That’s precisely why Horsford and other Democrats are trying to attach a sub-minimum wage repeal to any legislation that ends taxes on tips. And it’s why the Culinary Union Local 226 is backing Horsford’s plan, but also looking to hold Trump to his promise.
“We’re waiting to see whether Trump’s going to keep his word on this. He needs to,” says Ted Pappageorge, the union’s secretary-treasurer. “But that’s only part of the equation. There’s not going to be anything moving forward just on taxes, on tips, and we were clear about that.”
Pappageorge – who earned tips when he worked as a busser, a barback and a bartender early in his career – says any legislation on tip taxes has to address the sub-minimum wage, which he calls “just criminal.”
“So when it comes to working-class issues, we think that that’s what needs to be tackled at the federal level also, and we are going to fight tooth and nail to make sure that Democrats and Republicans tackle working-class, kitchen-table issues, and especially the cost of living,” Pappageorge says.
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Pappageorge says eliminating taxes on tips in general would be a gain for workers, although he suggests that Democratic votes for the idea could be assured by including the sub-minimum wage repeal provision in any bill.