The Culinary Union is waging a campaign to abolish sub-minimum wages and the taxation of tips at the federal level, citing the outdated practice of paying tipped workers less than the standard minimum wage. According to News 3 Las Vegas, the labor union highlighted that while Nevada has prohibited a sub-minimum wage for tipped workers, the plight remains national with over one million employees earning at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
Calling the situation “outrageous”, Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge emphasized the need for legislative action. "Employers across the nation need to take responsibility for paying a real minimum wage and congress must ensure it," Pappageorge stated, in a press release detailed by the Culinary Union. In contrast, Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington have nullified sub-minimum wages for tipped employees, ensuring they receive equal pay as their non-tipped counterparts.
The push for change also targets the federal tax on cash and non-cash tips, a burden that the Culinary Union insists must be lifted. U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen from Nevada have shown support by joining a bill aimed at exempting tipped wages from federal income tax, recognizing the disproportionate impact this taxation has on service and hospitality workers.
"Nevada has a higher percentage of tipped workers than any other state, and getting rid of the federal income tax on tips would deliver immediate financial relief for service and hospitality staff across our state who are working harder than ever while getting squeezed by rising costs," said Rosen. The initiative has garnered rare bipartisan support, with endorsements from figures such as the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, as previously reported by News 3 Las Vegas.
In the call for nationwide reform, the Culinary Union is urging Nevada's full delegation, ranging from city council members to federal representatives, to endorse the federal elimination of the sub-minimum wage and taxation on tips.
