Well of course the unions are against tipping. 2 primary reasons, both quite logical. 1) unions stand resolutely against any sort of pay based on merit which is precisely what tipping does. In a unions mind the better employees are the ones who do just barely enough to not get fired since they are also unlikely to move to another job to better themselves thus depriving the union of their dues. 2) Tipped workers are typically not in a union so getting rid of tipping hurts the income of mostly non-union employees, then the union can come in and say they will get employees more money if they join the union - never mind it will have been in large part the union who took away their tips.

Eliminate tips??? Obviously, they also want every worker to be slow, lazy and demanding. Who would want to tip them?

"Obviously, they also want every worker to be slow, lazy and demanding"

In other words, Union Members.

Defy the unions at every turn, especially the SEIU, the most repulsive and corrosive bunch of thugs you will ever encounter. They are like termites.

Unions like SEIU has no other sources of income to go after, they ruin the US industry, they are bankrupting cities across the country and now they are after the minimum wage workers because they are vulnerable, and lack the knowledge that unions are only after one thing, MONEY. Unions don't care about you the worker, they are using you to get at companies, a form of legalized extortion. Why do you think companies give up and quit, they are tired of paying the unions. For every dollar you make, unions take 10 cents but that money does not come from you, it comes from the company, and you the worker complain your not making enough, quit giving your money to the unions, think about it, what do you really get in return, poor legislation, a new president, how is that helping you, its just helping the union who wants you to believe that's you.

Stupid socialists. Lets kill the incentive to do a good job by eliminating tips. Lets send every member of SEIU and their leadership to GITMO to be comfort slaves to the terrorist jailed there.

In Nevada, unions hire people to man picket lines which like true union members sit around, drink water, and do absolutely nothing......

Imagine these idiots fighting over seniority for the best water bottle or seat.

Here, here, here! In the union world there will be no self initiative allowed. We must band together in sameness, and a non-productive work ethic. Nose ring and chain crowd.

the unions are more concerned about growing their numbers than in helping workers.

A lot of these workers only do this for a short time. They pay their union dues but since they leave this profession, they do not receive much in the way of benefits. The union doesn't have to worry about paying anything to these workers once they leave.

yet the unions say they are for the people and work against the very people they say they support.

I wonder, does a union pay taxes on the dues they received before or after they pay their salaries and benefits, political contributions, and have their yearly convention in Las Vegas. The workers that make their living on tips should consider the poor union president that only make $400K and how much he needs their dues to pay for his European vacation next year.

Not to mention what they get paid under the table lending their pension dollars to the thugs that really run the unions.

The government can't tax tips either. I don't like unions, but they make a couple points here. One is that the entire tip goes the server, and the good in the back often makes half what the server does, and cooking is just as important to restaurants as serving. Waitresses are picked on looks, and they are paid extra for being pretty. Lose an eye in a car accident and you go to the kitchen and make half as much. The system makes it expensive to go to restaurants, as people are "expected" to add 15-20% to their bill, and the government looks the other way for taxes, encouraging evasion they know is happening. The whole system has a dark side that includes discrimination, tax evasion, equality, and shaming people into paying some employees 2-3 times as much as others.

These same unions march in support of democrats, who push an illegal immigrant agenda........which.......?,,..,,lowers wages in all low wage jobs.......because......?......illegals work cheap and don't ask for raises.
Truly an intelligent gang of folks(not).

I think that's why you see a lot of union folks voting republican. The Democrats will have a hard time overcoming the support for cheap labor by the heads of the Unions these past couple of years.

Wow. Silliness in every sentence. From the top: "The government can't tax tips." If they're worried about it, they should levy a tax they can actually collect. "The good (???) in back often makes half of what the server does." Wow! You mean people in the same company have different pay rates?!? Novel Concept. I sure am glad none of us work for companies that do that! "Lose an eye in a car accident and you go to the kitchen to make half as much." Welcome to Planet Earth where injuries can affect your professional life. How about "Lose your arms in a car accident and don't make anything." Maybe we should ban car accidents, eh? Solve the problem altogether. "The system makes it expensive to go to restaurants." Really dude? You do realize you're complaining about a system in which people choose A) if they pay, and B) how much they pay. That's rough. I'm sure they would prefer the rigid increased cost resulting from a $15 per hour min wage.

OK I get it. You don't like tipping. I wouldn't want to engage in "shaming," but maybe you should just get over the idea that some people are lucky enough to be paid a little extra for looking good (I wish I got paid extra for sheer good looks) and learn to appreciate that we have a socially acceptable means of simultaneously complimenting someone and helping them pay their bills. Having lived in places where tipping is considered taboo, I consider myself lucky to have grown up in a place where generosity is considered a cultural norm - not an insult.

