Greetings,

 Paycut for Missouri Waiters and Waitresses Heads to House Floor

TAKE ACTION NOW Download a "Save Our Tips" Card to leave with your tip when you go to a restaurant and educate your server about how to save their wage. UPDATE:  House Bill 258, which will cut the minimum wage for Missouri's servers from $3.52 an hour to $2.13, passed out of committee this week on a party line vote (7 Republicans voting yes, 4 Democrats voting no). This bill overturns Proposition B which passed by a remarkable 76.4% in 2006. Prop B raised the minimum wage for ALL Missourians, including waiters and waitresses.

Taking money out of the pocket of low-income workers during an economic crisis is not just mean, it's bad economic policy.  The average hourly wage for servers, with tips, is $7.19 in Missouri.

Jobs with Justice knows you support the minimum wage for servers. 

We need you to TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW:

1) Remind your representative that you support waiters and waitresses and oppose House Bill 258

2) Tell your friends by forwarding this email

3) Make whatever donation you can to make sure Jobs with Justice and its leaders can help servers throughout Missouri protect their minimum wage.

   $10 prints 250 Save Our Tips Cards

   $50 sponsors a server to come to Jefferson City to lobby their legislator

Jobs with Justice member and waitress, Dana Dreher(center), with State Representative Stephen Webber D-Columbia and Representative Gina Walsh D-North St. Louis County.  Both Representatives are supporting waiters and waitresses, and opposing the bill to cut their minimum wage.

Subject: Oppose HB 258, Support the Minimum wage for Tipped Empolyees

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am writing to demand that Missouri Legislators preserve the minimum wage increases that voters enacted.

You must stop House Bill 258 and any legislation that would cut the pay of waiters and waitresses. While the house amended this to freeze tipped employees pay at the current rate, that's still a pay cut over the coming years.

When Proposition B passed in 2006, over 1.5 million voters from both political parties sent a clear message. The voters wanted minimum wage workers to get a raise and to have the raise increase with the cost of living. The voters also specifically included food servers and employees who make tips.

A time of economic crisis is the worst time to pull wages out of the pockets of low income Missourians.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]