:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/38794198/eater0614_protest.0.jpeg)
"Portland restaurant owners told Mayor Michael Brennan...not to meddle with their payment system for tipped servers as part of his plan to increase the citywide minimum wage." Seth Koenig reports on last week's public hearing, which focused heavily on Maine's tipped minimum wage of $3.75 per hour. This could be upped to $9.50 per hour with other wages should Brennan's plan succeed. In related national news, Tom Philpott analyzes a "stomach-turning new report" from the Economic Policy Institute which shows "40 Percent of Restaurant Workers Live in Near-Poverty." [BDN, Mother Jones]