Are people so stupid that they willingly give away their money to the unions??? For what, certain business failure and the loss of their jobs!! That's a winning proposal!!!!!!!!!!!

You can tell the author never worked in a restaurant. You really don't always know how much you're going to take home. What if it snows on a Fri or Sat night? You're screwed. Waitstaff used to make min wage, until Cowboy Ronnie Reagan took his orders from the National Restaurant Association and put the burden of paying waitstaff onto the customer. And if there are no customers...waitstaff have to stay there for pennies. Great for restaurateurs, bad for waitstaff.

The insinuation that the "Goliath" (LOL) Labor has even anything close to the lobbying power of the mega-corporations have today would be laughable if it weren't such an insult to our intelligence.

"Worker front groups" Yes, big bad labor is out to turn our country Stalinist. Ooooooooo!!!

I want my 5 minutes back that it cost me to read this tripe.

You didn't read it correctly. He didn't say they know how much your going to take home--- future tense.

He said:

Tipped workers, however, know exactly how much money they’re taking home each night.

That is past tense. In other words they can count their tips at the end of the night.

And not pay taxes on it.

$11.82 per hour is middle class? 70% of the country live in Metro areas and $24,000 per year is not a salary to anchor a family.
maybe in the lowest cost rural area, this pay means middle class- but in those areas, you wont earn that.
tipping just means the employer does not want to really pay the cost of having an employee and wants to shift some of that cost to the customer.
pay the servers real money and a real health care plan and forget the tipping.

No, the current system is better and it works.

I'm union i have excellent pay,health , dental, paid time off, and a PENSION! Im not rich but i got job security and pride. it aint that bad you guys should really get on board. If you think the manager that is cutting your department so he gets his bonus cares about you and your family then i got a bridge for sale. Good Luck though seriously.

Need to stop federal income tax, start federal sales tax. Get the taxes on the tips that are never claimed.

Of course unions want a cut, the only thing unions look out for is the union. If these money grubbing thugs get in kiss your job goodby.I'v been a bartender all my life.When I was working at a dog track a union tried to get in I asked the boss what would happen if we unionized he said 3/4 of us would get fired.When the union got in...the track closed Ya that really helpd the workers

Unions need to die already.

Pretty funny article. Typical right wing swill, actually. How can anyone claim that there is such a thing as "Big Labor" with a straight face? Labor is at its weakest point in modern history in the US. An average wage of $11.82 means that many tipped workers earn much less than that, which means that they are not earning a living wage. Certainly, the top earners like tips. But policy needs to consider the hard working folks who are making below that magical $11.82 per hour. Has the writer ever earned less than that as a full time worker? No? Oh, he is special.
Tipping is a curse. Pay people a fair wage up front. If it isn't enough, they can form unions and bargain for more.

Yeah, getting their grubby mitts in the tip jar has to be a wet dream for those thugs....

This is a step in the right direction considering many of the servers out there only claim 50% of their tips which means they are evading taxes and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the Federal Law they are breaking. Then after they do not claim taxes and show what they are actually making they can get approved for government assistance which is pretty much a double dip. They save on taxes and get more money for being dishonest and not claiming all that they make. Until the masses of servers claim what they actually make I think tips should be taken away. Not to mention most service nowadays is subpar at best and does not warrant a tip in the first place.

I gift the wait staff, I don't tip them. Gifts are not taxable to the recipient, nor do I have to file a gift tax return unless I tip an individual more than $13,000 in a calendar year.

gee. thanks for the chocolate covered strawberry, that'll help pay my bills ;)

Tipping is an expression of gratitude and therefore "speech" in my opinion. I don't see them getting last the First Amendment because their unions rolls are dwindling. Unions are only interested in generating union dues and will do or say anything to achieve it.

Unions are trash.

$11.82/ hour is middle class? That averages out to about $23,640/ year BEFORE taxes. That is less than half of the median income in the U.S. I think it would be hard for a single person to live on that much. Whoever came up with the standard on what is middle class must not pay bills, buy groceries, gas or pay rent or a mortgage.

it is important that the unions deliver a good deal for its members, and a consistent salary is one. I am not a big fan of tipping for regular service anyway. tipping has allowed for restaurant owners to pay less than no tipped workers.

Wait paying workers a living wage instead of relying on the consumer to pay their wages so they can make more profits? Only the rich can afford to tip these days with all the jobs sent overseas so they can profit even more....I don't think servers would mind knowing what they will leave with at the end of the week now.

Bottom line is they will leave with far less without tips. Anyone who works in the restaurant business knows that.

Searching for a cause ... "Come on! Stick, darn ya! We are hemorrhaging members here!"