The minimum wage in Massachusetts is $15 an hour — unless that job includes tips. Under current state law, tipped workers like restaurant servers can be paid $6.75 an hour, as long as that wage plus their tips add up to at least $15 an hour.
This November, Massachusetts voters will get to decide whether to raise the minimum tipped wage. The ballot question is drawing both vocal support and opposition. GBH’s Morning Edition host Jeremy Siegel spoke to people on both sides of the issue.
What would this ballot question do?
If approved, Question 5 would increase the base pay for Massachusetts workers who receive tips. Gradual increases would be implemented over a five-year span, with the final increase on Jan. 1, 2029, bringing tipped workers’ hourly wage to equal the minimum wage for untipped workers.
The question would not eliminate tips. Customers would still be allowed to pay gratuities for service.
If Question 5 passes, it would eventually allow — but not require — employers to set up a “tip pool” that combines customers’ tips and distribute them among all workers, including those in the “back of house” who otherwise would not receive tips. This option would be available to businesses who pay their tipped workers at least the state minimum wage.
What’s the argument in favor of a ‘yes’ vote on Question 5?
Grace McGovern, a bartender and server in Boston who is part of the group One Fair Wage, said raising the tipped minimum wage will make workers want to stay in their jobs longer.
“The restaurant industry has crazy levels of turnover, and increasing the wage is one significant way to keep people employed and to keep people happy,” she said. “So rather than paying to recruit and train new workers all the time, you’re spending a little bit more on the one employee to keep them in your restaurant.”
McGovern said the other aspect of the ballot question, tip pooling, already exists in a lot of Massachusetts restaurants — but only among “front of house” staff, like servers, bartenders and hosts.
“It does not mandate tip-sharing. ... It just says that restaurants have the option to include back-of-house workers in their pool,” she said. “And it also would not happen until after all workers are at the full minimum wage.”
Why opponents are urging a ‘no’ vote on Question 5
Chris Keohan, who is with the Committee to Protect Tips, said the first action his group took was to ask tipped workers about the ballot question.
“They believe that they would receive less tips, that there’s the potential for businesses to go out of business and they would make less money,” he said.
He said 90% of those polled were opposed to the measure. In the group’s survey, they’ve also asked whether about customers’ stance on tipping. Keohan said respondents said they were more likely to tip less if they knew their server was making the $15 minimum wage or was participating in a tip pool.
Gretchen Shelgren, a bartender in Plymouth, believes the proposed changes would decrease her take-home pay. She has prior experience working in places that raised their tipped minimum wage, which she said led customers to leave smaller tips. Shelgren also opposes tip pools.
“My tips are a direct reflection of my personal interactions. ... I have regulars, they come to see me. They’re tipping me based on the relationships I’ve developed and dealt with them in our direct interactions,” she said. “I have no problem tipping out support staff that help me to do my job, but sharing it with everybody is just — it’s unfair.”
What happened in other cities that raised the tipped minimum wage?
“I lived in the state of Washington for 12 years, where they have implemented this years ago, and I made significantly less money,” Shelgren said, noting that people tipped less.
Keohan pointed to Washington, D.C., where voters approved a ballot measure in 2022 to eliminate the tip credit.
“In less than a year, Washington, D.C., has had 10% of their jobs lost,” Keohan said. “Businesses are closing. People are leaving the industry.”
