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Question 5 fails, maintains tipped minimum wage for tipped workers
With about 75 percent of precincts reporting, 64 percent of Massachusetts voters voted against increasing the minimum wage for tipped workers.
Restaurant owners and some tipped workers rallied to defeat Question 5, which would’ve increased the minimum wage for tipped workers from $6.75 to $15 by 2029.
With about 75 percent of precincts reporting, 64 percent voted against the ballot question, according to results from the Associated Press at around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday.
One Fair Wage, the main proponent of the ballot question, argued that the higher minimum wage would have allowed for a more stable income for servers and would have reduced sexual harassment, particularly for women in the service industry. They blamed the loss on misinformation and “an unprecedented influx of corporate spending.”
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“This year in MA we fought an uphill battle against millions of dollars in corporate influence, false claims, and fear tactics, and we came closer than anyone thought possible,” OFW President Saru Jayaraman said in a statement. “The fight for fair wages is far from over, and we will continue organizing to ensure that every worker in Massachusetts receives the dignity and respect they deserve.”
The Committee to Protect Tips, the campaign against the ballot question, claimed that the state’s servers, bartenders, and other tipped employees overwhelmingly opposed the measure. If Question 5 had passed, customers wouldn’t tip as much, they argued, and restaurant workers would make less overall.
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“We thank the voters of Massachusetts for overwhelmingly rejecting this ill-conceived ballot question that was pushed by an out-of-state organization without the support of the very workers they purported to be representing,” the committee said in a statement.
The Massachusetts Restaurant Association and Massachusetts Restaurants United also advocated against the proposal. They argued that restaurants are still recovering from the pandemic and inflation, and a raised tipped minimum wage would’ve shuttered businesses and raised prices overall.
MRU Treasurer Nancy Caswell, who owns Brine in Newburyport, said in a statement that tipped workers and restaurants “have triumphed.”
“We keep the power in the hands of individual servers and bartenders who work tirelessly day after day to service guests across the Commonwealth to the best of their abilities,” Caswell said. “And they will continue to be directly compensated for their good work because of this ballot question not passing.”
What happens now?
Nothing. The ballot measure didn’t pass, so bartenders, servers, and other tipped workers won’t see any wage adjustments next year.
2024 Election: Share your reactions to Question 5 results
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