Rep. Levin: 'Sub-minimum' wage would have been eliminated if most tipped workers were white men

Michigan Democratic Rep. Andy Levin joined other Democratic lawmakers to press for a single federal minimum wage for every worker, claiming that the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers would have already been eliminated if most of them were white males.

Some Democrats want Congress to tie the elimination of sub-minimum wage to more restaurant stimulus funding.

Speaking alongside Democrats on Tuesday, Saru Jayaraman, cofounder and president of One Fair Wage, said restaurant workers "need relief and we need raises — we need both."

Illinois Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky said the "way to save" the restaurant industry is to "raise the wages of the workers." 

"If you pay them, they will come to work," she said. "We want to make sure the restaurant industry survives."

Activists held up signs that said: "We need relief. We need raises."

Democrats in Congress have been agitating for passage of a $15 per hour federal minimum wage that would include tipped workers. 

"It is time the we have one fair wage as the rule around the nation that every state, that the federal government, that we get rid of that shameful relic of slavery," said Schakowsky, referring to the sub-minimum wage.

At the same time, House Democrats want to pass a second round of stimulus funding for restaurants through the "Restaurant Revitalization Fund," which was setup by Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act and administered by the Small Business Administration. The first round was $28.6 billion.

Levin suggested that the sub-minimum wage would have already been eliminated if most tipped workers were white males.

"If most tipped workers looked like me, we wouldn't even be standing here; we wouldn't be here at all," he said. 

"It is time to get rid of sub-minimum wages full stop," he said. "Pay them $15 per hour plus tips. Let's eliminate the filibuster and do justice by the American people by passing [the Raise the Wage Act] in the Senate."

Levin said he supports more stimulus funding for restaurants in America but he demands that Congress "stands up" for the workers at the same time.

"Give them some replenishment too," he said. "So let's have one fair wage for everybody."

Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib said the relief that restaurants receive must be passed on to their employees in the form of a $15 federal minimum wage.

"We cannot write restaurant owners a blank check with no strings attached," she said. "It doesn't make any sense. This is a huge opportunity for us on the federal level to really use our leverage, to promoting economic justice and racial justice with our money."

Tlaib said more than 1 million restaurant workers have "rejected" a return to "normal" at work. She said it's "immoral and wrong" to only send stimulus money directly to restaurant owners.

"If they're coming back for more, they are going to have to play by our rules this time," she said.

Before the Restaurant Revitalization Fund was passed, restaurants and other small businesses were able to apply for forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans. It was recently reported that the majority of those loans went to business owners and not paychecks. 

Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Eric Swalwell of California held a separate news conference with restaurateurs calling for Congress to pass another round of restaurant stimulus funding. The restaurateurs said they had used their relief funding for rent payments and personnel costs. 

Just the News asked if it is a contradiction for Democrats to advocate for more restaurant stimulus while pushing for a $15 minimum wage for tipped workers, which would raise restaurants' personnel costs.

"I don't see this as being a contradiction," Blumenauer said. "Frankly, what we're seeing with people in this industry, they've raised wages. In Oregon, we have already a $15. We don't have the tip option."

According to the Oregon state government, the minimum wage is $14 per hour in Portland, including for tipped workers. It is $12.75 in other counties in the state of Oregon. 

Both lawmakers said that the restaurant stimulus funding doesn't need to be tied to raising the minimum wage.