Still, he admitted that he has his shortcomings. Less popular and less productive restaurants and bars are likely to succumb to an environment of significantly higher wages, resulting in higher prices and closures.
“This is not without costs,” Cooper said. “But we haven’t internalized the cost of paying workers less than they can live for long.”
Some employers with access to a two-tier wage system have taken a different approach.
Talia Serra, 33, is the training manager at Illegal Pete’s, a Boulder, Colorado-based burrito restaurant with locations in Arizona and Colorado. In these states, a tipped worker’s minimum hourly wage is less than her $10, and the normal minimum wage is less than her $13. Illegal Pete’s offers a $15 starting salary plus tip and medical insurance.
Prior to her current position, Cella was hired as a server and trained as a bartender in 2016. I used to earn a base salary of $5 an hour elsewhere as a waitress and hostess, so I couldn’t afford a car and bike to the bus. Make a winter shift by stopping in the snow.
Recruiting and hiring is “more difficult than ever” due to labor shortages, even for what her company is paying, Cella said. But she said, with the help of her recent 10% price hike, the business was able to remain profitable and expand despite rising food costs.
She believes it all comes down to “outperforming” the competition.
“Having work be a stable part of your life – you get paid a living wage, you have health insurance, and this place knows you, just like you go there. I know you care, keep up the good work and do your best,” Serra said. “If you want people to give more of themselves, more time, more effort, you have to be willing to invest your company in more individuals.”