MAGGOTS THAT CRAWL OUT OF YOUR MOTHER'S DIRTY CUNT.

Honestly, FUCK YOU. This person is a single mother and an immigrant and I see no reason not to believe her and you shouldn't be making fun of her. But I, on the other hand, have every right to mock you and your fleshlight. This is not the place to take out your anger and confusion about enjoying being ass raped by your father when you were six years old.

Just die. You are wasting precious oxygen.

Quoted:
posted by DOMINIC HOLDEN on WED, APR 9, 2014

"Discrimination—especially in the form of sexual harassment—is exacerbated when workers rely on tips for the majority of their income. Female servers must put up with whatever a customer might do to them, because the customer provides their income. In fact, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission targets the restaurant industry as the single largest source of all sexual harassment charges. While 7 percent of American women work in restaurants, 37 percent of all sexual harassment charges filed with the EEOC come from restaurant workers. Gender pay inequity is actually the highest in states with a tip penalty.

And because women constitute the majority of folks living off tips, when tipped workers get left out of a minimum-wage increase, it's women—many of whom are mothers—who get left out.

Of course, there are servers out there who make great money living off tips. However, the overwhelming majority of servers living in states with a tip penalty simply don't."

This piece by "anonymous" looks like one of David Meinert's scare tactics penned to his liking by a complaint friend or worker. I assume that these tales of Restaurant bliss are all orchestrated by him. He has directed a disinformation campaign to promote his own interests, not minimum wage workers.

http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives…

It's funny, the people this will effect the most are for this. I have yet to see one person that can honestly say, "I'm a server in downtown Seattle that thinks this is stupid." All the people that I know that serve in Seattle have no problem with total compensation. The people are saying this is bad are quoting others from data they've gotten from other people. Next time you go out to eat downtown, actually ask the people what they think. Why are we trying to force something onto people that to me don't look like they want it.

Number 5 you clearly do not work in the restaurant industry or know anything about it . I who have been in the industry for years never made that little. I make 15-50 before my minimum and many of my friends and other establishments have the same numbers. We are not just pumping out random inflated numbers. I'd be more than happy to show people my pay stubs just so they can really see what we are making. I am a women I make tips I make a wonderful living, I am not a victim and I do not appreciate all these people speaking for me and even more once I do not agree with them they are against me and are threatening to destroy the industry I work in. This is not some propaganda my bosses are feeding me. I read the comments here I see how people would tip less or want to get rid of tipping all together. And furthermore saying that tips are sexist is ignorant and offensives. Are you saying I'm only tipped because I'm a female? Because I am damn good at my job and you just dumbed me down and made my worth very low.

You have to realize that a prime factor in the 15NOW campaign is that people should be paid the same regardless of their ability or performance. The very concept of tipping is abhorrent to a socialist because it is a means of compensation based entirely on merit rather than "fairness".

Realize now that this entire movement is driven by people who couldn't earn a tip if they tried (and they won't try).

Also if you think that women are more likely to put up with shit because of a tip they are working for then push for some sort of training to help women handle these situations. Personally if anyone male or female insults me, threatens me or harasses me they are done and they are leaving. Where I work we do not put up with that at all. I hate how women are being painted as this helpless victims. Why don't you come and speak to us and educate yourself before making a bunch of ignorant claims.

@58

I've been working in the restaurant biz for years, and I've NEVER seen a restaurant that tolerates sexual harassment from customers. I am a man who was harasses once by a male employee because of my sexual orientation, I told a manager, and it was taken care of. If a woman is harassed by guests she should tell the manager and if he or she doesn't do anything they should go to the owner or regional manager and if that doesn't work, file a complaint.

At the places I work, if there is an issue like this, they would tell the customer to cool it or GTFO...they may sugar coat it, but that's the gist of it.

Women in the restaurant industry are no more sexually harassed than in any other customer service job.

Employer discovers one cool trick to subsidize labor costs click here

@ 52 - THANK YOU!

@53 - I used MY OWN BRAIN and formulated these thoughts and opinions because the I don't want my friends and fellow restaurant folks to lose their jobs and businesses. This is my contribution of my own express opinion of my own free will. Sawant and Saru should make a public statement and put out a press release that explicitly stating without question, "Keep your tips AND raise minimimum wage to $15/hr" if that is what they mean. Unfortunately, everything I've read and seen from Sawant supports an anti-tipping position.

