WASHINGTON -- The D.C. City Council is working to overturn the will of the voters who wanted initiative 77.
Its passage in June raised the minimum wage for tipped workers in the city.
On Tuesday, the city council had a chance to vote on an amendment to that initiative – instead of repealing it.
However, a majority of the council voted ‘no.’
In a heated moment before the amendment vote, people on both sides of the issue shouted:
“Look at the workers.”
“Is your vote more important than our livelihood?”
“Then, you should have won the vote. You didn't win the vote.”
It was a room divided inside of the D.C. City Council chambers.
People on both sides of Initiative 77 passionate about the legislation that would increase the minimum wage for tipped workers, such as bartenders and servers.
“Voters knew what they voted for. They weren’t confused,” Trupti Patel, who is pro-Initiative 77, said.
Other tipped workers said the move would hurt their pockets.
A majority of city council members are working to repeal the initiative, but others called a repeal unfair to the voters.
“You see a lot of workers. They would be hurt by the initiative, and that’s not what we should be doing with legislation,” Council Chairperson Phil Mendelson said.
“I believe that we cannot reject the will of the voters,” At-Large Councilmember Robert White said in the chambers.
Councilmembers voted on an amendment or compromise to the repeal.
It would have included a tip line to report wage theft, made businesses use a third-party company for payroll to avoid false records, and mandated employers go to trainings on sexual harassment and wage theft every year.
“I appreciate that they were trying to come up with a compromise and they shot that down as well,” Dia King, who is pro-Initiative 77, said.
The council voted no on the amendment which pushed them a step closer to repealing the initiative.
“I think that it’s best to fully repeal the bill and then start over and work with tipped workers who have gained a new voice to try to reshape the industry to standards that we find are good for the city,” Karim Soumh, who is against initiative 77, said.
The council must work on emergency legislation to extend when initiative 77 goes into effect.
That gives them time to work on the repeal.
Lastly, the full council would have to cast a final vote.
