State labor officials are pushing for a wage hike for those in the food industry who rely on tips.
Acting Labor Secretary Jennifer Berrier says the current $2.83 per hour wage for bartenders and wait staff is too low.
“[The wage] is not enough for the physical and mental grueling job of serving and bartending. And it’s not enough to get on in Pennsylvania, where the living wage was determined to be $11.50 per hour,” Berrier said. “That is why Governor Wolf has proposed one fair wage for all workers at $12 per hour with a pathway to $15 per hour.”
Berrier also said this would eliminate tipped wage workers at restaurants.
Critics of the proposal argue that restaurant owners wouldn’t be able to afford the wage increase.