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Why should my tips go to subsidize the labor costs of a corporation?

Diana Ramirez, deputy co-director of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a nationwide advocacy group and the leader of an effort in Washington, D.C., to end the practice of allowing restaurants and bars to pay below-mimimum wages and make up the difference in tips. D.C. residents will vote Tuesday on whether to repeal the so-called tip credit. Restaurants have said the added workforce expense would put many eateries out of business.

Diana Ramirez, deputy co-director of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a nationwide advocacy group and the leader of an effort in Washington, D.C., to end the practice of allowing restaurants and bars to pay below-mimimum wages and make up the difference in tips. D.C. residents will vote Tuesday on whether to repeal the so-called tip credit. Restaurants have said the added workforce expense would put many eateries out of business.

Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism