Take Action! The Vote Against Minimum Wage Could Happen Soon! And every lawmaker who votes to roll back the minimum wage is voting against Oregon's lowest-wage workers and FOR national restaurant chains. Tell your lawmaker to stand up against the misinformation campaign being spread by the Oregon Restaurant Association.   Click here

Today a half a dozen minimum wage waiters and waitresses participated in a "forum" on the tip penalty hosted by Rep. Dave Hunt (D - Milwaukie) and Rep. Brad Avakian (D - Beaverton). They were there to defend their paychecks against attacks by the Oregon Restaurant Association (ORA).

Leading the attack was Lisa Schroeder, owner of Mother's Bistro and Mama Mia Trattoria in Portland, Rod Brackenbury and Terry Hughes, owners of the Cadillac Cafe in Portland and Joe Benetti, owner of Bennetti’s restaurant in Coos Bay.

Schroeder, who owns two prosperous restaurants in downtown Portland cited the high earnings of the servers she employs as a reason why the legislature should freeze the pay for all minimum-wage servers in Oregon.

She told House lawmakers that servers in her restaurants earn $30 to $40 per hour in wages and tips combined. As a result, she says, she can’t afford to pay her cooks what they deserve. Her solution to this problem: Support legislation sponsored by the Oregon Restaurant Association to freeze the minimum wage for all workers in Oregon who earn more than $30 a month in tips.

Schroeder has made her reputation with comfort food. "The world needs food that mothers would make if only they had the time," she states on one website of favorite recipes. But her thinking gives us little comfort.

Here’s why. Her 65-seat Bistro is always busy, employing, by our observation, about six servers and three cooks during peak periods. According to Schroeder, those servers are earning about $23 to $33 in tips per hour in addition to the minimum wage of $7.25. If she didn’t have to pay an additional 20 cents an hour or so in minimum wage increases for those servers every year, she says, she could direct that money to the cooks instead.

Okay, let’s do the math. Freezing the minimum wage for tipped workers would save Schroeder about $1.20 per hour during peak periods (20 cents per hour for each of six servers = $1.20 per hour total). If she gave that money to her cooks instead of keeping it herself, she could increase their pay an average of $0.40 per hour ($1.20 divided among the three cooks).

Now let’s look at how Schroeder’s "solution" might affect workers in the rest of the state.

There are 24,000 waiters and waitresses and another 25,000 tipped workers in other low-paid occupations like bartenders, maids and porters. Of these, we estimate that there are at least 20,000 workers who earn no more than the minimum wage and also earn $30 a month or more in tips. Most of these workers will never eat at Mother’s, but they might want to pay attention to Mother’s math.

Schroeder would like the Oregon legislature to freeze the pay of these 20,000 minimum-wage workers in Oregon so that she can solve what she claims is a pay equity problem in her restaurant. If it’s true that servers at Mother’s earn $30 to $40 an hour in wages and tips, they might not even notice the loss of 20 cents per hour next year, and maybe her cooks would really appreciate that extra 40 cents. But that’s hardly the point when you ask the legislature to pass a law that applies to every minimum-wage worker in the state.

Those who would suffer the most under Schroeder’s proposal are the minimum-wage servers, most of whom earn about $10 an hour or less in wages and tips. Those who would gain are either: (a) the cooks and other "back of the house" workers if restaurant owners decide to pass along their savings to them; or (b) the owners, if they decide to keep the savings for themselves.

When asked by lawmakers for a guarantee that restaurant owners would pass the extra money to the back of the house, Schroeder said that they should just "roll the dice," pass the legislation and see what happens.

That’s bad enough. But what bothers us most about Schroeder’s proposal is not that she assumes some servers earn so much money in tips that they shouldn’t get the minimum wage. (We disagree, but there is no commandment against coveting thy workers’ tips.) It’s that she is asserting that the solution to the problem of minimum-wage servers harvesting so much of her customers’ money in tips in Portland is to freeze the pay of all minimum-wage servers in Oregon at every Denny’s and Shari’s and Mary’s from Lakeview to Astoria.

No wonder working people in the rest of Oregon are inclined to resent the arrogance of Portland liberals. And it doesn’t help that the brochure prepared by the Oregon Restaurant Association to promote its proposal features an attractive waitress in pearls serving a tiramisu.

Let’s watch to see who votes for this share-the-wealth proposal for the tiramisu crowd – because whoever votes for Mother’s proposal will be stiffing the 20,000 workers slinging beers and burgers in bars and diners, carrying bags and cleaning hotel rooms and trying their best to support their families on paychecks that are melting faster than a parfait in a fondue bowl.

