COUNTER ATTENDANTS

BUSSERS, RUNNERS, &

BARTENDER ASSISTANTS
BARTENDERS
The state minimum wage is $8.70, but the
tipped minimum wage is even lower at only
$5.69. Including tips, tipped workers in
Connecticut earn a median wage of $9.62
equivalent to $20,010 for a full-time
year-round employee. However, tipped
workers generally are allowed part-time
schedules that vary by season. Seven states
have eliminated the tipped minimum wage
in those states tipped workers receive the
full minimum wage. Higher wages reduce
turnover and pour millions of dollars back
into the local economy.
The Rising American Electorate refers to the
demographic groups that are growing the
most rapidly, historically with lower voter
participation rates, but whose growing civic
engagement has been crucial in tipping the
scales in recent elections. Tipped workers
are primarily women, over 30% are moms,
and although many are married, nearly
half of these are single moms. Although the
median age for tipped workers is 30, half of
them are younger. And they are racially diverse,
overrepresented by Latinos, Asians, and African
Americans compared to the broader workforce.
They are also a highly educated group. Tipped
workers are a snapshot of the RAE.
TIPPED WORKERS AND THE RISING AMERICAN ELECTORATE
THE STATE
OF TIPPED
WORKERS
In Connecticut there are nearly 57,000
tipped workers, and 60% of these work in the
restaurant industry. The restaurant industry
employs nearly 10% of the workforce and
is one of the fastest growing sectors of the
US economy. Unfortunately, the restaurant
industry offers several of Connecticuts
lowest paid jobs. Five of the ten lowest paid
occupations are in the restaurant industry,
and four of these are tipped occupations.
3 LOWEST PAID
TIPPED OCCUPATIONS
TIPPED
MINIMUM WAGE
$5.69
MINIMUM WAGE
$8.70
MEDIAN WAGE FOR
TIPPED WORKERS
INCLUDING TIPS
$9.62
GENDER
59%
4
1
%
TIPPED WORKERS WHO
WORK IN RESTAURANTS
60%
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United
www.rocunited.org
CONNECT I CUT
In states with a tipped minimum wage of $2.13,
the poverty rates for workers of color is nearly
double that of the seven states without a tipped
minimum wage, with one in four living in poverty.
WHITE PEOPLE OF COLOR ALL
POVERTY RATES IN $2.13 STATES
16% 25% 20%
POVERTY RATES IN STATES WITH NO TIP CREDIT
13% 14% 14%
TIPPED WORKERS AND THE RISING AMERICAN ELECTORATE
White 65%
Latino 19%
Black 9%
Asian 6%
Other 2%
<_
24 35%
25-34 22%
35-44 13%
45+ 30%
RACE
AGE
HIGHER EDUCATION
EDUCATION
PARENTS WITH CHILDREN
ON FREE LUNCHES
37%
MARITAL &
PARENTAL
STATUS
45
%
Married 30%
Parents 27%
Dads 18%
Moms 33%
Single Moms 15%
P
O
V
E
R
T
Y
Tipped restaurant
workers live in poverty
at 3X the rate of the
Connecticut workforce.
RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE
Living off tips is precarious, but it doesnt have
to be this way. Raising the minimum wage and
eliminating the tipped credit would provide
a signicant stimulus to the U.S. economy in
tipped wages alone, providing a boost to local
economies and the broader food industry, as well.
FOR MORE INFO rocunited.org/stateoftippedworkers/
The industry projects employment will continue
to grow at the rate of 5% over the next decade.
H
INDUSTRY PROJECTED SALES 2014

6.2 BILLION
B
I
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L
I
O
N
I
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D
U
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T
R
Y

G
R
O
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T
H
20%
P
O
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R
TY

R
A
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E
P
O
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R
TY

R
A
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T
I
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D

R
E
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T
A
URA
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W
O
R
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R
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T
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D

WO
R
K
E
R
S
17
%
14
%
WORKERS ON
FOOD STAMPS
2X REST OF CT
WORKFORCE
13%
30
MEDIAN AGE
of tipped
worker moms
are single moms
MINIMIM
WAGE
$10.10
$12.00
$15.00
TIPPED
STIMULUS
$12.7
$19.4
$30.1