HERMAN CAIN, THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT

We’ve heard a lot in the last few days about the allegations of sexual harassment against Herman Cain, current Republic presidential candidate, during his tenure as President of the National Restaurant Association (NRA). A powerful lobbying group in Congress, the NRA is led by the world’s largest multinational restaurant corporations, and has spent millions over the last several years to keep the minimum wage for tipped workers at $2.13 and prevent any efforts to win paid sick days. While Cain was a rising star within the NRA, the lobbying group truck a deal with its friends in Congress to freeze the tipped minimum wage at $2.13 forever. Regardless of whether or not they are true, these allegations against Cain represent the epitome of the culture of the restaurant industry – one in which the overwhelming power of the employer has resulted in severe gender discrimination and sexual harassment for women.

The majority of restaurant workers nationwide are actually women, many of whom deal with constant sexual harassment in the industry. One server told us, “A lot of the owners will fire you if you say anything back to them. Or if you don’t flirt back at their flirting to you. They’ll find an easy way to fire you.”[i] Even though the majority of all restaurant workers earn poverty-level wages, waitresses earn eight cents to every dollar that waiters earn, a difference of almost $70 per week[ii]. Our data shows that wages are even worse for women of color, who earn $4 than everyone else in the industry[iii].

Most importantly, our most recent research reveals that the lower minimum wage for tipped workers, currently $2.13 due to NRA influence in Congress, significantly exacerbates the gender wage equity gap in the restaurant industry. It’s the epitome of the undue influence of discriminatory multinational corporations on Congress! Click here to let your legislator know that $2.13 an hour IS NOT ENOUGH FOR ANYONE!

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[i] Restaurant Opportunities Center of Michigan, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, and Southeast Michigan Restaurant Industry Coalition, “Behind the Kitchen Door,” 51.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, “Behind the Kitchen Door: A Multisite Study of the Restaurant Industry.”