As far as sexual harassment, one could argue just having a pulse and walking down the street or being out in public may invite the some form of harassment, or worse - attack. That is a cultural problem, not a tipping in restaurants problem because everyone I know, gender aside, would kick out the person who is behaving in an inappropriate way that is uncomfortable. And I have not experienced sexual harassment from my co-workers but I know if I did, my GM and restaurant owners would simply not tolerate it. At least my restaurant environment offers support and have my back should I ever encounter a situation that would make me feel sexually harassed or otherwise.

Come on now everybody, Anonymous is a real intern at the National Restaurant Association and she has feelings too. Secretly she wishes she was getting paid $15 an hour instead of nothing so go easy on her guys.

All you pro15 now people keep talking about big business and how they are hiding behind the little man. Well I think you are hiding behind the big business argument. You say that’s who you are attacking, but when you speak it’s as if it’s on a national level, but it’s not. It’s ONE CITY. While I agree minimum wage should go up, when you target a city like Seattle where in fact we have very few big businesses (6 McDonald’s in Seattle) you aren't going to impact those businesses. You will destroy all of the little businesses. McDonald’s will raise their prices in the 6 Seattle restaurants and laugh as they rake in the money from all of their other locations across the country (of which there are 33,000).
There are also 3 burger kings.
3 Wendys.
1 Dennys.
2 Red Robins.
3 Taco Bells.
Upwards of 45 Subways (which is a lot!).
3 Quiznos.
3 Chipotles.
424 Starbucks in Seattle.
Now, that's 493 "restaurants" in Seattle that we want to pay $15/hour. Let's just round it to 500. I know there are probably some chains I forgot, but none will be as large a number as Starbucks (which despite its size did start here so it's hard for me to hate them entirely).
Ok, so my goal, list AT LEAST 500 restaurants in Seattle that will be effected by raising to $15/hour. And I strongly believe that despite everyone trying to paint them as greedy business owners, they believe their employees are worth $15/hour. However, they opened these businesses under an entirely different model. And to have such a huge wage increase would either crush them entirely, or force them to cut hours (most likely firing part-time employees).

http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/vid…

Please jump to 84:00 in this video to hear a story that isn't as uncommon as you may want to delude yourself into thinking it is. Many business owners aren't as bad off as this woman’s mother, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't suffer greatly. You can also keep watching to see Sawant soapbox the public out of their assigned time to speak. She claimed she wanted to hear from those immigrant workers she fights to help, and let me tell you as someone who was there, there were many in the crowd waiting to speak. Whichever side you are on, they didn't get their chance to be heard because the woman wouldn't stop talking.
Ok, now 500 restaurants that would most likely be negatively effected (not to mention small businesses such as Elliott Bay bookstore, but let us stick to restaurants first).

