--- title: Why do restaurant workers fund a lobbying group that keeps their wages low? - The Hustle description: Restaurant workers pay to take a food safety class, which — surprise — funds industry lobbying efforts. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/189664282-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-19T011742.482Z.webp --- # Why do restaurant workers fund a lobbying group that keeps their wages low? ![Sara Friedman](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Sara Friedman](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/sara-friedman) [Sara Friedman Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/sarafriedmannn) Published: January 19, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 If you start a new restaurant job, there’s a good chance you’ll be asked to pay $15 to a company called [ServSafe](https://www.servsafe.com/) for an online food-safety class. ![Why do restaurant workers fund a lobbying group that keeps their wages low?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/189664282-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-19T011742.482Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=189664282-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-19T011742.482Z.webp) You’ll learn about things like handwashing and spotting mold. What’s not taught in class, though, is that ServSafe is the fundraising arm of the [National Restaurant Association](https://restaurant.org/), the food-service industry’s largest lobbying group. The association, which claims to represent 500k+ restaurants, has fought minimum wage increases at federal and state levels for decades, per [*The New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/17/us/politics/restaurant-workers-wages-lobbying.html). That means workers unknowingly pay the organization that fights to keep their pay as low as possible. #### **And it’s already low:** - The federal minimum wage has only risen once since 1996, from $5.15 to $7.25. - The federal minimum hourly wage for tipped workers has remained $2.13 since 1991. Minimums are higher in many individual states, but still below what labor groups believe to be livable wages. #### **It gets worse:** - More than 3.6m workers have taken the ServSafe training, paying ~$25m since 2010. - While ServSafe training is offered in all states, it’s mandatory for workers in large states like Texas, California, Illinois, Florida, and Utah. #### **If you’re wondering how this is all legal…** … it’s because the National Restaurant Association is a [business league](https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/other-non-profits/business-leagues), a type of nonprofit that’s able to lobby more freely than traditional charities. How convenient. 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