Save NY Tips Coalition launches website to educate restaurant industry, public about impacts of Cuomo’s tipped wage proposal
Business owners and employees launch savenytips.org as part of ongoing efforts to preserve tip credit ahead of Department of Labor hearings
ALBANY— The Save NY Tips Coalition, a broad coalition of restaurant owners and their employees, announced today that they are launching savenytips.org, a new website dedicated to educating those in the restaurant industry and the public about the disastrous impacts that would result from doing away with the minimum wage tip credit, including the elimination of tipping as we know it.
The website features informational pages about the tip credit for both employees and employers. The launch of the website will be followed this week with the start of a regular newsletter about Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to possibly eliminate the minimum wage tip credit and how those who work in the industry can help to preserve the current effective system.
Governor Cuomo has asked the state Department of Labor to examine the tip credit, with an eye toward?replacing tipping with an increased minimum wage. Workers rely most heavily on tips as a main source of?income, and?eliminating tips would reduce workers’ take-home pay substantially.
The Coalition plans to have a significant presence at the upcoming Department of Labor hearings on the tip credit.
Some restaurants in the state have instituted a “no tipping” policy on their own, only to abandon it after pushback from both employees and customers.?The state of Maine passed an initiative that abolished the tip credit, but less than a year later reversed that decision due to restaurant employees organizing?en?masse against the measure after they saw a significant decrease in earnings.
Those interested in signing up for the newsletter and joining the coalition should click here.
For additional comment, please contact coalition representatives directly:
Melissa Fleischut, President and CEO, New York State Restaurant Association, 518-452-4222, melissaf@nysra.org
Scott Wexler, Executive Director, Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association, p: 518-369-8607, swexler@ostroffassociates.com
Mark Dorr, President, New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association, p: 518-465-2300, mark@nyshta.org
Kathy Leitgeb, Executive Director, NYS Bowling Proprietors Association, p: 518-464-1176, nysbpa@aol.com
Andrew Rigie, Executive Director, NYC Hospitality Alliance, p: 212-582 2506, ARIGIE@THENYCALLIANCE.ORG?
About the Save NY Tips Coalition: The Save NY Tips Coalition was initially founded by the New York State Restaurant Association,?Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association, New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association, NYS Bowling Proprietors Association and the New York City Hospitality Alliance. The coalition’s mission is to raise awareness about the importance of the tip credit for hospitality industry employers and employees.