Sutra, Altura, Tat’s Deli, Bakery Nouveau, Armandino’s Salumi, Paseo, Pike Place Chowder, Book Bindery, Spinasse, Dahlia Bakery, Toulouse Petit, Rock Creek, Le Panier, Metropolitan Grill, Canlis, Tulio Ristorante, Macrina Bakery, The Pink Door, Gelatiamo, Lola, Spur, Salvatore, Crumpet Shop, Serious Pie, Andaluca, Piroshky Piroshky, Matt’s in the Market, Tilikum Place Cafe, Walrus & the Carpenter, Staple & Fancy, Brooklyn Seafood, Umi, Vivace, Molly Moon’s, Canon, List, Blueacre, Top-pot doughnuts, La Carta de Oaxaca, Lloyd Martin, Portage Bay Cafe, The Chocolate Box, El Gaucho, Sky City, Bacco, Zig-Zag Cafe, Chan, Branzino, Wild Ginger, Cafe ABoDegas, Japonessa, Radiator Whiskey, Shiro’s, Petra Mediterranean Bistro, MOD Pizza, Palisade, Fran’s Chocolate, Joule, Shucker’s, Palace Kitchen, Mighty O Doughnuts, Szamania’s FareStart, Blackboard Bistro, Indo Cafe, A La Bonne Franquette, Cactus, Le Pichet, Mashiko, Purple Cafe, Bizzaro, Lecosho, Fogon Cocina Mexicana, La Isla, The Georgian, Poppy, Salty’s Seafood, Etta’s, Six Seven, Delancey, Nishino, Jazz Alley, Chandler’s, Elliott’s Oyster House, Nell’s, Cafe Besalu, Long Provincial, Ray’s Boathouse, Terra Plata, Wasabi Bistro, Oliver’s, Duke’s Chowder House, Three Girls Bakery, Zeek’s Pizza, Cafe Flora, Assaggio Ristorante, Cutter’s Crabhouse, CJ’s Eatery, Chinook’s Rover’s, Caffe Senso Unico
Phew, 100
The Confectional, Seattle Coffee Works, Glo’s, Capital Grille Seattle, 8 oz.Burger Bar, Sitka & Spruce, Taylor Shellfish, Judy Fu’s Snappy Dragon, Rocco’s, Il Terrazzo Carmine, Cafe Campagne, Skillet Diner, Uli’s, Athina, Daniel’s Broiler, Steelhead, Revel, Il Bistro, Hot Cakes, Rachel’s Ginger Beer, Pestle Rock, Tutta Bella, El Borracho, Kastoori Grill, Art of the Table, Planet Java, Bottega Italiana, Quinn’s Pub, Il Corvo, Bahn Thai, Tango, Serafina, Mashawi, Cafe Bengodi, Tilth, Machiavelli, Cafe Paloma, MKT, Triple Door, RN74, Buddha Ruksa, Bambino’s, Yard House, Virginia Inn, Veraci Pizza, Red Mill Burgers, Tamarind Tree, Restaurant Zoe, Blind Pig Bistro, Maximilien, Biscuit Bitch, Anthony’s, Kingfin Cafe, 5 Spot, AQUA, Dragonfish, Pike Pub & Brewery, Harvest Vine, Plaza Garibaldi, Ten Sushi, Tanglewood, Cinnamon Works, Maneki, Julia’s, Queen City Grill, The Rock, Husky Deli, Kabul, Citizen, Boka, Boat Street Cafe, Honey Hole, Pecos Pit BBQ, B&O Espresso, Serious Biscuit, Green Leaf, Voula’s Offshore Cafe, Poquitos, Market Grill, Ponti Seafood, Sand Point, Barolo, Cherry Street Coffee, Sunfish Seafood, I Love Sushi, The Crab Pot, Belle Epicurean, Pegasus Pizza, Pear Delicatessen, Monsoon, Mistral, D’Ambrosio Gelato, Some Random Bar, Thai Tom, Oddfellows Cafe, Manhattan, Jhan Jay, Grand Central Bakery, Shanik, Place Pigalle
200!
Mamnoon, Sazerac, Seatown, Northlake Tavern, Pho Viet Anh, Caffe Ladro, The Lucky Diner, Anna Purna Cafe, Bang Bang Cafe, Harbor City BBQ, Tavern Law, Jamjuree, La Fontana Siciliana, Plum Vegetarian Bistro, Thrive, Zeitgeist, Daily Grill, Piatti, Blue Water, Lakeside Bistro, Barrio, Oriental Mart, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, Plaka Estiatorio, Pomodoro, Peso’s, Geraldine’s Counter, The Wandering Goose, Razzi’s Pizza, Le Reve Bakery, Sweet Iron Waffles, Rom Mai Thai, Five Hooks, Mamma Melina, Cafe Turko, Phuket, Taphouse Grill, Nijo, Raha, Red Fin, Il Fornaio, Momiji, 74th Street Ale House, Lo Priore, Root Table, Americana, Thoa’s, Fonte Cafem BedlamCoffee, Calozzi’s, Cupcake Royale, The Ram, Palomino, Delicatus, Martin’s, Stoneburner, Crepe