Mayor Brandon Johnson vows to veto legislation freezing wage increases for tipped workers

Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday pledged to veto an ordinance approved by the City Council to halt the phase-out of Chicago's subminimum wage for tipped workers, calling the proposal "shameful."

"I believe that's the only fair thing to do to make sure that we're standing up for working people," Johnson said.

Critics of the mayor used a parliamentary maneuver on Wednesday to force a vote on an ordinance that would freeze tipped wages where they currently stand, after the measure had been stalled for months in the Rules Committee, where legislation the mayor opposes is often left to languish without a vote.

The 30-18 vote by the City Council to halt upcoming raises in the tipped wage was four votes shy of the threshold needed to survive a veto from Johnson. 

The mayor called Wednesday's vote "shameful" and said he "will not sit idly by as working people struggle to make rent and to pay for food and to make sure that their children have everything that they need.

"I'm not going to stand idly by and watch Black and Brown women suffer at the hands of corporate interests," Johnson added. The mayor did not say when he will officially issue his veto.

In 2023, the City Council approved the "One Fair Wage Ordinance" to gradually eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers, raising it to the full minimum wage by July 1, 2028. It was one of Johnson's first signature wins for his progressive agenda.

Before the ordinance passed, businesses were allowed to pay tipped workers 60% of the standard minimum wage, but if tipped workers' wages and tips did not add up to the full minimum wage, their employer had to make up the difference.

After two pay increases under the "One Fair Wage Ordinance," tipped workers are currently paid 76% of the full minimum wage, or $12.62 an hour, with employers still required to make up for the difference if tips do not bring workers' pay up to the full minimum wage. 

On July 1, that subminimum wage for tipped workers will go up to 84% of the full minimum wage, and by July 1, 2028, it will go up to the full minimum wage.

Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th) led the effort to freeze the phase-out of the tipped wage where it stands, and keep the subminimum wage for tipped workers at 76% of the full minimum wage. 

"The last few years have shown us that this clearly wasn't working, and we've lost a ton of restaurants, and a lot of servers have lost their jobs, and quite frankly we need servers. We want our restaurants to thrive," Nugent said. "This legislation will help protect servers and back-of-the-house jobs, and keep small independent restaurants operating."

Critics of the "One Fair Wage Ordinance" have argued it has forced restaurants to reduce staffing, raise prices, or close altogether.  

At a press conference before Wednesday's meeting, Bronzeville Winery owner Eric Williams said, if the subminimum wage for tipped workers continues to go up, he might be forced to go out of business.

Williams said he understands the intent of the ordinance, but believes it's actually hurt tipped workers by forcing restaurants to cut back on staffing and/or increase menu prices, driving away customers.

"The more you increase your prices, the less people come," Williams said. "So, because of that, we've had to cut service, because we have less customers coming. So now we go from five servers to having three. So because of the $3 increase per hour, they're losing $30 or $40 per hour in what they were making tips."

However, Johnson argued that, since the first pay increase for tipped workers took into effect in 2024, the city has seen a net increase in the number of licensed restaurants and tipped workers.

"There are more restaurants applying for licenses than we've ever had in the city of Chicago," Johnson said.

Johnson said the city needs to make sure it is supporting both small businesses and the people who work for them.

"We don't have to pit these groups against one another," he said. "What I find actually quite ironic is that those who are moving this with expediency are the largest corporate interests around the industry that quite frankly do not live, or even connect, or even support the very communities in which they say or claim they are standing up for. It's shameful."

The mayor's allies have said restaurant owners aren't the only ones struggling in the current economy, and said tipped workers deserve better wages.  

Ald. Anthony Quezada (35th) said his first jobs were in the restaurant industry, and he knows "how humiliating it is to work 60 hours a week and not be able to pay your bills."

He argued the current full minimum wage itself is too low for people to get by.

"This minimum wage should be $20 an hour. That's what this council should be talking about, not rolling back wages for workers, but increasing wages for workers," he said. "There is real honest rage that is coming from working class people, and they don't have the opportunity to be in these chambers because they're working, they're serving food, they're taking care of their kids. They can't be in these chambers. So that's why it's important that we have working class representatives in this council who are going to uplift their needs and their struggles."

In other business on Wednesday, the City Council also approved a proposal to strengthen penalties for animal cruelty offenses. The ordinance would add new requirements for owners to provide pets with breed-appropriate food, ventilated shelter large enough for animals to move about freely, and reasonable medical care.

It also would prohibit pet owners from leaving their animals staked out outside for more than two hours at a time, or for more than 30 minutes overnight when temperatures drop below 45° or if there is a weather advisory in place, unless there is an appropriate shelter outside.

Fines for animal cruelty would increase from $1,000 to $5,000.

Alders also gave final approval to a $27 million settlement with the family of a mother of six killed in a crash during a high-speed police chase in 2017.

The settlement will go to the family of Stacy Vaughn-Harrell, who was driving with her daughter, Kimberlyn Myers, near 59th and LaSalle streets in Englewood on June 24, 2017, when their car was hit by a white Kia Sorrento fleeing from police.

Attorneys for the family have said officers involved in the chase violated Chicago Police Department rules regarding vehicle pursuits by failing to activate their lights or sirens, tried to cover up what happened by turning off or failing to activate their body cameras, and did not try to help Myers or Vaughn-Harrell after the crash.

The deal calls for taxpayers to cover $20 million of the settlement, with the city's insurance company paying $7 million.

And Ald. Ruth Cruz (30th) led the charge for the City Council to unanimously approve a resolution urging Congress to pass legislation known as "Medicare for All" to provide health care coverage for all Americans with no co-pays, deductibles, or other out-of-pocket costs.

"No one should be left at home waiting to die due to our dysfunctional healthcare system. We can and must do better," Cruz said.

Before the meeting, doctors who support "Medicare for All" spoke about burnout due to low morale.

"Physicians are frustrated by their inability to offer their patients the most appropriate care. They are stymied by required prior authorizations that issue inappropriate denials of care," said Dr. Claudia Fegan, with Physicians for a National Health Program.