Pay Day

Even Conservatives Support a Wage Hike for Restaurant Workers

Give this worker a few more dollars.
Give this worker a few more dollars. Photo: Shutterstock

The results of a new Technomic poll seem to indicate that people who are opposed to raising the minimum wage for restaurant workers most likely spend a lot of time being very loud and eating a lot of instant ramen at home: A poll of 1,000 restaurantgoers revealed that “93 percent of self-described liberals, 87 percent of moderates and 70 percent of conservatives” support the idea of getting the lowest-paid members of the fast-food workforce a state-mandated raise. It’s unclear what kind of restaurant, ritzy or otherwise, the Technomic pollsters stationed themselves outside in order to talk to people, but 12 percent of those who participated were self-identified business owners, and 90 percent of the subset supported a minimum wage hike and index to inflation.

Meanwhile, Bill de Blasio, himself a discerning pizza parlor fan, yesterday expanded New York City’s Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act. From now on, commercial tenants at projects receiving more than $1 million in city subsidy will be covered by living-wage provisions. The living wage itself is being raised to from $11.90 to $13.13 per hour, and the mayor’s office says that figure will most likely reach $15.22 per hour in five years.


[Reuters, NYC.gov]

Even Conservatives Support a Wage Hike for Restaurant Workers