de France, Ristorante Doria, St. Dame’s, Icon Grill, Ten Mercer, Caffe Umbria, Roy Street Coffee & Tea, Luc, Jak’s Grill, Trophy Cupcakes, Pagliacci, Village Sushi, Picolino’s, Local 360, Coastal Kitchen, Chaco canyon, Capitol Grill, Jack’s Fish Spot, Caffe D’Arte, Athenian Inn, Pie Bar, Beth’s Cafe, Harissa, Kokoar’s Greek, Fireside Room, La Rustica, Norm’s, ‘Ohana, Rock Bottom, Jewel Box, El Chupacabra, Grill from Ipanema, Ma’ono, La Vita E’Bella, Cedars, Von Trapps, The Matador, JUNO, The Beer Junction, Tavolata, Capitol Cider, Far Eats, The Fat Hen, Teatro Zinzanni
300
Brouwer’s, Zaina, Bar del Corso, Lil’ Woody’s, Pintxo, Pike Street Fish Fry, Volunteer Park Cafe, Tsukushinbo, La Medusa, Saigon Boat, Old School Frozen Custard, Crush, Lunchbox Laboratory, Sushi Kanpai, Bar Cotto, Stumbling Goat, La Bete, Via Tribunali, Cyber Dogs, Golden Beetle, Perche No Pasta & Vino, Salmon Cooker, Lark, Laredos, Brave Horse, Spitfire, Senor Moose, Cuoco, Sarajevo Lounge, Mama’s Mexican Kitchen, Brasserie Margaux, Mali Thai Cuisine, Pizzeria Pulcinella, Five Point Cafe, La Spiga, Ballard Annex, The Owl ’N Thistle, La Creperie Voila, Storyville Coffee Co., Mee Sum Pastry, The Masonry, Cloud City Cafe, Ocho, Elysian Brewing Company, Jimmy’s, Mecca Cafe, Fado, The Coterie Room, Fumaca, Falafel King, Spud, Cafe Munir, Dulces, Dilettante, La Buona Tavola, Fiddlehead, Buca di Beppo, Fuji Bakery, Island Soul, Hi-Life, Diane’s Market Kitchen, Buckley’s, Bengal Tiger, Kukuruza Popcorn, Marjorie, 13 coins, Bastille, Cantinetta, Uneeda Burger, Kells, Von’s Grand City Cafe, Rancho Bravi, Morton’s, Trace Seattle, Heidelberg Haus, El Camion, Cow Chips, Elliot’s, Oilve & Grape, Agua Verde, Rosita’s, Liberty Bar, The Innkeeper, Araya’s Vegetarian Place, Macleods, Endolyne Joe’s, Columbia City Bakery, Hilltop Ale House, Cafe Piccolo, Alibi Room, Madhu, The Lost Pelican, Queen Mary Tea, Eltana, Trabant,
400, almost there!!!
Six Arms, Pam’s Kitchen, Simply Desserts, Olivar, Grinders, Alki Beach Bistro, Miro Tea, Jai Thai, Fainting Goat Gelato, Vons 1000 Spirits, Ba Bar, Pho Big Bowl, Tutta Bella, Contour, TASTE, The Burgundian, Bai Pai, Ferry Noodle House, Flying Fish, Caffe Vita, Rione XIII, How to Cook a Wolf, Thai Curry Simple, Kauai’s Family Restaurant, Marrakesh, Carmelita, Marination Ma Kai, Ezell’s Famous Chicken, Sam’s Sushi, Outlander, Bakeman’s, Aoki, The Wurst Place, Roxy’s Diner, Anchovies & Olives, Chaiyo, The Pine Box, Pies & Pints, Vito’s Portalis, Mr. Gyro’s, Smarty Pants, The Hurricane Cafe, Basil’s Kitchen, Miller’s Guild, Loulay, Tandoori Hut, Linda’s, India Bistro, Pyramid Ale House, La Cocina Oaxaquena, Cafe Presse, Yanni’s Cafe, Saley, The Chieftain, Mezcalaria Oaxaca, Four Spoons, Vino Volo, Victrola, Amanta, Mawadda Cafe, Collins Pub, Belltown Pizza, Potbelly, Stumptown Coffee, Bamboo Garden, El Gaucho, Caffe Lieto, Whale Wins, Betty, Hing Loon, Joey’s, Proletariat Pizza, Bar Sajor, Ephesus, Wild Mountain, Voltera, Eva, Bauhaus, Schultzy’s, Black Bottle, Mercela’s, Cyclops, Elephant & Castle, Lost Lake, The Other Coast, Wayward, Ballet, Kylie’s Pizza, Loving Hut, Oskar’s Kitchen, Bitterroot, Kickin’ Boot, Chloe, Panos, Liam’s, Pho Cycle, The Tin Table, Luna Park Cafe, Zayda Buddy’s.
500! Here’s a few more just for safe measure in case I repeated any.
Mario’s, Moe Bar, Cha Cha, Bimbo’s, Grimm’s, Barca, Purr, Pony, Neighbours, R Place, Charlie’s, Macleods, The Gerald, King’s Smith Pub, The Spectator, The Ballroom, Cafe Fiore, Olaf’s, The Comet

