GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — FOX 17 is continuing to cover looming changes to Michigan's tipped wage.
READ MORE: Local restaurant group concerned over tip wage increase
Right now, employees like servers and bartenders are legally allowed to make less hourly because they also get tips.
Over the summer, Michigan's Supreme Court ruled the state must start phasing out this lower minimum wage starting in 2025.
Restaurant owners and workers continue to say this change will hurt more than it will help.
There is legislation in the works, specifically House Bills 6056 and 6057, to undo this change. It has prompted local restaurant owners to band together, asking state elected officials to hear them out.
Chris Andrus, co-owner of Mitten Brewing in Grand Rapids, created West Michigan Hospitality United.
“So far we’ve had over 1,200 emails sent to legislatures from all sorts of people throughout West Michigan, people that have worked in hospitality, do work in hospitality,” Andrus explained.
Andrus says he supports keeping the status quo for one simple reason.
“I like to say that opposition to these changes isn’t political or ideological. It’s math," Andrus said.
FOX 17 spoke with one of the lawmakers sponsoring the bipartisan bills.
“Servers are going to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars out of their own pocket. Restaurants are going to suffer. Really, we’re just watching an already difficult state to do business in get even worse. The bills fix that and make for a very flexible paid-leave system that businesses can handle and will be good for workers. And then on top of that, it will leave the tip credit alone — so servers can continue making money,” Graham Filler (R-93) said.
April Lambertson has been a server at Cedar Springs Brewing Company for eight and a half years.
“My youngest has a lot of health issues. He has an incurable esophagus disease. They allow me to have the time off for all of his appointments at DeVos. Money has been great for a single parent,” April Lambertson said.
Being a server works for this mom of three. Changes to her tips put her livelihood at stake, she says.
“It would devastate my family for sure. Every single person here, it would 100% devastate. I would have to get a second job," Lambertson said.
One Fair Wage, the group behind the push to increase the wages, maintains that increasing wages would not have bad effects on the restaurant industry.
“This is something that is a responsible way forward, that other states have already learned, that when you raise the base wage, raise minimum wage for servers, for all workers across the state, and allow for tips on top, it’s a winning formula for a strong restaurant industry,” Dave Woodward, senior advisor for One Fair Wage, said.
If nothing is done, tipped wages would increase gradually over a period of five years.
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube
