Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Frank Alejandre / The Nevadan / El Nevadense)
Kamala Harris acknowledged in Las Vegas the hard-working men and women of the hospitality industry and committed to fight to end taxes on tips.
Nevada has the highest concentration of tipped workers in the nation, and those tips are currently subject to federal taxes. A new bipartisan bill would allow hospitality workers to keep their tips without paying federal income tax on them.
The Democratic senators Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto signed onto the “No Tax on Tips Act,” a bill introduced last month by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Cruz filed the bill after former President Donald Trump suggested making tips exempt from federal income tax during a Las Vegas visit. Rosen and Cortez Masto are the first Democratic lawmakers to sign on to the bill.
Sen. Jacky Rosen speaks on stage as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris hold a campaign rally at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Frank Alejandre / The Nevadan / El Nevadense)
After the visit of Vice-President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz, Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer of the Culinary Union Local 226 said in a statement that “Vice-President Kamala Harris acknowledged the hard-working men and women of the hospitality industry and committed tonight in Las Vegas to raise the minimum wage across the country and fight to end taxes on tips once elected as the next President of the United States of America”.
Culinary Union Local 226 continues to urge elected leaders in Nevada – including city council members, state legislators, county commissioners, and federal representatives – to join Vice-President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz, Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, and Congressional Representatives Steven Horsford, Dina Titus and Susie Lee in supporting efforts to raise the minimum wage across the country and to ensure that there are no taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.
As the largest organization of working women in Nevada, the chance to elect the first woman president of the USA is both energizing and historic and we are ready to make history together. The path to victory runs through Nevada and the Culinary Union, and we will deliver Nevada for President Kamala Harris and Vice-President Tim Walz.
Kamala Harris to a crowd of over 12,000 supporters, including hundreds of Culinary Union members in Las Vegas:
“I know Culinary 226 is in the house! The Culinary Union as everyone in Nevada knows, they have helped lead the way in our country for workers’ rights and workers’ dignity. I have to say, for years, I’ve bene so proud to work by your side…and earlier this year, right here in Vegas, we celebrated your historic contract win and it is my promise to everyone here, when I am President, we will continue our fight for working families of America, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers!”
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto speaks on stage as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris hold a campaign rally at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Frank Alejandre / The Nevadan / El Nevadense)
Culinary Union calls Nevada elected officials to support the federal ban of sub-minimum wages and taxes on tips
Nevada stands as a model where workers receive a fair minimum wage, without relying on customer tips to cover wages. Currently, 34 states maintain minimum wages above the federal standard of $7.25, but tipped employees in many states still earn as little as $2.13 per hour.
According to the BLS, approximately 1.1 million workers in the United States earn at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. As an example: In Massachusetts, the tipped minimum wage is $6.75 an hour while the state minimum wage is $15.00 an hour.
It is outrageous that over a million workers in this country are not guaranteed a fair minimum wage in 2024. Employers across the nation need to take responsibility for paying a real minimum wage and congress must ensure it.
Seven states (Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) have banned the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers, ensuring that these workers receive the same minimum wage as non-tipped employees (NELP). By eliminating the sub-minimum wage, these states have taken real steps to protect tipped workers and guarantee they earn a fair wage.
A glass tip jar, left, appears next to a point-of-sale payment system screen displaying tip options at a coffee shop in Waitsfield, Vt., on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. (Photo Carolyn Lessard/AP)
It’s time for the rest of the country to follow.
Culinary Union has led the fight for over 30 years for fair taxation on tips and our union supports the ban on taxes on tips. It’s time for nationwide change to ensure that workers receive a fair wage and earn enough so that one job is enough to provide for their families.
States and territories that maintain the lowest sub-minimum wages for tipped employees: Alabama ($2.13), Georgia ($2.13), Indiana ($2.13), Kansas ($2.13), Kentucky ($2.13), Louisiana ($2.13), Mississippi ($2.13), Nebraska ($2.13), North Carolina ($2.13), Oklahoma ($2.13), Puerto Rico ($2.13), South Carolina ($2.13), Tennessee ($2.13), Texas ($2.13), Utah ($2.13), Virginia ($2.13), Wyoming ($2.13), Delaware ($2.23), West Virginia ($2.62), and Arkansas ($2.63). Source & full list.
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