Who is Oregon Restaurant Association Really Trying to Help?

The irony of locally owned businesses lobbying for the ORA seemed to be lost on the restaurant owners  in Salem today. They appear not to have read the glossy lobbying piece the ORA has been circulating in the state capitol, which says the tip wage would "help stabilize the industry and allow for new national chains to operate in Oregon..."

The ORA's lobbying piece also claims that waiters and waitresses will make more money if lawmakers pass a tip penalty wage.

But Josh Gibson, a Portland waiter, was also there today, and he said it isn't true. He has worked in a state with a tip penalty and he told of his first-hand experience of how all workers made less there. He also spoke eloquently of how he counts on both his wages and his tips to make a living and asked the lawmakers not to cut his paycheck. And, finally, he pointed out the absurdity of the ORA’s proposal.

"If the idea here is to redistribute income, I’ll sign up for that," he told the Democratic lawmakers. "But let’s start with ball players, not waiters."

For a full debunking of the ORA's lobbying piece, click here.

Minimum Wage Freeze Could Come to a Vote Soon

According to the Oregon Restaurant Association's website, there will be a hearing on the tip wage bill before the end of the month, which is just next week, and it will come to a full vote of the House of Representatives in April. Tell your lawmaker to get the REAL facts about Oregon’s minimum wage and not to rely on the misinformation campaign of the Oregon Restaurant Association.

Click here to send a message to your lawmaker today:

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/Protect_Minimum_Wage_two

Governor Calls for Expanding Prescription Drug Plan

Last Thursday Gov. Ted Kulongoski took a strong stand in favor of one of the cornerstone bills of the Oregon AFL-CIO’s health care agenda. At a pharmacy in Portland’s Brooklyn neighborhood, the governor called for expanding the Oregon Prescription Drug Program. He was joined by Sen. Bill Morrisette and Rep. Mitch Greenlick, who have both sponsored legislation to open the Prescription Drug Program to more Oregonians.

"We have an obligation to do everything we can to ensure that all Oregonians who need help affording their medicines get the help they need," said Governor Kulongoski.

"Expanding this program is one way we can move forward toward this goal and I am committed to working with both parties and both chambers of the legislature to make expansion a priority for the 2005 legislative session."

The original Oregon Prescription Drug program launched on March 1, and already 1,300 Oregonians have applied to join this unique drug purchasing pool. Under this program, people who do not have prescription drug insurance can save up to 60% when they buy their drugs at the pharmacy. But the pool is limited because it bars individuals younger than 54 years old and above a certain income level from participating. The current pool is also closed to private businesses and union trusts.

Now a coalition of unions and health care advocates has joined together to open the pool up to more participants. Senate Bill 505, sponsored by Sen. Morrisette and others, would open the program to all two million plus Oregonians now excluded from joining. The pharmaceutical industry has already testified that they are against expanding the pool, and industry lobbyists are working to stop the legislation. Email Senator Morrisette today. Thank him for standing up to the big drug companies and fighting to make health care more affordable to all Oregonians. Urge him to bring legislation to expand the Oregon Prescription Drug Program to a vote in his committee soon.

And if you think you or a friend or family member might be eligible for the current prescription drug pool, click here for more information.

Mannix Money Woes

Oregon GOP Chair Kevin Mannix seems to be following the Bush Administration’s example on debt acquisition. According to Oregonian columnist Steve Duin, who analyzed recently released campaign finance reports, Mannix continues to carry nearly $600,000 of campaign debt left over from the 2002 gubernatorial race. What’s interesting about the debt, Duin points out, is Mannix’s pattern of borrowing money to pay off old debts, "without making any dent in his overall campaign deficit."

This is just the latest example of Mannix’s money woes. Last September The Oregonian reported that Republican leadership was unhappy when Mannix tapped into the Oregon GOP bank account to retire some of his campaign debt. Many felt that instead of helping a losing candidate pay off debt, the party’s money would be better spent supporting candidates in the next election. Additionally, the voters may not look too kindly on a candidate who can’t get out of the hole.

Republican representative Jeff Kropf was quoted in that story as saying, "Mannix would have a hard time showing voters he was fiscally responsible if he doesn't pay down his debt. ‘I think that would be crucial for him to overcome that negative.’"