You say these business owners are greedy, and are making so much money off their employees. If they truly are as greedy as you say, won’t servers and bartenders lose their jobs first as a result of 15now? Because all of those “greedy employers” will have to fire many employees. Or they will flat out close their doors and go to cities where tip credit is included in wages. But hey, that’s perfect for big businesses, they can swoop in and take all the vacant lots. 424 Starbucks? Could be more like 800 if this policy goes through.

I'm a server/bartender who makes a living off of it. I may be in the minority, but I feel that servers and bartenders are vastly overpaid.

I would be fine with doing away with tips and getting only $15/hr. It would give me some incentive to finally get out of this god forsaken industry.

Sincerely,
A guy who is keeping it real

@64
This is exactly the point. You want out if you aren't making the money you currently make. Another example of small businesses dying as a result.

@ 64 - get out then - no one is stopping you but yourself. The rest of us want our jobs, for many of whom, it's a career.

@ 63 - thank you!

@50, @57, @Author: If you want to have a discussion about tipping, let's start here:

Background.

Tip variation for service is 2%

A restaurateur ran a Tipless Restaurant

On the dangers of a tip credit

So claiming that tips are sexist is not some slander that we came up with to denigrate your work. It is an objectively researched issue with published reports about it. When people argue against a tip credit, they aren't just trying to cost you money. Many of us will probably not tip as much less as you are gaining from the minimum wage increase.

Ultimately, people keep talking about tips as a method of feedback for service, but service ratings correspond to TWO PERCENT of variation in tips. The data doesn't back up the claim.

@63

While I agree with the principle of your argument it fails to account for one REALLY important factor. *MOST* of the "big businesses" that you describe are actually FRANCHISE business that are in fact small businesses as well. Sure, McDonalds is a huge company, but they don't actually pay the McDonalds employees in Seattle. Those employees mostly work for the small business people that own the franchise locations. It is those people that will actually bear the impact of a wage increase and any potential lost revenue.

The reality is that *most* retail businesses are small business, at least where the feet hit the ground, and are run by people that live in the same community as the customers and workers. The 15Now people are banking on the idea that no one will notice that they are simply anti-business without qualifiers. They quite literally want a world where everyone earns the exact same wage regardless of ability and no one gets rich, no matter how much smarter and harder working they may be.

@67

Just to be clear, is it the 15NOW position that tipping itself is *also* a problem that should be solved?

I think I understand now why 15NOW doesn't give a crap that servers don't support their position. They are on the list of people that make more money than you and are therefore the enemy too.

15now= Is now becoming 15atsomepoint..
Understand that these people are being organized by "LABOR UNIONS" who are paying them to perpetuate this so that the LABOR Unions reap the money in new UNION DUES.

The labor union is now trying to reposition this fight against big business(starbucks,MCD's) because they dont really benefit from non-unionized small business & ma/pa stores. Unfortunately they are going to drag the Mom & Pop Stores to the brink.

Bravo and your @17 follow up. It is great to see everyone's fantastic posts and know you are engaging. You are grassroots and you are educating the public about your career. The general public is listening, keep it coming.

Service workers are hospitality industry professionals who have honed their craft.

“ . . . service is a mechanical function. It is about serving from the left, clearing from the right and not spilling wine on the table. Service is about timing; it is about serving hot food hot and cold food cold; it is about handling the credit card properly; it is all procedural. Taking care of business is important and your guests expect that you will do it efficiently and consistently.
Hospitality, on the other hand, is a human equation. It is personal. It is about me taking care of you . . . because it is YOU, not because you are one of the 75 people who will pass through my station tonight. You don't take care of 75 people anyway. You deal with one person at a time in 75 different scenarios. It is the quality of those individual interactions - the level of hospitality you provide - that determines whether I feel that you really cared about ME and my experience.
SERVERS: speaking as a guest, when you are just taking care of business effectively, I will usually give about the tip you expected because I got about what I expected. Taking care of business is worth 10-15%. However, when I get that you are taking care of ME, when you go beyond the normal parameters of your job to provide me with a delightful dining experience, I will leave you far more than you expect and I will be more anxious to return. Taking care of ME is worth 20-30% . . . or more!”

