Chicago on Friday became the largest American city to independently require that tipped employees make a full minimum wage, following a relatively easy City Council vote that delivered one of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s biggest political wins for his progressive agenda.
In a 36-10 vote, aldermen approved the measure that advocates said was direly needed for the lowest-paid service workers and that opponents countered would backfire, causing some employees in the service industry to be paid less and lead to higher menu prices and staff cuts. The ordinance becomes law immediately but the full impact won’t take effect for five years.
[ Proposal to raise Chicago’s minimum wage for tipped workers advances in City Council ]
Starting next July, the gap between tipped and minimum wages will shrink from 60% to 40%. Each year after, that gap will shrink by 8% until parity is reached by July 1, 2028.
In a celebratory post-council news conference, Johnson said the vote made Friday an “incredible, historic day.”
“The ordinance embodies Chicago’s values of uplifting working people and addressing systemic inequities in the restaurant and hospitality industry, which, in turn, will create a better economic future for tipped workers and our city,” the mayor said. “Many of the people who are standing in support with us today, these are heads of households and anchors of communities who are finally receiving a bit more of the respect and dignity that they deserve.”
Los Angeles, which has a larger population than Chicago, already bans a subminimum wage for tipped workers but that’s under a California state law that requires employers to pay those employees the full minimum wage. Besides California, Alaska, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington also have abolished the lower tipped wage, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Ahead of the vote, progressive aldermen stood up and shared anecdotes that fueled their decision to favor the new law on what they described as a poignant day. Ald. Jessie Fuentes, 26th, one of the measure’s lead sponsors, said the subminimum wage for tipped employees has long been a driver of income inequality.
She pointed to the sea of pink-clad service workers behind her who were recruited by the national One Fair Wage campaign to cheer on the ordinance.
“Today, our tipped workers will win,” Fuentes said. “Look at the room. Look at the room. Those are Black and brown faces that are asking for a raise.”
Some aldermen lamented that the moment did not come sooner, such as when the City Council raised the minimum wage to $15 under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot but did not alter the pay floor for tipped workers.
Servers and restaurant employees from O’Briens Riverwalk Cafe bring out drinks for customers on Sept. 20, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, said when that vote passed four years ago a man sitting in the back of the public gallery in the council cham
