Dec 18, 2025
Saru Jayaraman, long-time activist and leader of One Fair Wage, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the historical origins of the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers in the US and the power of that community to drive higher wages. The movement has now expanded beyond tipped workers to a broader coalition fighting for a living wage for all. Saru emphasizes that any political platform that focuses on affordability must also include raising wages to be effective.
Deepak and Saru talk about:
- Organizing restaurant workers dating back to the response to 9/11
- How COVID empowered restaurant workers to demand higher wages
- The composition of the workforce most impacted by low minimum wages
- Why addressing affordability requires policies that drive living wages in more states
#TheDemLabs #OneFairWage #FairWage #LivingWage #RestaurantWorkers #LaborRights #EconomicJustice #Affordability #WorkersRights #TippingCulture #SocialJustice #OrganizingMatters #DigitalPolitics
