Bill to eliminate subminimum wage for service industry workers announced

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - New legislation to abolish the subminimum wage that service industry workers receive was announced at a rally in Springfield today.

"It's time for Springfield to bring to bring the economic security to workers across the state of Illinois and to send a message that to do business in Illinois, you have to be able to pay your employees a living wage, period," Senator Lakesia Collins of the 5th Senate District, said.

The bill would raise the minimum wage for tipped workers from $8.40 to $15 next year, which is equal to the rate that non tipped workers make in Illinois. Service industry workers would still make tips on top of their new hourly wage.

"We have tracked 6,000 restaurants across the country, including several hundred here in Illinois that have voluntarily moved from paying a subminimum wage to paying a full, livable wage with tips on top because that is the only way to recruit staff in the worst staffing crisis in Illinois and national restaurant industry history," Saru Jayaraman, the President of 'One Fair Wage,' said.

'One Fair Wage' advocates across the country for tipped workers to be given the same hourly rate as other workers.

In October, Chicago removed the subminimum wage, following the lead of seven states.

Jayaraman went on to say, "Those 7 states actually have higher restaurant sales per capita than Illinois, higher small business growth rates in the restaurant industry than Illinois, higher overall restaurant job growth rates than Illinois, and higher tipping averages than Illinois."

The restaurant industry is overwhelmingly made up of women and subminimum wages disproportionately effect women of color, according to 'One Fair Wage.'