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0 pointshedora3y ago0 comments

The US faced a dilemma: Post civil war, many people didn't want to pay freed slaves for their labor.

A combination of tipping and converting jobs that were typically held by blacks to unpaid positions provided a solution. It became popular despite attempts to ban the practice.

Today, tipped workers in the US are paid, but have a lower minimum wage than normal workers.

Source: https://time.com/5404475/history-tipping-american-restaurant...

FWIW: Because I abhor the practice, I always tip 20%. If service is sufficiently bad, I tip 20% and never come back.

0 comments

makeitdouble3y ago

A sociologist was joking on twitter that “every time I dig a rule that has been on the book for a long time but doesn’t seem to make any sense, it ends up to come from slavery” (paraphrasing)

I didn’t expect tipping to follow the same rule.

BugsJustFindMe3y ago

> Today, tipped workers in the US are paid, but have a lower minimum wage than normal workers.

Not in all states.

1 more reply

valdiorn3y ago

If there's anything we could actually call "institutionalised racism", I think tipping culture fits the bill.

It's a system literally implemented because a large portion of society didn't want to pay black people wages.

barfingclouds3y ago

All states that border the Pacific Ocean have full minimum wage (as in at least $14/hour) no matter what your job. Source: have lived there, have worked in restaurant

lotsofpulp3y ago

> Today, tipped workers in the US are paid, but have a lower minimum wage than normal workers.

No, they have the same minimum wage as all workers. The employer is liable to pay the employee if tips + earnings from tipped min wage are less than earnings from non tipped minimum wage.

3 more replies

ssss113y ago

Thanks for the explanation! I didn’t know the history

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