What would Question D do?
Misleadingly described as an increase in the minimum wage, this question on Portland’s fall ballot would in fact upend the tipping system valued by countless servers and bartenders.
Do restaurant workers support this?
No. In fact, most restaurant workers oppose this proposal. In other states that have eliminated the tipped wage, research from Cornell, Harvard, and the Census Bureau shows that tips have suffered and jobs have declined.
What is Maine’s history with attacks on tipping?
In 2017, a similar statewide ballot question was rolled back by a bipartisan vote in the state legislature, after thousands of restaurant workers rallied against the change.
Who is behind this ballot question?
Not the restaurant workers. In 2016, a New York-based organization funded the ballot question attacking the tipped wage. This year, the Democratic Socialist organization is backing the ballot question as part of an ideological attack on restaurants and restaurant workers.
