YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – In Ohio this year, you may vote on a constitutional amendment to change how some restaurant workers are paid.
A group is gathering signatures to try and put the change on the ballot. An outside group wants to force Ohio to eliminate the tipped wage and raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
“I know my people, if it would affect their tips, would be pretty upset about it,” said Nick Liakaris, with The Mocha House.
Some local restaurant owners learned about the amendment Monday at a roundtable hosted by the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber. The Ohio Restaurant Association is leading the effort against it.
The national average for tipped employees is $27 an hour, and the National Restaurant Association says it’s between $19 and $41 an hour, far above raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
“Paying a food server that wage, which is fine, except there’s going to be a net effect. You’re gonna have to pay $25 to eat a burger in a restaurant,” said Mark Canzonetta, with Bistro 1907 and Wahaka Taco.