COLUMBUS, Ohio — We’re just hours away before President-elect Joe Biden and his administration take office.
When looking ahead to what 2021 brings, many are hopeful the new year and administration will signal change.
“I want to be able to go to work without worrying about COVID,” said Chloe McGowan, a server at Cumberland Trail Bar & Grill.
A change for the better could be coming for servers just like McGowan.
President-elect Joe Biden proposed a minimum wage increase of $15.
At the federal level, minimum wage is $7.25. States, however, have the power to decide their own wages. In Ohio, the current minimum wage is $8.80.
“While $15 an hour sounds great for, you know a four or five hour shift, it still…it still impacts our paycheck because if we’re not getting the tips then, you know, we’re not really making a living,” said McGowan.
Here’s why she’s not sold on the proposal just yet. It could end tipped wages. Right now, McGowan said she makes roughly $3 an hour. She makes the majority of her money through tips. Under this proposal, all employees would make at least $15 an hour.
John Barker is with the Ohio Restaurant Association.
He said if the wages are bumped up, it could jack up meal and drink prices in the restaurant. At worst, it could result in cut positions. “If you make that big of an increase, many restaurants immediately go to a loss,” said Barker.
“No business is in the business to lose money. Work on the minimum wage and have it work through a multi-year progress. You have to give people the chance to regulate and build it into their business overtime,” said Barker.
McGowan said she’s not fully closed off to the idea of this proposal. In the end, it might be just what everyone needs.
“If we didn’t have to worry about tips, if we could come in for…four hours, we make that set amount of money and leave, I feel like there wouldn’t be that much uncertainty,” said McGowan.