Why is a city in Illinois trying to Eliminate Tipping?
It's tradition in this country that if you go to dinner you tip the server at the end of the meal, but a city in Illinois is trying to end that. Why? And is it the right thing to do?
Apparently, the leaders in Chicago, Illinois have the brilliant idea to do away with tipping... According to Axios Chicago, there is a proposal in the city government of Chicago to increase the wage of servers to equal the citywide minimum wage so servers wouldn't need tips anymore. On Axios, they say...
"City Council Committee on Workforce Development is expected to introduce and advance a proposal to phase out the minimum wage for tipped workers (currently $9.48 an hour) over five years...It's part of a nationwide One Fair Wage campaign to end a two-tiered system in which some workers are paid at least minimum wage while others are paid a subminimum wage and expected to make most of their income in tips."
The article does go on to mention how you could still accept tips if you are a server but the idea is you wouldn't need to because you're getting a decent hourly wage. For more information on this story, click here!
I will say there are definitely two sides to this argument...one part of me says "this is great!" servers deserve to make a living wage and this will help them on slow nights make sure they can still pay their bills. The other part of me is saying "I'd hate this when I worked for tips" Restaurants are probably going to have to increase prices more, people will know you are making more money and so they won't tip nearly as much if at all, and yes slow days stink but on those great days when you can walk out of the restaurant with hundreds of dollars because of a few great tables those make it all worth it.
Where do you fall on this issue? Should servers make the same minimum wage and effectively eliminate tipping?
50 Most Popular Chain Restaurants in America
Gallery Credit: Paul Feinstein