Read more: http://www.restaurantdoctor.com/articles…

Tipped workers in Seattle are not low wage workers. Tips are income.

I bet $1 that members of 15NOW are the worst tippers in the city...

@67,
Yeah, about that tipless restaurant.

http://thelinkery.com/blog/
thank you
The Linkery is now closed. Thank you for your years of patronage and joy.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Jul/…
Anecdotes abound about bad service at The Linkery--this writer can recall two mouth-dropping incidents there.

@67

And data and history also show that the minimum wage is racist:

http://amarillo.com/opinion/opinion-colu…

http://nypost.com/2013/09/17/why-racists…



http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/16/the-ra…

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10…

If you agree that tipping is sexist based on the data, than you also have to agree that minimum wage is racist, based on the data.

Wow, didn't realize that MW was that racist, but I can definitely see how that would move the unskilled labor out of work. After getting a 2 yr degree, I'm working in Everett for less than $15, I'd rather commute each day to Seattle for a job that pays $15 that doesn't require a degree. And since I'm skilled, I'd probably get the job over someone just trying to get the entry level job to get the experience. Maybe those people are going to have to find something outside of Seattle and commute for a lesser paying job. That's what happened in Seatac with their experiment, they were flooded with applications for a unskilled job from skilled people because they'd start at more than they were currently making.

It looks like this brave server also penned a sweet editorial for OneSeattle!

http://www.1seattle.org/employees-who-lo…

I live in Nevada- Las Vegas specifically. State law does not allow someone to make less than minimum hourly wage here, server or not. Yet people still tip extremely well to their servers regardless. Why? Because tipping is an ingrained part of the culture in this country and most people don't want to be thought of as tacky or rude- particularly in an establishment they may wish to visit again.

I don't think the author understands that a tip credit will actually decrease her overall income.
I support having a discussion about a tip credit, but if one is in place with a $15 minimum, servers who currently make $9 an hour plus tips could end up getting paid $0 from their employers if they make $15 an hour or more in tips, which if I'm not mistaken would bring this particular servers wage down to around $16+ an hour, if I'm correctly reading the inference that she makes more than $25 an hour.
I've never heard of any kitchen staff making anywhere near $25/hr apart from management(head chef and sous chef only), even with tip sharing. I've been a server for 12 years of my life and often made $20-$25/hr most the time, but I would not have worked as a server if there was a tip credit in place. The amount of energy expended for a six hour shift would not be worth the money.

The nationwide average for restaurant profit is 4%. Restaurant owners will have to pass on the wage increases (and additional payroll taxes) through higher menu prices unless they cut labor hours. The employees who used to make $12, $15, or even $20/hour are going to expect raises now too. This will impact every industry but since we're talking about restaurants, do you want serverless restaurants where you punch in your own order on an iPad and pick up your food at a window? That's what it'll come down to. Restaurants have such a slim profit margin that they'll just close down which will cause higher unemployment. Seriously, would you want to own a restaurant and all of the headaches that go with it when $1,000,000 in sales only pays you $40,000?

I didn't get a 60+% raise this year, did you? Eating at a restaurant at all will become classist because only rich people will be able to afford it with any regularity. My favorite Mexican restaurant won't see me every Friday night anymore -- it'll become once a month, if that. When people start making $15/hour, will they be able to afford $10 Happy Meals? $5 foot longs will become $8. Even grabbing a draft beer at Happy Hour will cost $6+. Will $15/hour employees be able to eat out? Come on people, do the math. Unless you're rich, people will eat out less often, which means restaurants will lose sales and eventually close down. How will $15/hour help all of those employees who lose their jobs?

A server received this note instead of a tip for a $200 tab:

http://i.imgur.com/08n2Lr6.jpg?utm_conte…

What a cheapo. Sometimes people are such jerks. I've never tipped anyone based on their sex, age, or appearance. Great service gets great tips. Period.