Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022 - 12

News
in Brief
CHEF RUSSELL
JACKSON AND HIS
TEAM AT REVERENCE
IN HARLEM, NYC
Raising the Wage
Floor for Restaurant
Workers
By DAVID PARADELA
M
ore than a million
workers have left
the
restaurant industry since
the beginning of the pandemic.
Low wages may be one factor:
Seven out of ten of the lowestpaid
jobs in the workforce are in
the restaurant industry.
One Fair Wage, an organization
that aims to end the subminimum
wage, conducted a survey in May
2021, finding that 53 percent of all
restaurant workers had considered
leaving their job since the COVID19
pandemic-39 percent of them
due to concerns of customer hostility
and harassment, 55 percent
of them due to COVID-19 safety
concerns, and 76 percent of them
due to low wages and tips. After
decades of enduring the sub-minimum
wage, which still exists in 43
states and allows tipped workers to
be paid $2.13 an hour, restaurant
workers are ready for change.
Through a press call on Valentine's
Day, typically the highest-grossing
day of the year
for restaurants, One Fair Wage
announced the 25 x 25 x 250
12
WINE & SPIR IT S
campaign. It aims to commit $25
million to raise wages and end the
subminimum wage in 25 states by
2026, the United States' 250th
anniversary.
On the call was Angela GloverBlackwell,
founder of the research
and action institute PolicyLink,
joined by Saru Jayaraman, One
Fair Wage's president and cofounder,
and other supporters of
One Fair Wage. Glover-Blackwell
described sub-minimum wages in
the restaurant industry as a legacy
of slavery. " When slavery ended,
white owners did not want to pay
black workers, so they developed
tips as a way for the customers to
pay directly, " she stated.
Jayaraman noted a shift in the
political winds when a ballot measure
to raise the minimum wage
in Washington, DC was approved
by the city council last fall. " Restaurants
that fought this [issue]
in 2018 are now paying this and
saying, 'We can't do it alone. We
need policy,' " said Jayaraman of
efforts to remove the sub-minimum
wage.
S PR IN g 202 2
Chef Russell Jackson, owner
of Reverence in Harlem, sits on
One Fair Wage's Board of Directors.
He says he's working to
set a precedent for the industry:
" We pay a living wage. We
have a fair tip share. We think
of how we treat our staff, and
think about the longevity and
wealth-building for our community
and for ourselves. It's
not rocket science. " He cited the
Employee Retention Tax Credit
as an important benefit that kept
his business afloat.
Actress and activist Jane Fonda
has been campaigning in Michigan
for One Fair Wage with her
9 to 5 co-star Lily Tomlin. The
state saw a 300 percent increase
in voter turnout in 2018 when the
organization introduced a ballot
measure to raise the minimum
wage. Of the 25 x 25 x 250 campaign,
Fonda stated, " It's going to
raise wages; it's going to boost the
economy; we're going to get workers
back to work. We're going to
allow restaurants to reopen and
drive voter turnout. "
Alessandra Biaggi (D-NY), the
prime Senate sponsor of the One
Fair Wage bill in New York State,
stated, " If we don't address this
issue urgently and with the care it
deserves, the sub-minimum wage
will leave a lot of these workers
vulnerable to things like hostility,
harassment, and violence from
the same customers they have to
rely on for tips. " ●
● International Wineries
for Climate Action
(IWCA), the group
founded in 2019 by Miguel
A. Torres of Familia Torres
and Katie Jackson of
Jackson Family Wineries,
has added five new members.
They are Miguel Torres
Chile, Famille Perrin
(France's Rhône Valley),
Champagne Lanson, Viña
Undurraga (Chile) and
Voyager Estate (Margaret
River, Western Australia).
● Duckhorn Portfolio
has acquired two parcels
totaling 40 acres of the
Stanly Ranch vineyard
in Los Carneros, and the
10-acre Red Wing Vineyard
in St. Helena.
● Shafer Vineyards President
Doug Shafer has sold
his company to the property
division of the Korean
luxury brand Shinsegae for
$250.3 million, according
to the Korean Herald.
● Ridge Vineyards has
appointed Trester Goetting
as the new Monte
Bello Winemaker. Working
with Head Winemaker/
COO John Olney, Goetting
began taking over winemaking
duties in January.
● The Wine & Spirit
Education Trust (WSET)
has announced Michelle
Brampton as its new CEO.
Brampton previously
served as Managing Director
Europe, Middle East,
and Africa (EMEA) at Treasury
Wine Estates.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF REVERENCE RESTAURANT
Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022

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