Massachusetts restaurants bring Question 5 debate to the dinner table

At a number of bars and restaurants around the state, the check comes with a political message.

At Lolita in Fort Point, receipts are printed with bold font at the top encouraging customers to vote “no” on Question 5, which would progressively phase out the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers and allow the expansion of tip pooling to back-of-the house workers, like cooks and dishwashers.

At Fiorella’s Cucina in Concord, signs outside make the restaurant’s position clear, and customers receive “No on 5” pamphlets at the host stand. Manager Rick Guinazzo says employees are also encouraged to engage customers in conversations about the ballot question.

“Pretty much all our servers and bartenders have been trying to spread the word to guests to vote 'no’ on Question 5,” Guizzano said. “They feel like they make a great income now and they’re able to make a good living, but if things change, that could affect their income negatively.”

Ed Kane, who owns 13 restaurants across Massachusetts, said he polled his roughly 800-person workforce to get their opinions, and more than 90% of them oppose Question 5. He encourages his employees to discuss the issue with customers if they’re so inclined.

“If over 90% of the people that you’re trying to protect don’t want this protection and don’t think this is good for them, then maybe it shouldn’t even have been a question,” he said.

Massachusetts law currently allows employers to pay tipped workers a sub-minimum base rate, or “service rate” of $6.75 per hour, with tips expected to cover the gap between that rate and the state’s $15 per hour minimum wage. If a bartender or server has a slow shift and tips don’t add up to $15 hourly, employers are legally obligated to pay the difference. Question 5 would gradually eliminate the sub-minimum wage, bringing all service workers up to the state minimum by 2029. Supporters say the change would reduce wage violations and prevent employees from having to ask their employer to fulfill their legal obligation.

Guinazzo says employees at Fiorella’s, which has locations in Burlington, Concord and Newton, already make fair wages and don’t want to take a risk.

“Most do way above, well over that wage,” he said. “They’re afraid that if this does change, people’s perception of what they should tip would either go away or get a lot lower.”

Question 5 would also change state laws around tip pooling, the process of combining and dividing tips among staff. Currently, Massachusetts law only allows wait staff, service bartenders and service employees to pool tips. The ballot question would allow employers to expand tip pooling to include back-of-house staff like cooks and dishwashers.

Zac Antzcak, who owns Fortune Bar, a small dive in Amesbury, said restaurants and bars across the state are already working to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and a recent increase in the cost of materials. He’s concerned that if Question 5 passes, the change would force him to raise prices.

“It’s a neighborhood bar where prices are inexpensive. We have repeat loyal customers who come in and do well with their tips,” he said. “If we go up to $9 or $10 per beer, people aren’t going to be out as much as they go out now, and that’s going to affect the money that we bring home.”

Anna Puiia, the general manager at Brassica Kitchen + Cafe in Jamaica Plain, said increasing food and beverage prices isn’t the only option for business owners. In 2021, Brassica implemented a 20% “administrative fee” on all checks, with customers still allowed to add gratuity. The “administrative fee” name is a way to get around state law, Puiia says, “because if it were called a 'service fee’ or a 'gratuity,' we wouldn’t be able to share it with kitchen employees, only with front of house.”

She said they were afraid of pushback when they introduced the 20% fee, but the overall response was more positive than they’d anticipated.

“We really found that it was pretty easy to explain to people, like listen, everybody that works here is an important part of what we do and we all deserve to make a living wage,” she said. “We’re simply taking the control away from the guest and saying: 'You don’t decide what this person makes. We do.’”

Puiia said while Brassica has found a system that works and that her employees wouldn’t experience much change from Question 5, she has mixed feelings about whether to support it.

“I think it’s tough, because a one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t feel totally possible,” she said. “And yet I think something that is missing here is a larger community discussion about how we make it possible.”

Eight other states and two major cities have eliminated or are in the process of eliminating a sub-minimum wage for tipped workers. Earlier this month, researchers at UMass Amherst and the Political Economy Research Institute published a policy brief concluding that eliminating a lower minimum wage in Massachusetts would likely increase costs for the average restaurant by about 2%, without causing significant job losses.

Puiia says she and other managers at Brassica have encouraged other restaurants to consider adopting their model, regardless of the results of this election.

Managers like Guinazzo say they’re listening to their employees — and while not everyone agrees, there’s a distinct fear that such a big change could shake up the state’s already vulnerable service industry in a negative way.

“The way it is right now is perfect,” he said. “It’s not broken, so there’s no need to fix it.”