AUGUSTA - Rep. Mike Sylvester, D-Portland, will be one of a number of speakers attending a Restaurant Wage Reform event hosted by Ruby's West End in Portland on Tuesday, October 12 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Sylvester will speak about a bill he is proposing for the upcoming session, the Maine Food Workers Bill of Rights, which will address the current staffing crisis throughout the Maine food system economy and support small business employers who are struggling to fully reopen with limited staff.
"The restaurant industry in Maine is struggling to recover," said Sylvester. "Workers don't want to go back to restaurants when tips are down, wages are low and harassment and child care costs are just too high. This is the epitome of a much wider phenomenon. Workers across the economy are not willing to work for poverty wages anymore and yet employers are struggling to raise wages. That is the problem that this bill seeks to address by not pitting worker and employer against each other but, rather, bringing them together with government to solve it."
The proposed bill will provide grant support to small-business food employers who are transitioning immediately to the $15 minimum wage. These grants would include small restaurants, small grocery stores and small farms. It would also establish farmworkers as employees and include a full minimum wage for food workers who receive tips. That wage would be above and beyond those tips.
"I'm introducing this legislation and attending this important event to start the conversation," said Sylvester. "Part of this effort includes a listening campaign that I will embark upon in the coming months where I plan to hear from folks in all sectors of the food system economy so that we can build a solution that works for everyone."
Sylvester is serving his third term in the Maine House and represents part of Portland. He serves as House chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Labor and Housing.
- WHAT: Restaurant Wage Reform Discussion
- WHO: Rep. Mike Sylvester, D-Portland
- WHEN: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 12
- WHERE: Ruby's West End, 64 Pine St., Portland
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Sylvester], c. 812-1111