[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 4 (Thursday, January 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H106-H107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             HAYMARKET CAFE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, today I am honored to share the story of 
the Haymarket Cafe, started by brothers Peter and David Simpson, in 
Northampton, Massachusetts.
  Mr. Speaker, one of the surest signs of a vibrant local economy is a 
lively restaurant scene. You know a town or a region is humming 
economically when you have a wide variety of restaurants to choose 
from. It is a sign that people have enough money left over after paying 
all of their bills to spend on treating themselves and their families. 
It is a strong indication that people feel secure in the direction of 
the economy.
  But for millions of low-wage workers across the country, the story is 
more complicated than that, and the picture is not all that pretty. For 
all the economic vibrancy associated with restaurant culture--and 
though restaurants employ almost 1 in 10 private

[[Page H107]]

sector workers--restaurant workers are among the worst paid, worst 
treated within the economy as a whole.

                              {time}  1015

  While non-restaurant private sector workers make a median hourly wage 
of $18, restaurant workers earn a median hourly wage of $10, including 
tips. The results are predictable in that more than 16 percent of 
restaurant workers live below the poverty line.
  This picture is made even worse by how it is skewed along race and 
gender lines. The highest paid positions in restaurants tend to be held 
by men and people who are White while the lowest paid positions are 
typically held by women and people of color. At the bottom of the 
ladder are undocumented workers, who comprise over 15 percent of the 
restaurant workforce, more than twice the rate for non-restaurant 
sectors.
  The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. There are 
forward-thinking restaurant owners who are choosing the high road, 
restaurants where conscious efforts are made to break down gender and 
ethnic divisions and that choose to pay a living wage with good 
benefits.
  If you ask them, the owners of these establishments will tell you 
that they choose this path because it is not only the right thing to 
do, but it is also the smart thing to do financially. They choose this 
path because it is a solid business model that improves the chances of 
success in a highly competitive industry.
  I am proud to represent one of those restaurants in my district. The 
Haymarket Cafe in Northampton, Massachusetts, has led the way for 
almost a quarter century in treating its employees with respect and in 
paying them a living wage.
  I attended an event a couple of weeks ago at the Haymarket Cafe at 
which the owner, Peter Simpson, announced that his restaurant was 
moving to a $15 per hour minimum wage and would be eliminating tips. 
Now, I have known Peter for a long time, and I was not surprised that 
he would take such a step.
  Peter opened the Haymarket with his brother, David, almost 25 years 
ago. From the beginning, they were committed to paying a fair wage and 
in creating a positive work environment for their employees. In talking 
to Peter, I realized that his decision, while it reflected his 
idealism, was rooted in hard-nosed business sense.
  You don't survive and thrive for a quarter century in the highly 
competitive restaurant industry, especially in a small, tight-knit 
community like Northampton, if your business model isn't airtight. 
Every decision you make has to make sense financially in order to 
succeed and stay competitive.
  The decision to go to a $15 per hour minimum wage and eliminate tips 
was not something Peter took lightly. He did his homework. He looked at 
other restaurants in other cities that had made a similar move. He 
talked to all of his employees. He worked closely with the Pioneer 
Valley Workers Center, which is leading the charge to better the lives 
of low-wage immigrant workers in western Massachusetts.
  Eliminating tips allowed Peter to make the wages between better paid 
waiters and less well-paid kitchen staff more equitable. It allowed his 
wait staff to earn a wage they could count on, rather than having to 
depend on the tipping whims of customers. It also gave him increased 
staffing flexibility, as he could train all of his staff to do all jobs 
so he could more easily shift people around when necessary. In 
committing to a $15 per hour minimum wage, Peter also increased staff 
loyalty while decreasing turnover and training costs.
  As a result of Peter's bold decision, the Haymarket Cafe has been 
overwhelmed by an outpouring of support. Staff and customers are 
equally enthusiastic, and business has jumped. This commitment to wage 
equity has shown, once again, to be a sound business strategy and has 
shown that a business based on such principles can provide a decent 
living for its staff and can contribute to the economic health of the 
community.
  Mr. Speaker, the Haymarket Cafe is living proof, especially in an 
industry with such a dismal track record on wages, that paying a living 
wage is good for business and that a commitment to wage equity makes 
financial sense. The restaurant industry can and must do better, and I 
am proud to say the Haymarket Cafe is leading the way.

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