BREAKING: FLA on track to SLASH minimum wage from $4.65 to **$2.13** for tipped-income workers [View all]

[nashville_brook]

Apologies if this has already been posted. I feel very strongly about this.

Waitressing is the hardest work I've ever done, and for every $100 night I had 3 nights that my hourly wage was the lion's share of my earning. But understand, this bill affect all tipped-income workers including salon, valet and car wash workers, whose tipping etiquette doesn't come close to dictating 15-20% on the dollar.

Speaking of tipping etiquette, how could it not evolve upwards to cover this loss, shifting cost to the consumer as well as the worker. For the so-called fiscal conservatives proposing this -- what sense does it make to create an inflationary spiral on the consumer end of the economy, which is supposedly our last best hope for easing out of the Great Recession.

It's worth mentioning that we, the normal people of the 99%, wear both the hats of consumer and worker, so we're getting hit twice here, and all indications are that this is an just opening shot in a full-spectrum class war being fought by Rick Scott against working Floridians.

Florida is also debating a bill to provide huge tax cuts to any NON-UNIONIZED companies moving to Florida. The message: Florida lawmakers are selling off Floridians as slave labor to all comers.



(please leave a comment at the story on the Orlando Sentinel link below and let Floridians know you support them. A group of workers' rights organizations and Occupy Orlando are protesting in front of The Outback Steakhouse on Sand Lake Road near the Florida Mall at 2pm tomorrow -- we are taking this very seriously and we need your help. We need this to go beyond Florida, b/c this sort of ALEC legislation is cropping up everywhere. Please also spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, etc.)


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-florida-tipped-minimum-wage-20120215,0,397929.story


Senate panel OKs slashing hourly pay for servers, bartenders, others
By Sandra Pedicini, Orlando Sentinel
6:03 p.m. EST, February 16, 2012

(snip)

The bill (SB 2106), approved by a Senate committee Thursday, would allow restaurants and other employers to pay their staffs the federal tipped minimum wage of $2.13 an hour instead of Florida's minimum of $4.65. To qualify, companies would have to guarantee that employees would make at least $9.98 an hour, when tips are included.

Opponents say it would cut the pay for people like Charles Spencer, who's working his way through school by waiting tables at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant in Downtown Disney. He said his wage of $11 to $12 an hour pays the bills — but barely.

"It's a lot of canned vegetables and grilled chicken and ramen noodles," said Spencer, 25, adding, "I was rather appalled by the fact they're going to try to cut a wage standard in this economy."

(snip)

"That base pay is actually really important," said Wolford, 39, whose budget is so tight she cannot afford health insurance.