Getting taste of the issue

They’ll serve in wage act fight

ALBANY — Actress Erika Alexander, Rep. Nydia Velazquez and several state lawmakers will don aprons and take a few orders at a Brooklyn hotspot Monday to show support for the federal Raise the Wage Act and abolishing below-minimum wages for tipped workers.

Alexander, Velazquez (D-Brooklyn) and other officials will shadow the waitstaff at Marlow & Sons restaurant in Williamsburg during the lunch crunch.

“We need to work at all levels of government to address these issues, and I’m proud to stand with these workers in demanding fairer wages,” Velazquez (photo) told the Daily News. “I am hopeful Monday’s event shines a badly needed light on these matters and builds momentum for change both in New York State and nationally.”

New York is one of 43 states that allow waiters, bartenders, beauticians, car wash employees and certain other workers to be paid a lower minimum wage as long as they earn at least the full minimum wage after tips.

In the city, the standard minimum wage is now $15 an hour, and the tipped wage is $10. That’s substantially more than the federal tipped wage, which has been $2.13 an hour for nearly 30 years. The standard hourly federal minimum wage is $7.25.

The Raise the Wage Act would double the federal minimum wage by 2024.

Velazquez and Democrats at the state and federal levels are pushing for a standard minimum wage for all workers.

“We have heard time and again that a two-tiered, subminimum wage system lends itself to abuses like wage theft and harassment of servers,” Velazquez said.

Supporters argue that mandating a full minimum wage for workers who earn tips would even the economic playing field for such workers, who are predominantly women and people of color, and make waitresses less vulnerable to sexual harassment.

In Albany, Democrats have dished up bills that would apply the standard New York minimum wage to food service and other tipped workers. Assemblywomen Jo Anne Simon (D-Brooklyn), Tremaine Wright (D-Brooklyn) and Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) all plan to test their serving skills alongside Alexander and Velazquez on Monday.

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, the nonprofit organization behind the event, often enlists celebrities, such as “Living Single” and “Get Out” star Alexander, to amplify its message.

“More than 50% of restaurant employees in New York are primarily people of color, many of whom are immigrants, who live in poverty and access public benefits at greater rates than non-tipped workers,” ROC spokesperson Anthony Advincula told the Daily News. “It is unacceptable that these workers support their families by relying on tipped wages at the whim of consumers, creating a work environment that perpetuates racism, sexual harassment, wage theft and high poverty rates.”

But many people in the restaurant industry, including servers, say raising the base wage by doing away with the so-called “tip credit,” which allows businesses to pay the lesser amount to servers and other tipped workers, will lead to job cuts and bigger bills for restaurant patrons.

“Restaurants are moving towards a quick-service model, eliminating servers and bartender jobs, or cutting hours, cutting staff, and oftentimes eliminating entry-level positions such as busboys or barbacks,” said Joshua Chaisson, co-founder of the Restaurant Workers of America, an employee advocacy group.

Marlow & Sons owner Andrew Tarlow tried going gratuity-free at his restaurants, but reverted back to a tip system last year after server pushback and soaring costs that cut into business.

The call for a “One Fair Wage” policy comes a year after Gov. Cuomo asked the Labor Department to study the effect of raising the wage for tipped workers. Hearings were held across the state, but lawmakers said they haven’t gotten a final assessment from the administration.

Michael Saltsman, managing director of the Employment Policies Institute, a labor policy think tank, said many of the servers who spoke at the hearings favored keeping things as they are. “I think local restaurant owners and tipped workers sent a very strong message that the tip credit is essential,” he said.