Let’s Look at the Issues

(Editor’s note: February 24 was a big day for New York’s working poor, when Governor Cuomo announced an increase in the minimum wage for tipped employees in our state and a proposed increase in the minimum wage for non-tipped employees, the latter of which needs legislative approval. The event announcing this good news took place in our Union’s auditorium. Here are Hotel Trades Council President Peter Ward’s remarks welcoming union members and labor leaders who attended.)

I am so proud to represent the more than 35,000 hard-working women and men of the Hotel Trades Council and our sisters and brothers in the labor community.

As someone who came up through the ranks of the labor movement, I take great pride in the fact that the labor community has been at the heart of every major advancement for working families over the past century. We have been the cornerstone of the middle-class, fighting for equality, fairness, and opportunity for all.

So when we have an opportunity like today to strike another victory in pay equity and worker equality—you don’t have to look very hard to see the union label stamped across this achievement.

I would like to thank the other members of the Wage Board for their work—our chair Timothy Grippen, and my co-member, Heather Bricetti.

I would also like to thank former Labor Commissioner Peter Rivera for appointing the Wage Board, and the acting Commissioner Mario Musolino for his acceptance of our recommendations.

And lastly, I would like to thank Governor Cuomo, for once again showing that he is a fierce fighter for working families.

Today we are taking another step in the right direction by addressing wage standards for tipped workers.

Among the reforms the Wage Board has recommended is raising the minimum wage for tipped workers from $5 to $7.50. That would make the wage of New York’s tipped worker one of the highest in the nation.

Raising wages for tipped workers will allow them to provide a better life for themselves and their families, and will lead to an injection of more consumer spending into our local economies. It’s good for workers, good for families, and good for our economy.

There is a great debate about how to make New York more affordable and how to combat income inequality while growing our economy, and at the center of that debate is increasing wages for our tipped-wage workforce.

Take the example of Ondre Anderson. Ondre was born and raised in this city and has been a tipped worker in the restaurant industry for the past five years. Despite working a full time job, Ondre has had to live in a homeless shelter when his tips were undependable. Today, we’re saying that must change.

While breaking the glass ceiling for women is always a goal we strive to reach, increasing pay for tipped-wage workers gives 160,000 women the opportunity to break free from the sticky floor of income inequality.

I am proud to have been a part of the Wage Board and part of these actions to help close the wage gap, alleviate wage-driven poverty, and ensure greater pay equity for our women workforce.

The goal of a strong economy is building a robust middle class. But to get to the middle, we need to grow our economy from the ground up. Today, we have taken another solid step in that direction.

But of course there is more work to be done—not just for tipped workers, but for all hardworking men and women who are currently making the minimum wage in New York State, and that is why we need to pass the Governor’s plan to increase the minimum wage yet again. His proposal is aggressive, it is doable, and the State Legislature needs to make it a reality this year.

Again, I thank my colleagues on the Wage Board for their work, and I thank the Governor for his leadership on this critical issue for working families.