Fighting For The Server Wage

July 10, 2010

A brief disclaimer: This is not a political blog. I am not looking to get into politics with it. I will only enter the political realm when it is specifically relevant to servers. This is one of those cases.

Tom Emmer is a State Representative in Minnesota and the presumable Republican Nominee for Governor. In an effort to showcase his pro-business credentials, he recently highlighted a need for restaurant owners to pay their servers less than minimum wage. This alone probably would not have merited a post on this blog. He followed it up by stating that he had talked to a restaurant owner who complained because of this wage he had some employees making over $100,000 a year. He said this was more than the owner earned. Therefore, the owners should make a tip credit for the tips their employees earn. He said that as he traveled around the state that people on “Main Street” knew what he was talking about.

I grew up on Main Street in Gladstone, MO. I have also been both a waiter and a manager in states with and without tips credits. I can assure you I have no idea what he is talking about. So I decided to do a little research. All of the data I will cite comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2009 report on waiters and waitresses. A few quick searches revealed that the annual median wage for a server in Minnesota is $19,220. The 90^th percentile earns $36,240 per year. So either Emmer went to the most lucrative bar and grill in the state of MN to speak to the owner or he is lying. We don’t have to guess the answer because the owner has made it clear that he said no such thing.

Read the full post at Tips For Improving Your Tips

The Bitchy Waiter
Jul 10, 2010 @ 14:37:20

love it.

yellowcat
Jul 11, 2010 @ 14:58:55

I hear this crap all the time: “You servers make too much money,” “You servers make more money than the managers do,”. Yes we do, but only when business is good.

I get paid $2.50 an hour plus tips. In the summer I make $20-30 an hour not counting my wage since that is used to pay my taxes. All of the people complaining could be servers too, but they will readily admit they don’t have the patience, personality or brain power to wait tables.

Earning this money is not easy. There’s a lot you have to put up with and it isn’t simple work. Not everyone is cut out for it.

Finally, I’m insulted when people say I make too much money. Do they think that because I’m a server and therefore less than human? Have they walked a mile in my shoes or are they deciding that because they see servers as second class citizens? Jerks.

tipsfortips
Jul 11, 2010 @ 17:04:47

I have a feeling every other season is a little bit tougher in Cody, WY when tourists aren’t flooding in. I am not sure what other profession that averages just above $20k a year nationally is considered “overpaid.” I make considerably more than that, but I have also been at it for 15 years and have paid my dues making much less.

The cooks and managers that give me a hard time for the money I make on a good night are never willing to trade me on a Monday lunch where I sit around for 4 hours, do double sidework, and make less than $20. They also are never willing to trade their tax refund for the couple grand I mail out on April 15th.