Greenville Restaurateur Testifies Before Senate Budget Committee

Greenville Restaurateur Testifies Before Senate Budget Committee

Urges Congress to Rethink Implementing Raise the Wage Act During Pandemic

February 25, 2021 (Columbia, SC)—Carl Sobocinski, founder of Table 301 Group and National Restaurant Association Liaison for the South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association (SCRLA), testified before the Senate Budget Committee today in Washington, D.C.

Click here to watch the Senate Budget Committee Hearing (Carl begins at 1:25:25)

Click here to read Carl's testimony.

Sobocinski, along with members of the SCRLA, do not oppose a common-sense increase in the federal minimum wage; however, they do oppose implementing the “Raise the Wage Act” in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislation calls for a 100% increase in the federal minimum wage over five years, from the current $7.25 to $15, and the elimination of the tip credit. Sobocinski encouraged Senators to rethink the effort to fast track this proposal in a bill targeted at keeping businesses open and people in jobs, rather than spurring closures and layoffs.

According to recent National Restaurant Association data, between March 2020 and

January 2021, restaurant sales were down $255 billion from expected levels. Seventeen percent of restaurants – about 110,000 – are closed permanently or long-term. Alarmingly, the industry is still down 2.5 million jobs from the pre-coronavirus level.

For Sobocinski, paying his employees $15 per hour would be a 33% increase from the $10 per hour he currently pays, in turn raising the cost of payroll expenses, employer taxes, workers compensation insurance, and employee benefits.

Raise the Wage would eliminate a separate tip wage, destroying the very business model that restaurants across the nation rely upon.

Tipping is essential for individuals in the restaurant industry. The tip credit system incentivizes servers to deliver excellent service, enables customers to reward servers for great service, and allows restaurants to keep labor costs in check. Tipped employees typically earn on average between $19-25 per hour of additional take home pay.

Raise the Wage Act is predicted to result in 1.4 million job losses— with a one-in-three chance of that number rising to 2.7 million job losses total.

Restaurants are struggling to survive, dealing not only with the pandemic, but reduced capacity that is testing their ability to remain solvent. Take action to save the tip credit by visiting SaveSCTips.org.