06-05-2025
Hospitality workers rally in DC to save Initiative 82
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Nearly a hundred union workers across the hospitality and trade industries gathered on the steps of the Wilson Building on Tuesday morning, calling on the D.C. Council to stop Mayor Muriel Bowser from repealing Initiative 82.
The measure gradually raises the minimum wage for tipped workers to be on par with everyone else in D.C., which is currently $17.50.
Ellery Grimm works at St. Anselm's. She told DC News Now that, as a busser, she doesn't make as much as servers and bartenders because she only receives a percentage of the tip pool.
'As a busser, I am a wage worker, and so, I am looking forward to– I am actually relying on this wage increase that's coming in July,' Grimm said. 'I'm really encouraging the mayor and the Councilmembers not to go ahead with repealing Initiative 82. This is something that the residents of D.C. voted on twice.'
The workers also urge the Council not to approve the mayor's multi-billion-dollar plan to build a new football stadium unless there's a firm commitment to 'high-quality hospitality jobs.'
Bowser announced the plan to repeal I-82 as part of her 2026 budget proposal during a press conference Monday.
In a show of solidarity with the workers, Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) told the crowd, 'We're going to work together to get enough Councilmembers to block this repeal.'
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Bowser proposes repealing Initiative 82 in upcoming budget
However, Bowser has said the repeal is necessary because the economic landscape in which restaurants operate is vastly different from three years ago, when the initiative passed. The economic changes come as D.C. could lose 40,000 federal jobs due to the Trump administration's cuts to the federal workforce.
Restaurant owners have blamed the measure for increased operating costs, which have forced some places to shut down. However, Paul Schwalb of UNITE HERE Local 25 said getting rid of I-82 is the wrong solution.
'Look, we believe that cutting wages for workers is always a bad idea,' said Schwalb. 'If we need to help the restaurant industry, we should do it, but we should also recognize that there are lots of restaurants that are thriving.'
Repealing Initiative 82 will require D.C. Council approval.
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