The petition was organized by the advocacy group Restaurant Opportunities Center United and its co-founder Saru Jayaraman, who is also the director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California Berkeley.
Along with the letter, the group sent a petition signed by not just the boldfaced names, but hundreds of workers who want to see the state do away with the so-called “sub-minimum wage” for restaurant workers.
The celebs and other supporters believe mandating a full minimum wage for workers who earn tips would even the economic playing field for those employees, who are predominantly women and people of color, and make waitresses less vulnerable to sexual harassment.
The call for a “One Fair Wage” policy comes a year after Gov. Cuomo asked the Department of Labor to study the effect of raising the wage for tipped workers. Several hearings were held across the state, but lawmakers said they haven’t heard any final assessment from the administration.
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