Realistic & Fair Wages

I worked in a restaurant as a server earning $2.65 and could not afford to eat.

I worked in a restaurant as a server earning $2.65 and could not afford to eat. Like many women across the country, I worked as a server at a neighborhood restaurant. During the year the job was fine, I made just enough money to cover my expenses. But when the summer came, even though I was working...

The Wage Gap: Back to the Future for International Women's Day

In 2010, dear friends of mine gave birth to a baby girl. I saw the first pictures of her, not even an hour old, while I was writing a blog post about another important event, the first anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Act. She looked so serious in some of those pictures, as if she was determined...

$2.13 no compra ni un galón de leche

Sé que cada estado tiene sus propias leyes y no todos los meseros en restaurantes son mal pagados. Pero ésto sí es cierto: el sueldo mínimo federal en los Estados Unidos para un mesero que recibe propinas es de $2.13 la hora. ¡Éste sueldo federal no ha cambiado en más de 20 años! No les tengo que...

$2.13 an hour?

Pop quiz: What was the federal minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers in the United States in 1992 (20 years ago)? Answer: $2.13 an hour. Next question: Right now, in 2012, what's the federal minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers? Answer: Still only $2.13 an hour. Yikes! Sad, but true: The...