D.C. voters last month cast their ballots in favor of Initiative 77, to raise the minimum wage for waiters and bartenders. Almost immediately, members of the D.C. Council began threatening to overturn the will of the voters.
The ballot measure would remove the two-tiered minimum wage that kept many tipped workers in D.C. earning a salary of just $3.33 per hour, passed on June 19 with 55 percent of the vote, yet one side refuses to admit defeat.
What’s more, a majority of the council, Councilmembers Jack Evans, Brandon Todd, Kenyan McDuffie, Vincent Gray, Anita Bonds, Phil Mendelson, and Trayon White, are fueling this anti-democratic sentiment with a recently released bill that would completely repeal Initiative 77. Their allies in Congress are the House Freedom Caucus, whose leader Mark Meadows just introduced a rider to prevent D.C. from implementing 77.
If it’s not repealed, this initiative would raise the tipped minimum wage over seven years until eventually reaching $15 per hour, the same as the untipped minimum wage. This would allow tipped workers to no longer rely on customers’ generosity, an inconsistent form of income, to provide for themselves and their families, and raise wages across the board. It is also projected to cut sexual harassment within the industry in half, as it did in the seven other states which previously got rid of their two-tiered wage system.
Unfortunately, despite the positive results on display in every one of the seven states without a distinct tipped minimum wage, as well as the clear majority of voters supporting Initiative 77, business interests would have the D.C. Council reject the will of voters, with the Council now ready to play along.
In a recent interview with the Washington Post, the chief executive of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, Kathy Hollinger, suggested the outcome of the vote was insignificant because, among other things, it took place “in the middle of the summer.” Similarly, co-founder of Cork Wine Bar & Market, Khalid Pitts, stated that the city council and mayor would need to continue discussions on raising the tipped minimum wage because the vote took place during “a primary election that had otherwise low turnout.”
Essentially validating these anti-democratic sentiments, members of the D.C. Council have introduced legislation to invalidate the democratically reached consensus, with Councilmember Jack Evans asking opponents of Initiative 77 to state their displeasure at his office, despite his own ward voting in favor of the ballot measure. The same goes for Ward 7’s Gray, Ward 5’s McDuffie, Ward 4’s Todd, and Ward 8’s Trayon White, who all endorse repeal but whose constituents all supported Initiative 77 by 62 percent, 60 percent, 57 percent, and 67 percent, respectively.
Elected officials are proving just how removed they are from voters through their anti-democratic maneuvering. The people of D.C. are thoroughly acquainted with living in a political system where their votes don’t count — despite a population greater than that of two states, we have no voting member in the House of Representatives, no representation at all in the Senate, and all of our legislation must be approved by Congress. We do not expect to be ignored by those directly representing our communities as well.
So, to recap: The D.C. Council has moved to ignore the will of voters and block the ballot measure. Now, a member of the House Financial Services Committee from states away is moving to block the ballot measure. We are seeing the death of direct participation in government affairs, as both legislative bodies work to overturn the will of the majority of D.C. voters.
Saru Jayaraman, an activist for restaurant workers, said it best, “For so long, there has been such frustration over not respecting voters in D.C., and the fact that D.C. has not been able to speak for itself. Here, voters have spoken for themselves. Their will should be respected.”
Whether Initiative 77 won by 51 percent, 55 percent, or even 99 percent, a majority of voters chose to support it. That should be enough for the D.C. Council, for the local restaurant industry, and more importantly, for Congress.
Mr. Joel Kanter has been the President of Windy City, Inc. since July 1986, is Trustee Emeritus and past President of the Board of Trustees of The Langley School in McLean, Va., Board Chair of the Black Student Fund, Education Committee Chair of the Kennedy Center’s National Committee on the Performing Arts, and member of the Patriotic Millionaires.
