Bernie Sanders, senator from Vermont, plans to introduce a bill that will raise the federal minimum wage to $15. The former CEO of CKE Restaurants, Andy Puzder, says that states should be able to increase minimum wage without involvement from the federal government, and that he doesn’t agree with raising minimum wage in general.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 6.9 million job openings, although more Americans are working now than at any other time in history. 6.3 million people remain unemployed, however.
During 2018, wages were up year-over-year 3.2%. This represents the largest year-end increase in more than ten years. Restaurant worker wages for all employees were up 3.7%. For non-supervisory employees and production workers in the restaurant industry, wages were up 4.3%.
18 states introduced new minimum wages on January 1st, and the restaurant industry has had to make some changes to stay afloat. Transitioning from a full-service restaurant to counter service is one way restaurants in the San Francisco area are handling a higher minimum wage. They voted to raise the minimum wage from $14 to $15 per hour as of July 1, 2018.
In restaurants where tipping servers is still the norm, a new sharing model where back-of-the-house and front-of-the-house employees share tips helps even the wages across the business. Some restaurants have even started training their cooks for front-of-the-house duties.