Health Care Fairness in the Oregon Senate

Today the Senate passed legislation that requires health insurers to provide the same level of coverage for mental health and chemical dependency treatment as they provide for other medical treatments. It prohibits insurers from imposing treatment limitations unless similar limitations or requirements are imposed on coverage of other medical conditions. This bill, Senate Bill 1, is a top priority for Democratic Senate President Peter Courtney. The bill passed with bipartisan support, 23 to 6. It remains to be seen whether the bill will pass in the Oregon House of Representatives.

On Wednesday, a bill (SB 756)to require insurance coverage for contraceptives is also scheduled for a vote of the full Senate. The Oregon AFL-CIO supports this bill.

Bills to Help Oregon Veterans

This Thursday, eleven different bills designed to support returning combat veterans will be heard before the Senate General Government Committee. The bills cover everything from emergency financial relief to tuition assistance to extended unemployment insurance payments. There is a great deal of interest in these bills, especially with the 700-some members of Oregon National Guard's 162nd Battalion now back home. For a complete list of the bills, click here and go to the General Government Committee agenda for Thursday. Note that this hearing will start in the afternoon, break for dinner, then continue on into the evening.

No Taxpayer Dollars to Bust Unions

Oregon pundits have decried the use of public dollars for a variety of purposes over the years, so when SB 975 comes up in committee tomorrow, let’s see if they will join us in calling for the end of taxpayer financed union busting campaigns.

The Oregon State Senate Commerce committee is scheduled to hear SB 975 tomorrow at 3:10 PM in Hearing Room C. The bill states, "A public employer receiving state funds may not use or authorize the use of state funds to assist, promote or deter union organizing." This means that when a group of employees wish to form a union, managers who oppose their wish may not divert scarce taxpayer funds from program budgets to interfere with the workers’ choice in any way.

Another piece of important legislation SB 426 (which would allow for union recognition by majority sign up) is another means to the same end – to protect Oregon’s public employees freedom to form a union under state law.

"As the anti-worker forces in Washington DC gather to strip many workers of their freedom to form a union, this is just one step in our fight to protect that freedom here in Oregon," says Matt Swanson, organizing coordinator for the Oregon AFL-CIO. "Funds to public agencies under this bill will go to their intended purpose and not union busting."

Grocery Clerks Face Legislation Both Good and Bad

There are a slew of bills pending in the legislature that could make things better – or worse – for grocery store clerks. Action was most recently taken on SB 589, sponsored by Sen.Alan Bates (D-Ashland) and Rep. Diane Rosenbaum (D-Portland). It would make it an unlawful employment practice to discharge, demote, suspend or otherwise discriminate against an employee for unknowingly making an alcohol sale to a minor if the employee has not completed a training program approved by the OLCC. The bill has had two hearings since March 1st in the Senate General Government Committee. Last week it was determined that committee members from both parties like the bill but want it amended to lower the fiscal impact of the worker-training program. The bill is still pending.

A bill that the unions do not support is SB 948. This bill directs the court to suspend driving privileges and the right to apply for driving privileges for a period not to exceed one year if a person provides alcoholic beverages to a person under 21 years of age. Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. This bill is scheduled for a hearing and possible work session before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Oregon AFL-CIO will testify in opposition.

The Legislative Road Trip Continues

This week, join Senate President Peter Courtney and Rep. Betty Komp in Salem for a Town Hall on Health Care, Education & Public Safety. It’s in Woodburn on Wednesday, the 23rd at 6:00 PM. Click here for the location. Other town halls this week include Rep. Chuck Riley in Cornelius on Thursday and Rep. Susan Morgan and Senator Jeff Kruse in Roseburg on Saturday. Again, for these and others town halls and out-of-Salem legislative committee hearings, click here.

Trivia Question of the Week

Q. What is the title of the study the Oregon Restaurant Association uses to back up its assertion that a lowered wage for tipped workers equals increased wages for cooks, dishwashers and other non-tipped workers?

A. There is no such study. In fact, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that non-tipped employees in "back of the house" jobs, such as cooks and dishwashers, earn less in the 43 states with a lower wage for tipped workers and more in the seven states without the lowered wage.

Looking just at cooks - cooks in the seven non-tip-penalty states like Oregon earned $10.27 per hour in November 2003 compared to $9.68 per hour in all 50 states. In seven states that are comparable to Oregon in other ways but do have tip penalties, cooks earn only $9.77 per hour. (That's Colorado, Arizona, Wisconsin, Iowa, Tennessee, Virginia and Maryland).